The Red Bull man set the quickest time before the rain clouds and lightning engulfed the Interlagos circuit and the session was stopped early.

Brazil’s F1 qualifying session was abandoned early due to freak rain Credit: AP

A number of drivers were caught out by the sudden change Credit: Getty

Max Verstappen took pole with Charles Leclerc and Lance Stroll in second and third Credit: Splash

It was Max Verstappen’s 11th pole of the season while Charles Leclerc will start Sunday’s race in second place.

Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso locked out the second row while it was an all-Mercedes third row with Lewis Hamilton lining up fifth and George Russell sixth.

Hamilton said: “It’s fifth, and fifth is never that great. I did the best I could and hopefully we will have a better race.

“The car was showing signs of decent performance but generally we are a couple of tenths off the top guys.

“But the conditions at the end have us a little bit further back on the grid, but it is difficult to say.”

Russell added: “It was absolutely crazy. I have never seen a change in weather as drastic as that.

“The target is still the podium. Aston Martin seem to have found their form but I am hoping our race pace is better than theirs.

“It will be a difficult fight with Max, but I expect it to be a two of three-stop race, so it is all to play for.”

Verstappen, who is again the favourite, said: “We didn’t know when the rain would hit in qualifying, we thought it would hit but this is insane weather.

“It was all quite hectic in the last lap. It seems that it’s all very close. Last year we didn’t get that right but I think we are a bit better this year.”

Ferrari’s Leclerc, who had been on pole in the previous two races, added: “In my whole career I have never experienced something like that.

“From Turn 4 onwards there was no rain. But the car was extremely difficult to drive, no grip.

“I was thinking about coming in at the end of the lap but I finished it and it was P2. So a really good surprise. A very weird one for everyone at the track.”

The result was hard on McLaren duo Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, who had looked quick enough to fight for pole position.

But they were caught out by the rain and did not get out on track with enough dry running to set a lap time.

Norris said: “The car was amazing. Easily quick enough to be quickest and on pole. So I am pretty gutted for that to end the way we did

“Obviously delivering the lap and putting it together in Q3 and everything is a different job, but easily quick enough.

“So another disappointing Saturday, but not a lot we could have done.”

McLaren had looked quick enough for pole but were caught out by the weather Credit: Getty

Lewis Hamilton could only muster a P5 result Credit: Alamy