Lando Norris claimed pole position for Saturday’s Sprint at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix as his title rivals Oscar Piastri took third and Max Verstappen was only sixth.
Championship leader Norris set two laps good enough for Sprint pole as he beat Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli by 0.097s and Piastri by nearly two tenths.
It is a continuation of Norris’ strong form as he turned around a 34-point deficit to Piastri into a one-point lead in the Drivers’ Championship with four rounds to go.
Verstappen was 0.337s off the pace and never looked like challenging at the front and is set to see his 36-point disadvantage to Norris increase after Saturday’s Sprint at 2pm (build-up from 1pm), live on Sky Sports F1 and Sky Sports Main Event.
Red Bull struggled throughout Friday and Verstappen will be relying on the threat of heavy rain to repeat his Sao Paulo heroics from 12 months ago when he took a stunning win in the wet.
George Russell was fourth with Aston Martin pair Fernando Alonso in fifth and Lance Stroll in seventh, either side of Verstappen.
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Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton is eliminated in SQ2 as he runs out of time for another flying lap
Lewis Hamilton suffered a second consecutive SQ2 elimination in Interlagos as he was partly hampered by a late spin for Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc.
Leclerc’s pirouette meant nobody could improve their lap times, so Hamilton’s banker lap proved not good enough and he avoided a penalty for allegedly speeding under yellow flags when going past Leclerc, who qualified eighth.
Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar was ninth and Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg rounded out the top 10.
Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda had a difficult day after hitting the wall in Practice and was knocked out in 18th, along with Liam Lawson – two drivers who are understood to be battling over a seat at Racing Bulls in 2026.
Alpine announced on Friday that Franco Colapinto would remain with the team next year but the Argentine was only 16th in his first competitive outing since the news.
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Yuki Tsunoda’s Red Bull spins off early during Practice at the Sao Paulo GP
How ‘tremendous’ Norris continued fine form
The title race story coming into Sao Paulo was whether Piastri could stop Norris’ momentum and it looked like the Australian had made a step forward as he led most of Friday practice, only for Norris to send him a message at the end by going quickest at the chequered flag.
Norris went on to outpace Piastri in each segment of Sprint Qualifying, topping SQ1 and, more importantly SQ3 to become the fifth different Sprint pole sitter in 2025.
McLaren sent both drivers out early with plenty of fuel on board but Norris still went onto provisional pole by 0.069s from Antonelli and Russell, with Piastri only fourth.
Both McLarens completed two cooldown laps, before going again as Piastri improved to third and Norris also went even faster to consolidate Sprint pole.
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Lando Norris admits his recent run of form, which has seen him close the title race gap to Oscar Piastri, is down to a combinations of a few things
“It was a little bit tougher than I would have liked. Close between a lot of cars. Mercedes quick on the soft,” said Norris.
“But it’s always tricky when you’ve got the medium and the soft and knowing how much to push. We did the job we needed to do, which was to be fastest today.
“Trickier than Mexico. I’ve not been feeling quite as comfortable, but therefore it’s a great result. It’s only Friday, so another qualy, another couple of races to go, but it’s a good start.”
Red Bull were hoping Mexico was a one-off to give Verstappen a fighting chance in the championship but they were losing at least three tenths to the McLarens in the twisty Interlagos middle sector.
Verstappen was a match for the McLarens in the first and final sector, so Red Bull have strong straight-line speed but that does not necessarily bode well if the expected rain arrives on Saturday where more downforce is an advantage.
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Max Verstappen blamed ‘vibrations in the car’ and ‘grip’ after struggling in Sprint Qualifying at the Sao Paulo GP
“A lot of vibrations in the car, a lot of just ride problems, so not what we want,” said Verstappen.
“But I think besides that, we just don’t have the grip. The middle sector is terrible, just can’t get the car to turn. But at the same time also, I can’t really rely on the rear. So for us it’s quite poor I would say. It is what it is.”
Sky Sports F1’s Sao Paulo GP Schedule
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Look back at some of the most dramatic moments to have taken place at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix
Saturday November 8
1pm: Sao Paulo GP Sprint build-up
2pm: SAO PAULO GP SPRINT*
3.30pm: Ted’s Sprint Notebook
5pm: Sao Paulo GP Qualifying build-up
6pm: SAO PAULO GP QUALIFYING
8pm: Ted’s Qualifying Notebook
Sunday November 9
3.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday: Sao Paulo GP build-up
5pm: THE SAO PAULO GRAND PRIX
7pm: Chequered Flag: Sao Paulo GP reaction
8pm: Ted’s Notebook
*also on Sky Sports Main Event
Formula 1’s thrilling title race continues in Brazil with a Sprint weekend at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix from this Friday, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime
