Lando Norris secured pole position in a chaotic wet qualifying session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, while his championship contender Max Verstappen will start from 17th on the grid.
Norris excelled in the challenging conditions to achieve his seventh pole of the season, finishing 0.173 seconds ahead of George Russell from Mercedes. The dramatic qualifying session lasted nearly two hours due to five red flag interruptions and was rescheduled from Saturday after storms impacted the Interlagos circuit.
A significant twist occurred in Q2 when both Red Bull cars were eliminated, with championship leader Verstappen clocking in at only the 12th fastest time, in addition to a five-place grid penalty that he must serve. This means he will line up in 17th for Sunday’s race, increasing the likelihood of his current 44-point championship lead narrowing as Norris starts from the front.
Teammate Sergio Perez also faced a setback, finishing 13th and failing to progress to Q3 for the eighth time this season.
Yuki Tsunoda enjoyed his best qualifying result yet, taking third place with a standout lap, followed by Esteban Ocon from Alpine and RB teammate Liam Lawson in fifth. Charles Leclerc managed to secure sixth in his Ferrari, ahead of Williams’ Alex Albon, who suffered a significant crash at Turn 1, and the second McLaren of Oscar Piastri.
Both Aston Martin drivers, Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll, crashed out in Q3 but will start ninth and tenth, respectively.
Valtteri Bottas from Sauber and the two Red Bulls were followed by Carlos Sainz, who qualified 14th for Ferrari after spinning into the barriers at Senna S.
Lewis Hamilton’s qualifying struggles continued as the seven-time champion described his car as “undriveable” after being eliminated in Q1 with a time placing him only 16th.
Haas stand-in Oliver Bearman qualified 17th, just ahead of Franco Colapinto, who caused the first red flag by spinning off and crashing at Curva do Sol early in Q1. Nico Hulkenberg and Zhou Guanyu completed the grid in 19th and 20th for Haas and Sauber, respectively.