Sauber's Charles Leclerc admits his passage into Q3 in qualifying on Saturday was the result of perhaps the best "surprise lap" in his career.
The Frenchman's chances of making the Q3 cut appeared slim when rain broke through the clouds above Interlagos.
As he lamented the conditions on his radio, Sauber instructed the Monegasque to call it a day and head for cover. Leclerc overruled his crew however, and chose to give it one more lap on his used supersoft rubber.
Much to his amazement, the effort yielded a spot among the top-10 for the final Q3 shootout which he would finish P8, just behind team mate Marcus Ericsson who also defied the odds in qualifying.
"To be honest, if I would have judged the grip [before deciding to do the lap], I would have stayed in the box, because the grip was quite low in some of the places," he admits.
“But, I was extremely happy with the lap, I don't think I've yelled that much in the helmet when I pass the finish line and saw we got the Q3.
"And I think there was a big surprise from not only me, but also for the team and probably all the other guys watching on the TV.
"Nobody expected it, I just wanted to get out and try one more time, I don't really like to give up, and even though I thought it probably wasn't realistic I just wanted to give it a try.”
The Ferrari-bound young charger was also full of praise for Ericsson's career-best qualifying performance.
"Marcus did an incredible job today, and well done to him," said the 21-year-old.
Both Sauber drivers will get bumped a spot on the Brazilian GP grid, as a result of Daniel Ricciardo's five-place grid penalty.
Ericsson will start his day of racing from sixth, with Leclerc set to line up one spot behind seventh-position.
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