Brazil - Qualifying

Lando Norris came into the weekend with a one-point advantage over his teammate, but after a tense sprint, he has already managed to increase it. This will only make Oscar Piastri more eager to show what he is made of in the main event. So, will one of them put their all into a qualifying lap and come out on top, or will someone else end up stealing the pole position away from them?

The slightly delayed Q1 was anything but expected. Throughout most of the session, the midfield drivers, such as Oliver Bearman or Pierre Gasly, occupied the top spots that are usually reserved for the so-called "top teams". On the other hand, dome of the drivers still involved in the fight for the championship seemed to be struggling much more than usual. Max Verstappen made a mistake on his first flying lap and, with four minutes on the clock, sat in a disappointing P16. He bolted on a new set of soft tires and rejoined the track for another attempt. To the surprise of everyone, despite all his efforts, the Red Bull did not have the pace necessary to get him through to Q2. Esteban Ocon, Franco Colapinto, and Yuki Tsunoda were also too slow to move on. The last spot in the elimination zone belonged to the home hero, Gabriel Bortoleto. Sauber spent most of the session trying to get his car qualifying ready, but, in the end, they came a few minutes short, and he did not get to set a time around Interlagos. 

The pattern of midfielders jumping to the top continued in Q2, with Bearman, once again, setting the time to beat. With Verstappen out, someone else needed to take on the role of a top driver in trouble, and the unfortunate 'honour' went to the Ferrari drivers. Charles Leclerc made a mistake during his first attempt, and in the second one, managed a time that put him deep in the elimination zone. He was able to improve towards the end of the session. The same couldn't be said about Lewis Hamilton, whose last attempt, which included a small mistake, wasn't enough to save him from elimination. Fernando Alonso, Alex Albon, Lance Stroll, and Carlos Sainz joined him in the bottom five.

Q3 started in a less-than-perfect way for Norris, who made a mistake in his first flying lap and ended up at the very bottom of the timing sheet. To make matters worse, after all drivers completed at least one attempt, it was his teammate who had the provisional pole. Leclerc had also put himself in the mix after finishing his first attempt only 0.02s behind Piastri. His second one was even better and allowed him to move to the very top, although not for long, as Norris, who crossed the line right behind him, was quicker than any of the other drivers. He is the one who will be starting tomorrow's Grand Prix from pole, once again with Kimi Antonelli by his side.

Order of the grid:

1. Lando Norris

2. Kimi Antonelli

3. Charles Leclerc

4. Oscar Piastri

5. Isack Hadjar

6. George Russell

7. Liam Lawson

8. Oliver Bearman

9. Pierre Gasly

10. Nico Hulkenberg

11. Fernando Alonso

12. Alex Albon

13. Lewis Hamilton

14. Lance Stroll

15. Carlos Sainz

16. Max Verstappen

17. Esteban Ocon

18. Franco Colapinto

19. Yuki Tsunoda

20. Gabriel Bortoleto