Lando Norris delivered under intense pressure to take pole position for the sprint race at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix - with a heavy rainstorm on the forecast for Saturday.
Norris, who reclaimed the F1 world championship lead with a statement win in Mexico a fortnight ago, will have a golden opportunity to further extend his advantage with both of his title rivals behind him on the grid for Saturday’s 24-lap dash to the chequered flag in Interlagos.
Oscar Piastri, just one point adrift of Norris with 114 points still to play for across the remaining four contests, is third on the grid.
Max Verstappen, 36 points behind Norris, is only sixth as he complained his Red Bull was “completely broken” and “just undriveable”.
Amongst the championship contenders, Kimi Antonelli qualified second, with George Russell fourth in the other Mercedes. Fernando Alonso is a place ahead of Verstappen in fifth.
Norris finished 0.097 seconds clear of Antonelli with Piastri 0.185 sec off the pace. Verstappen was a third-of-a-second down.
Hamilton, who idolised Ayrton Senna, enjoys huge support in the Brazilian’s homeland. But his fans had little to cheer about after seeing their man eliminated in Q2.
Hamilton, whose wait for a first podium in Ferrari colours has extended into his 21st appearance for the Scuderia, will start the sprint from 11th.
TOP-10 - BRAZIL GP SPRINT QUALIFYING
1. Lando Norris - McLaren
2. Kimi Antonelli - Mercedes
3. Oscar Piastri - McLaren
4. George Russell - Mercedes
5. Fernando Alonso - Aston Martin
6. Max Verstappen - Red Bull
7. Lance Stroll - Aston Martin
8. Charles Leclerc - Ferrari
9. Isack Hadjar - Racing Bulls
10. Nico Hulkenberg - Sauber
The seven-time world champion started his final run in the drop zone and was not helped when team-mate Charles Leclerc spun in the closing stages of the lap. He did not improve and was left shaking his head as he trundled back to the pits.
“P11 and box,” Hamilton’s race engineer, Riccardo Adami said. “Yeah, every time, mate,” came the disillusioned response from the 40-year-old.
Despite his spin, Leclerc was able to progress to the concluding phase of qualifying and will line up three places ahead of Hamilton.
