Haas, Kevin Magnussen earn first career pole position in Formula One

SAO PAULO — Haas F1 driver Kevin Magnussen shocked Formula One in Brazilian Grand Prix qualifying on Friday to start the sprint race at Interlagos in pole position.

It was the first ever pole for the 30-year-old Danish driver, who celebrated by making faces at the cameras before the third qualifying session was over. Then he jumped on his car and punched the air in the drizzle. He gave his Haas team boss Guenther Steiner an emotional hug.

“The team put me out on track exactly at the right moment,” said an exultant Magnussen, who also delivered the first F1 pole for Denmark.

Asked whether he expected to get such a result, he replied: “Not even close. It is incredible.”

The moment it all became real! 😁#HaasF1 #BrazilGP pic.twitter.com/86aBs12UWH

— Haas F1 Team (@HaasF1Team) November 11, 2022

Magnussen started in F1 in 2014 and returned to the series this year after a one-year absence as the replacement for Russian driver Nikita Mazepin.

In the interim, Magnussen had driven full time for Chip Ganassi Racing in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and also made his debut in the NTT IndyCar Series.

On team radio, Magnussen was even more excited: “I never felt like this in my life,” he said.

One INDYCAR start.

One Formula 1 pole.

Congrats, K-Mag. https://t.co/SHYR7Vrjra

— INDYCAR on NBC (@IndyCaronNBC) November 11, 2022

Meanwhile, Haas teammate Mick Schumacher, who is still seeking a seat for the next season, finished in 20th and last place.

Steiner said on Thursday he has yet to decide whether Schumacher will race for the team next year, adding he hopes a decision will be made next week. Schumacher has earned only 12 points this season. Magnussen has 24.

Magnussen was almost five seconds faster than Schumacher. World champion Max Verstappen was second by almost two-tenths of a second. Mercedes’ George Russell was third.

Qualifying was delayed by rain, which helped Magnussen. The last five minutes of the session were severely affected by the wet track.

Haas spoke about Magnussen’s pole position with a touch of disbelief: “What did we just do?” the team posed on Twitter.

Friday’s results set the grid for Saturday’s sprint race, which will determine the starting positions for Sunday’s race at Interlagos.

Media and fan attention focused on a controversial run-in between Haiden Deegan and his Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing teammate Jordon Smith during Round 10 of the Monster Energy Supercross race at Detroit, after which the 250 East points’ Hunter Lawrence defends the young rider in the postrace news conference.

Deegan took the early lead in Heat 1 of the round, but the mood swiftly changed when he became embroiled in a spirited battle with teammate Smith.

On Lap 3, Smith caught Deegan with a fast pass through the whoops. Smith briefly held the lead heading into a bowl turn but Deegan had the inside line and threw a block pass. In the next few turns, the action heated up until Smith eventually ran into the back of Deegan’s Yamaha and crashed.

One of the highlights of the battle seemed to include a moment when Deegan waited on Smith in order to throw a second block pass, adding fuel to the controversy.

After his initial crash, Smith fell to seventh on the next lap. He would crash twice more during the event, ultimately finishing four laps off the pace in 20th.

The topic was inevitably part of the postrace news conference.

“It was good racing; it was fun,” Deegan said at about the 27-minute mark in the video above. “I just had some fun doing it.”

Smith had more trouble in the Last Chance Qualifier. He stalled his bike in heavy traffic, worked his way into a battle for fourth with the checkers in sight, but crashed a few yards shy of the finish line and was credited with seventh. Smith earned zero points and fell to sixth in the standings.

Lawrence defends Deegan — *Jordon Smith failed to make the Detroit Supercross Main and fell to sixth in the points. – Feld Motor Sports*

“I think he’s like fifth in points,” Deegan said. “He’s a little out of it. Beside that it was good, I don’t know. I wasn’t really paying attention.”

Deegan jokingly deflected an earlier question with the response that he wasn’t paying attention during the incident.

“He’s my teammate, but he’s a veteran, he’s been in this sport for a while,” Deegan said. “I was up there just battling. I want to win as much as everybody else. It doesn’t matter if it’s a heat race or a main; I just want to win. I was just trying to push that.”

As Deegan and Smith battled, Jeremy Martin took the lead. Deegan finished second in the heat and backed up his performance with a solid third-place showing in the main, which was his second podium finish in a short six-race career. Deegan’s first podium was earned at Daytona, just two rounds ago.

But as Deegan struggled to find something meaningful to say, unsurprisingly for a 17-year-old rider who was not scheduled to run the full 250 schedule this year, it was the championship leader Lawrence who came to his defense.

“I just want to point something out, which kind of amazes me,” Lawrence said during the conference. “So many of the people on social media, where everyone puts their expertise in, are saying the racing back in the ’80s, the early 90s, when me were men. They’re always talking about how gnarly it was and then anytime a block pass or something happens now, everyone cries about it.

“That’s just a little bit interesting. Pick one. You want the gnarly block passes from 10 years ago and then you get it, everyone makes a big song and dance about it.”

Pressed further, Lawrence defended not only the pass but the decision-making process that gets employed lap after lap in a Supercross race.

“It’s easy to point the finger,” Lawrence said. “We’re out there making decisions in a split millisecond. People have all month to pay their phone bill and they still can’t do that on time.

“We’re making decisions at such a fast reaction [time with] adrenaline. … I’m not just saying it for me or Haiden. I speak for all the guys. No one is perfect and we’re under a microscope out there. The media is really quick to point a finger when someone makes a mistake.”

The media is required to hold athletes accountable for their actions. They are also required to tell the complete story.

Haas team, Kevin Magnussen shock F1 with first career pole position at Brazilian GP

Hunter Lawrence defends Haiden Deegan after controversial block pass at Detroit

Read more about SuperMotocross