F1 Brazil GP: Lando Norris storms to sprint pole with…

Lando Norris has beaten Andrea Kimi Antonelli to Formula 1's Brazilian Grand Prix sprint pole, with title rivals Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen third and sixth respectively.

Norris reigned supreme on both of his SQ3 laps to fend off a strong effort from Mercedes rookie Antonelli, who split the two championship contending McLarens, as Verstappen struggled for grip in his Red Bull.

Norris led the first of his two salvos of SQ3 laps from both Mercedes cars and Piastri, with the Briton's 1m09.271s the target lap to beat.

Norris and Piastri then stayed out for two cooldown laps before launching again on the same set of softs, while Russell, Antonelli followed a similar strategy with one cooldown lap.

Max Verstappen and Fernando Alonso, who had surprisingly led SQ2, were among the five cars deciding to bank everything on a single flyer instead.

But as it happened, both McLaren drivers found more pace on their second attempt, with Norris laying down a 1m09.243s. That was one tenth quicker than Antonelli, who managed to edge out Piastri as the Australian only marginally improved as well.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes (Photo by: Hector Vivas / Getty Images)

George Russell was fourth in the other Mercedes, while Alonso sensationally held off a puzzled Verstappen for fifth.

Lance Stroll was seventh on a strong day for Aston Martin, ahead of Charles Leclerc, with Isack Hadjar and Nico Hulkenberg rounding out the top 10.

Alonso had already played a starring role in SQ2 by leading the first set of runs from Norris, Piastri and Russell. The two-time world champion's 1m09.330s would stay on top until the end as few drivers found improvements on their second flyer on the same set of medium tyres, which are mandatory in the first two sprint qualifying segments.

Hamilton was on the outside looking in by only going 11th fastest, largely due to a lock-up, while Ferrari team-mate Leclerc also wasn't particularly safe in ninth. Even world champion Verstappen was under pressure in eighth, just one tenth removed from the drop zone, as he called his Red Bull car "completely broken".

On the second run none of the three drivers improved, with Hamilton not even making it across the line in time due to yellow flags as he was dumped out in 11th. But Verstappen and a spinning Leclerc were handed a reprieve when none of their rivals improved substantially either.

Albon and Gasly missed a chance to advance to SQ3, lining up behind Hamilton in 12th and 13th. Sauber rookie Gabriel Bortoleto also couldn't make the top 10 on his home debut, the Brazilian taking 14th ahead of Haas man Oliver Bearman.

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari (Photo by: Zak Mauger / LAT Images via Getty Images)

In SQ1 Norris convincingly set the fastest time - a 1m09.627s on mediums - three tenths ahead of Verstappen and Piastri.

Franco Colapinto couldn't celebrate the confirmation of his 2026 Alpine deal with an SQ2 spot, being knocked out at the last second by Stroll.

Colapinto was 16th ahead of Liam Lawson, a disappointing Yuki Tsunoda and Esteban Ocon. Sainz was eliminated dead last after locking up his front left wheel into Turn 1, labelling Williams' qualifying effort "the worst execution ever".

F1 Brazilian GP - Sprint qualifying results

SQ3

All Stats

Cla	Driver	#	Chassis	Engine	Laps	Time	Interval	Tyres	km/h
1	L. Norris McLaren	4	McLaren	Mercedes	6	1'09.243		S	224.028
2	A. Antonelli Mercedes	12	Mercedes	Mercedes	6	+0.097 1'09.340	0.097	S	223.715
3	O. Piastri McLaren	81	McLaren	Mercedes	6	+0.185 1'09.428	0.088	M	223.431
4	G. Russell Mercedes	63	Mercedes	Mercedes	6	+0.252 1'09.495	0.067	M	223.216
5	F. Alonso Aston Martin Racing	14	Aston Martin	Mercedes	3	+0.253 1'09.496	0.001	M	223.212
6	M. Verstappen Red Bull Racing	1	Red Bull	Red Bull	3	+0.337 1'09.580	0.084	S	222.943
7	L. Stroll Aston Martin Racing	18	Aston Martin	Mercedes	3	+0.428 1'09.671	0.091	M	222.652
8	C. Leclerc Ferrari	16	Ferrari	Ferrari	6	+0.482 1'09.725	0.054	S	222.479
9	I. Hadjar Racing Bulls	6	RB	Honda	3	+0.532 1'09.775	0.050	M	222.320
10	N. Hulkenberg Sauber	27	Sauber	Ferrari	3	+0.692 1'09.935	0.160	M	221.811
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