Norris shines to take Sao Paulo sprint pole

Lando Norris put in an impressive lap to take pole position during Sprint Qualifying at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, the Briton beating Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli and the other McLaren of Oscar Piastri to seal P1.

After setting a benchmark with his banker lap during SQ3, Norris went even quicker with his final effort of 1:09.243s, a time that proved unbeatable to his rivals. Antonelli was the closest challenger, the Silver Arrows racer 0.097s behind as he took the other spot on the front row.

Despite showing good pace during Friday, Piastri had to settle for third, while George Russell added to a decent day for Mercedes in fourth. Aston Martin also enjoyed a solid outing at Interlagos, with Fernando Alonso clinching fifth ahead of Lance Stroll in seventh.

Sandwiched between them was Max Verstappen, the Red Bull man seen seemingly shaking his head in disappointment after crossing the line. Charles Leclerc was eighth for Ferrari, while Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar and Kick Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg completed the top 10.

Lewis Hamilton missed out on SQ3, the Ferrari driver finishing SQ2 in P11. The seven-time World Champion will also be investigated after the session for a yellow flag infringement, with the flags having been thrown when team mate Leclerc suffered a spin.

Joining Hamilton in the elimination zone were Williams’ Alex Albon, the Alpine of Pierre Gasly, Kick Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto and Ollie Bearman in the Haas.

Hours on from being confirmed to remain with Alpine in 2026, Franco Colapinto ended the session in P16, one place ahead of Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson, while Yuki Tsunoda finished SQ1 in P18 for Red Bull.

Haas’ Esteban Ocon wound up in 19th place, and Carlos Sainz had to settle for 20th and last place following a lock-up on his final run in the Williams.

SQ1

A few hours on from Norris just pipping Piastri to top the timesheets in the weekend’s sole practice session, the drivers and teams returned to action for Friday’s Sprint Qualifying in order to decide the grid for the penultimate Sprint of the season on Saturday.

Tsunoda – whose running was limited in FP1 following a spin off track – was the first to head out when the 12-minute SQ1 began at 15:30 local time, with the medium tyres mandatory for all in the first segment.

Despite a potentially mixed weather forecast for the weekend ahead, conditions were dry and sunny as the action picked up during SQ1. When all 20 drivers had put a lap on the board, it was Norris who had gone quickest on a 1:09.702s, leading the way from Piastri and Russell.

At the other end of the timesheets, Albon, Ocon, Colapinto, Sainz and Tsunoda were the drivers in the elimination zone as the segment entered into its final minutes. The Ferrari pair also appeared to be struggling for pace, with Hamilton and Leclerc both several tenths away from the top.

While both of the Scuderia’s cars improved to slot into sixth and eighth respectively, the track was about to get even busier as the pack all tried to better their efforts and guarantee their place in SQ2.

Albon hauled himself up into the top 10, but Colapinto – recently confirmed to stay at Alpine in 2026 – could only move to P15. The Argentinian was subsequently pushed down to P16 as others improved.

Lawson had also found himself in the drop zone in P17, while Tsunoda ended up in P18. Behind them was Ocon, but perhaps the biggest shock was that Sainz could not move himself forwards after locking up on his last run, leaving the Spaniard – who had missed Thursday’s media day due to illness – down in P20.

At the front, Verstappen had slotted into second place, with Norris remaining on top via a lap of 1:09.627s.

Knocked out: Colapinto, Lawson, Tsunoda, Ocon, Sainz

SQ2

Another 10 minutes went on the clock for SQ2, in which the medium tyres would again be mandatory. Bortoleto was the first to set a lap in front of his home crowd, while some – including Piastri and Russell – were content to head out on track a little later.

Alonso had put his Aston Martin into P1 after the first round of laps, the two-time World Champion’s time of 1:09.330s giving him an edge of 0.043s over Norris, with Piastri following in third.

The Ferrari pair again looked to be experiencing some tricky moments, with Leclerc and Hamilton both locking up after placing in ninth and 11th respectively. Alongside Hamilton, the drivers at risk of elimination entering into the final minutes were Albon, Gasly, Bearman and Bortoleto.

While Alonso and Piastri opted to remain in the pits as the clock ticked down, the rest of the field battled to improve. However, a spin for Leclerc saw the double yellow flags briefly make an appearance, meaning that some drivers had to abort their final efforts.

Despite this moment, Leclerc made it through in P9 – but team mate Hamilton was not so fortunate, the seven-time World Champion exiting in P11 after not making it to the line in time to start his final run. It was also confirmed that Hamilton will be investigated after the session for a yellow flag infringement at Turn 10.

The other names in the bottom five – Albon, Gasly, Bortoleto and Bearman – were also ultimately unable to get themselves out of the danger zone.

Knocked out: Hamilton, Albon, Gasly, Bortoleto, Bearman

SQ3

As the dust settled on SQ2, it was time for the eight-minute top-10 shootout of SQ3. With the soft tyre the mandatory compound for this segment, Norris was looking quick from the off, the Briton going fastest on his banker lap of 1:09.271s.

While Norris led the way from Antonelli, Russell, Piastri – three-tenths away from his team mate – and Leclerc, different strategies were at play for the rest of the pack, with the likes of Verstappen and Alonso opting for only one flying run.

McLaren, meanwhile, embarked on a cooldown lap before going for a final effort. Elsewhere, Verstappen appeared disappointed as he crossed the line in sixth, the Red Bull driver shaking his head, while Russell took fourth to demote Alonso to fifth.

Norris seemed clear at the top on a lap of 1:09.243s, Piastri having been unable to beat that time – but all eyes were then on Antonelli, with the young Mercedes driver looking to be on a quick lap.

While he missed out to Norris by 0.097s – meaning that the British driver had secured his first Sprint pole of the campaign and fourth of his career – the Italian still managed to slot between the McLaren pair in P2.

At the other end of the top 10, Stroll claimed seventh for his best Sprint starting slot of the season, followed by Leclerc, Hadjar and Hulkenberg.

With the grid decided, the drivers will line up for the Sprint at 11:00 local time (13:00 GMT) on Saturday.