LANDO NORRIS TAKES POLE IN SAO PAULO SPRINT QUALIFYING
Lando Norris set a strong lap to take pole position in Sprint Qualifying at the São Paulo Grand Prix. He beat Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli and his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri to secure P1.
Earlier in the day, Norris had already been fastest in the only practice session, just ahead of Piastri. A few hours later, the drivers returned for Sprint Qualifying to decide the grid for Saturday’s Sprint race.
SQ1 began with 12 minutes on the clock. All drivers had to use medium tyres. The weather was dry and sunny. After everyone set a lap, Norris was fastest with a time of 1:09.702, followed by Piastri and Russell.
At the back, Albon, Ocon, Colapinto, Sainz and Tsunoda were at risk of being knocked out. Ferrari struggled, but both Hamilton and Leclerc improved to sixth and eighth. The track then became very busy as drivers tried to escape the elimination zone.
Albon moved into the top 10, but Colapinto could only reach P15 and was later pushed to P16. Lawson ended up P17, Tsunoda P18, and Ocon P19. The biggest surprise was Sainz in P20 after locking up on his last attempt. At the front, Verstappen moved into second, but Norris stayed ahead.
Knocked out: Colapinto, Lawson, Tsunoda, Ocon, Sainz
SQ2 lasted 10 minutes, again using medium tyres. Bortoleto set the first time, but soon Alonso went fastest with a 1:09.330, just ahead of Norris and Piastri.
Ferrari again faced problems, with Leclerc and Hamilton both locking up. As the final minutes began, Hamilton, Albon, Gasly, Bortoleto and Bearman were in the danger zone.
Leclerc spun and caused yellow flags, forcing some drivers to abort their laps. He still made it through in P9, but Hamilton was knocked out in P11 after failing to start a final lap in time. He will also be investigated for a possible yellow-flag infringement.
Albon, Gasly, Bortoleto and Bearman also failed to improve.
Knocked out: Hamilton, Albon, Gasly, Bortoleto, Bearman
SQ3 was an eight-minute shootout with all drivers on soft tyres. Norris immediately set the pace with a 1:09.271. He was ahead of Antonelli, Russell, Piastri and Leclerc. Verstappen and Alonso chose to do only one flying lap.
McLaren did a cooldown lap before pushing again. Verstappen crossed the line shaking his head, ending up sixth. Russell took fourth and pushed Alonso to fifth.
Norris improved to a 1:09.243. Piastri could not beat it. Antonelli came close but finished 0.097 seconds behind, taking P2 between the two McLarens.
Further back, Stroll earned seventh, followed by Leclerc, Hadjar and Hulkenberg.
The Sprint will start at 11:00 local time on Saturday.
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