Lewis Hamilton starts the penultimate round of the 2018 Formula 1 Championship in Brazil from pole position, but the question remains as to whether the Briton can convert that into a victory – something he's never managed to do when he's been crowned champion with races left to run in the same season.
Sebastian Vettel escaped a grid drop for "destroying" the FIA's scales in a bizarre incident and therefore keeps his first-row start. Could we see fireworks between the two? There's not a lot to lose!
Their respective team-mates complete the second row ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen. His team-mate Daniel Ricciardo drops from sixth to 11th place, promoting the two Sauber's, the two Haas' and Pierre Gasly a place each.
Esteban Ocon is the other driver with a penalty and drops to 18th, again promoting five drivers as a result.
Brazilian Grand Prix: Provisional Starting Grid
| Pos | Driver | Team | ↑↓ | |
| 1 |  Lewis Hamilton |
Mercedes |  |
|
| 2 |  Sebastian Vettel |
Ferrari |  |
|
| 3 |  Valtteri Bottas |
Mercedes | |
|
| 4 | Kimi Raikkonen |
Ferrari | |
|
| 5 |  Max Verstappen |
Red Bull |  |
|
| 6 |  Marcus Ericsson |
Sauber |  |
↑1 |
| 7 |  Charles Leclerc |
Sauber | |
↑1 |
| 8 |  Romain Grosjean |
Haas |  |
↑1 |
| 9 | Pierre Gasly |
Toro Rosso |  |
↑1 |
| 10 |  Kevin Magnussen |
Haas | |
↑1 |
| 11 |  Daniel Ricciardo |
Red Bull | |
↓5 |
| 12 |  Sergio Perez |
RP Force India |  |
|
| 13 | Nico Hulkenberg |
Renault |  |
↑1 |
| 14 |  Sergey Sirotkin |
Williams |  |
↑1 |
| 15 |  Carlos Sainz |
Renault | |
↑1 |
| 16 |  Brendon Hartley |
Toro Rosso | |
↑1 |
| 17 | Fernando Alonso |
McLaren |  |
↑1 |
| 18 | Esteban Ocon |
RP Force India | |
↓5 |
| 19 |  Lance Stroll |
Williams | |
|
| 20 |  Stoffel Vandoorne |
McLaren | |
