Norris takes pole in Brazil as Verstappen endures a shock Q1 exit
- Charlotte Mui
- 14 minutes ago
- 4 min read
Written by Charlotte Mui
Lando Norris stormed to pole at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix after a mistake in his first lap left him down in 10th. Shaking off the mistakes for his final run, he beat Kimi Antonelli to pole by a tenth and a half. Meanwhile, Max Verstappen suffered a shock Q1 exit, leaving him down in sixteenth for the main race.
Qualifying 1
Qualifying at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix began at 18:05 BST. Gabriel Bortoleto, whose car sustained heavy damage after his last-lap crash in the Sprint Race, was unable to take part, as his engineers couldn’t repair his car in time.
Nico Hülkenburg was the first to set a flying lap, having also crashed in the Sprint, yet he aborted before completing it.
Oscar Piastri, who suffered a costly crash in the Sprint as well, then set a 1:11.845. The Australian driver will need to bounce back in this qualifying session to keep Norris close in the points, however, his first lap suggested he hadn’t fully regained confidence in the car.
Norris then went quickest overall with a 1:10.404, before Lewis Hamilton bettered his time. The Ferraris were struggling in the Sprint, but look to have regained some form in Qualifying.
With 10 minutes to go, both Mercedes cars were finding pace, with George Russell going third fastest and Antonelli going quickest overall. The young Italian has been impressive throughout this weekend, looking consistently quicker than his experienced teammate. Ollie Bearman, however, soon displaced him at the top, setting an impressive two purple sectors in the Haas.
On his second attempt, Piastri found a stronger lap, jumping from 19th to second overall.
In the remaining five minutes, Verstappen attempted another flying lap, but remained stuck in the elimination zone. The Dutchman will need to find some serious lap time if he hopes to fight for pole.
With three minutes on the board, drivers headed out for their final runs. Norris quickly went fastest, with a 1:09.656, setting three purple sectors. Having taken pole and victory in the Sprint, he looked the outright favourite for another pole position.
Though drivers were improving their times, few were able to surpass Bearman’s previous lap, leaving the Haas driver second fastest. In a surprise late twist, Pierre Gasly delivered a stunning final lap to go second overall.
Shockingly, Verstappen failed to improve his time, and, for the first since Sochi 2021, was eliminated in Q1. Yuki Tsunoda was also eliminated, leaving the two Red Bull drivers 16th and 19th respectively.
Q1 Eliminations
16. Max Verstappen
17. Esteban Ocon
18. Franco Colapinto
19. Yuki Tsunoda
Qualifying 2
The Williams cars were the first out for Q2, with Alex Albon setting the early pace while Carlos Sainz aborted his lap in the final sector.
Bearman then put in another impressive performance, going faster than Piastri and topping the timesheets once again. The rookie has been in excellent form lately and will be looking for a better result in the main race after his tangle with Liam Lawson in the Sprint.
The McLaren and Mercedes drivers set flying laps shortly after, but none were able to displace the rookie from the top spot. Russell was overheard complaining about a lack of grip on track.
With four minutes remaining, Charles Leclerc peeled back out, needing to improve to avoid elimination. Despite a yellow first sector, he managed to climb to third fastest.
On fresh tyres, Norris headed back out, once again setting the fastest time. Hamilton, meanwhile, was unable to improve and was eliminated in the second phase of qualifying for the second time this weekend.
Q2 Eliminations
11. Fernando Alonso
12. Alex Albon
13. Lewis Hamilton
14. Lance Stroll
15. Carlos Sainz
Qualifying 3
After a hugely impressive first two sessions, Bearman was the first on track for Q3, setting the pace at 1:09.977—unfortunately his slowest lap in qualifying so far.
Leclerc then took provisional pole with a 1:09.899, while Norris locked up in the first sector, costing himself eight tenths and leaving him last after the first runs.
Piastri then beat Leclerc’s time by two thousandths of a second, taking provisional pole for himself. If the Australian can beat his teammate to pole here, it would be a huge confidence boost for his championship.
Haas once again sent Bearman out first for the final shootout for pole. However, he wasn’t able to improve, keeping his position.
Leclerc then reclaimed provisional pole, before Norris put in a stunning final lap to take over the top spot.
All eyes turned to Piastri to see whether he could beat his teammate’s time. Unfortunately, he was unable to improve from his first lap, leaving him third and vulnerable to those improving behind.
Antonelli then produced a brilliant lap to move ahead of Leclerc into second, securing the highest starting position of his Formula One career.
Sunday’s Starting Grid
Lando Norris
Kimi Antonelli
Charles Leclerc
Oscar Piastri
Isack Hadjar
George Russell
Liam Lawson
Ollie Bearman
Pierre Gasly
Nico Hülkenburg
Fernando Alonso
Alex Albon
Lewis Hamilton
Lance Stroll
Carlos Sainz
Max Verstappen
Esteban Ocon
Franco Colapinto
Yuki Tsunoda
Gabriel Bortoleto
Looking Ahead
Sunday’s race could be extremely significant for the championship. Norris has been quietly building momentum since his DNF in Zandvoort, and with Piastri starting fourth and Verstappen down in 16th, a victory this weekend could put one hand firmly on the trophy. He’ll have Antonelli to worry about though, as the rookie will be eager to seize the chance for his first Grand Prix win, and the Mercedes cars have shown strong pace in race trim. Will Brazil play into Norris’ hands, or, like last year, throw another curveball his way?
