Lando Norris took a dominant pole position for the Formula 1 Sao Paulo Grand Prix Sprint, underlining his resurgent form and pace of his McLaren package.
The Brit secured top spot with a blistering final run in SQ3 to take top spot by almost a tenth of a second from Mercedes’ Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
Norris’ team-mate Oscar Piastri could only manage third, with the pair’s fellow title rival Max Verstappen down in sixth, giving Norris a chance to further extend his newfound title lead.
Sprint qualifying began with Piastri setting a banker of 1:10.206s, with Norris just behind by two hundredths.
With five minutes left, Verstappen clocked over a tenth-and-a-half faster to go top, but Norris then went even faster, a 1:09.702s, four tenths faster than Verstappen and three faster than Piastri and Russell, who dropped Verstappen down to fourth.
The biggest worry was emanating from Ferrari’s garage, with Lewis Hamilton 11th and Leclerc 13th, both men struggling to get a hold of the SF-25 around the Interlagos circuit.
Leclerc then went up to seventh but was still seven tenths off the McLarens, and was bumped to eighth by Hamilton, who went sixth.
Oliver Bearman went up to fourth, with Verstappen then going second ahead of Piastri. Pierre Gasly showed promise by going eighth, with the Ferraris labouring to 10th and 12th.
Franco Colapinto – announced as a permanent Alpine driver for 2026 – Liam Lawson, Yuki Tsunoda, Esteban Ocon and Carlos Sainz were the drivers eliminated.
The latter was particularly irked by his early exit, saying it was “the worst execution I’ve seen in my life”.
Leclerc spins to help take Hamilton out of SQ2
SQ2 began with Fernando Alonso going top, with Verstappen initially three tenths short of the Spaniard’s lap, but with both McLarens still yet to set a time with five minutes to go.
Norris changed that but went second behind Alonso, with Piastri going third.
Leclerc hovered above the danger zone, with Hamilton still in it in 11th. And by irony, it would be Leclerc who condemned Hamilton to an early exit.
The #16 Ferrari spun late on his final run, which brought out double yellow flags, costing Hamilton the time needed to cross the line before the chequered flag came out.
Alonso ended it top, with Leclerc scaping through in ninth, with Hamilton 11th, and would be joined by Alex Albon, Gasly, Bortoleto and Bearman.
Norris maintains speed to take Sprint pole
Norris went quickest early in SQ3 with a 1:09.271s, a big banker with Antonelli second and Russell third, putting Piastri down to fourth. They were the only four to set laps early on.
On his second run, Norris went two tenths faster than his own previous first sector, but went down in his third sector, but still extended his advantage to a 1:09.243s.
Verstappen could only muster sixth, with Russell only going fourth, with Antonelli taking second, splitting the McLarens with Piastri in fourth.
Alonso ended up ahead of Verstappen in fifth, with Lance Stroll seventh, completing a very positive day for Aston Martin.
Leclerc was only eighth, with Isack Hadjar ninth and Nico Hulkenberg 10th.
For Norris, it sets up another opportunity to open up a gap to Piastri, provided Antonelli stays between them come the Sprint Race itself.
READ MORE – F1 2025 Brazil Grand Prix – Sprint Qualifying Results
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