Piastri beats Norris to stunning Sprint Qualifying pole in Sao Paulo by 0.029s

Oscar Piastri has surged to an impressive pole position for the Sprint at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, the McLaren driver beating team mate Lando Norris in the final moments to take the accolade by just two hundredths of a second.

Norris had led the way throughout SQ1 and SQ2, setting the pace by some way from his rivals. The Briton again looked to be on provisional pole following the opening runs of SQ3 – but Piastri pipped him to P1 by setting a lap of 1m 08.899s, putting him only 0.029s clear of Norris.

Charles Leclerc slotted his Ferrari in third, ahead of Max Verstappen – who will be hoping to continue his consecutive run of Sprint victories – in fourth for Red Bull while Carlos Sainz was fifth in the Scuderia’s other car.

George Russell took P6 for Mercedes, with Pierre Gasly a solid P7 in the Alpine and Liam Lawson P8 for RB. Williams’ Alex Albon also had a good outing by taking P9, while Haas substitute Ollie Bearman rounded out the top 10, the youngster not setting a time in SQ3 after his lap was deleted due to track limits.

SQ2 saw some big-name casualties as Lewis Hamilton failed to make the cut, the Mercedes man ending the session in P11, while Sergio Perez also exited in P13, with the Red Bull driver having ran out of time to set his final flying lap.

Haas’s Nico Hulkenberg qualified in 12th, and joining him in leaving Sprint Qualifying prior to the final segment were Franco Colapinto for Williams in 14th and Kick Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas in 15th.

There was double disappointment for Aston Martin in SQ1, with Fernando Alonso being pushed down to P16 while team mate Lance Stroll was also knocked out in P19.

The other names making an early exit were Alpine’s Esteban Ocon in 17th, RB’s Yuki Tsunoda in 18th and the Kick Sauber of Zhou Guanyu down in 20th place.

AS IT HAPPENED

SQ1 – Norris goes fastest while Aston Martin face double elimination

After a sole hour of practice took place earlier on Friday, the drivers returned to action a few hours later for Sprint Qualifying, ready to decide the grid for the penultimate Sprint of the season at the Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace.

The field were greeted by cooler conditions than had been the case earlier on as the green light appeared for SQ1, with Leclerc leading the pack away – all sporting the mandatory medium tyre – for the 12-minute session.

As the first timed laps went on the board, the track looked to be rapidly evolving as the names at the top of the leaderboard changed but it was Piastri who ultimately led the way with his effort of 1m 10.265s, two tenths ahead of Hulkenberg in second while Lawson was third.

Colapinto saw his lap deleted for exceeding track limits, with the Williams driver subsequently sitting in the elimination zone along with Alonso, Bottas, Stroll and Zhou entering into the final minutes of SQ1.

Given how quickly the track was evolving, most drivers seemed wary of being at risk as the majority of the pack headed out to put a final lap in during the closing stages. While Piastri remained on top, Leclerc moved himself up to second.

Perez improved to go third, a welcome result for the Mexican given his qualifying struggles last time out at his home event, with his Red Bull team mate Verstappen in fourth.

Alonso, meanwhile, hauled himself out of the danger zone – but only just. As others improved – including Gasly, Bottas and Colapinto – the Spaniard was pushed down the order to 16th, a disappointing day for Aston Martin as Stroll also exited in 18th.

While Norris surged into P1 in the final moments with an eye-catching lap of 1m 09.477s, Ocon and Zhou also found themselves eliminated in 17th and 20th respectively.

Knocked out: Alonso, Ocon, Tsunoda, Stroll, Zhou

SQ2 – Another impressive lap for Norris as Hamilton and Perez exit

With some ominous-looking dark clouds appearing over Interlagos, most of the remaining drivers seemed keen to get going when the 10-minute SQ2 segment got under way.

Norris again caught the eye by pumping in a 1m 09.063s, the McLaren driver’s time putting him just over four tenths clear of nearest challenger Sainz. While Verstappen went purple in Sector 1 – followed by personal bests in Sectors 2 and 3 – the Dutchman missed out on P1 and slotted into second.

Further back, the drivers at risk were Colapinto, Bottas, Bearman, Hulkenberg and Lawson, with the latter three yet to set a time prior to the final minutes of the session. Also close to danger was Hamilton in 10th, with Perez just ahead of him in ninth.

While it was a slight risk to leave it late, the move seemed to have paid off for Bearman, the young driver – substituting for an unwell Kevin Magnussen – going up to fifth. Haas team mate Hulkenberg, however, looked to have been pushed out.

Elsewhere, Hamilton and Perez saw themselves slide into the danger zone. Perez ran out of time to put in another effort, leaving him down in 13th, while Hamilton could only improve to 11th, putting them both out of the session.

Also exiting were Hulkenberg in P12, Williams’ Colapinto in P14 and Kick Sauber’s Bottas in P15.

Knocked out: Hamilton, Hulkenberg, Perez, Colapinto, Bottas

SQ3 – Piastri pips Norris to pole in the final moments

The McLaren pair were quick to hit the track as the clock started to tick down for eight minutes of SQ3, a segment in which the soft tyre is mandatory. Elsewhere other drivers were readying themselves in the pit lane – including Bearman and Lawson, both competing in their first ever SQ3 sessions.

It was initially advantage Piastri on the first efforts before Norris swept through to put in yet another impressive lap of 1m 08.928s, almost three tenths faster than his team mate.

Other drivers started to emerge on track as SQ3 reached its final minutes – but could anybody beat that benchmark from Norris? Bearman was some way off in ninth after making a mistake at Turn 2, before the Haas man’s lap time was subsequently deleted due to track limits.

Leclerc, meanwhile, slotted into third, but all eyes were soon on Piastri as the Australian surged into provisional pole with a stunning lap of 1m 08.899s. Norris then decided to box rather than complete his final effort – meaning that Piastri had sealed P1 ahead of his team mate.

P3 went to Leclerc, with Verstappen joining him on the second row in P4 ahead of Sainz and Russell on row three in P5 and P6 respectively. Gasly, Lawson, Albon and Bearman completed the top 10, with Bearman ultimately ending the session without a time on the board.

Key quote

"It was a tricky session," said Piastri. "I felt pretty comfortable at the start and then the grip was really coming up a lot through the session. With the track this year, it’s hard enough to see where you’re going, let alone try and do a fast lap. It’s challenging out there. Happy to have qualified on pole for the Sprint." 

What's next

With the grid now decided, the drivers will next return to action for the Sprint on Saturday, which is set to begin at 1100 local time. Head to the RACE HUB to find out how you can catch the action.