Lando Norris Secures Pole Position for Brazilian Grand Prix Sprint Race
Lando Norris continued to assert his dominance in the Formula One title race by clinching his first sprint pole position of the season at the Brazilian Grand Prix. The McLaren driver topped qualifying with a blistering lap time of 1:09.243, edging out Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli and his teammate Oscar Piastri, who are both vying for the championship.
The 25-year-old Briton, currently leading the drivers’ championship by just one point over Piastri with four races remaining, showcased his skills during a tense qualifying session at the warm Interlagos circuit. Antonelli finished the session in second place, just 0.097 seconds behind, while Piastri rounded out the top three, clocking in 0.185 seconds off Norris’s pace.
George Russell in the second Mercedes and two-time champion Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin completed the top five. Max Verstappen, the four-time champion and 36 points behind Norris in the title chase, expressed his dissatisfaction after qualifying sixth for Red Bull, citing issues with the balance of his car. He was followed by Lance Stroll in the second Aston Martin and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
“It was a good day for me today,” Norris said after securing pole. “It’s a long weekend and it’s only Friday – and it’s forecast to be windy and wet, so we have to be prepared for that.”
Norris acknowledged the challenges of the session, admitting, “It was a little bit tougher than I would’ve liked. It’s always tricky when you’ve got the medium and the soft tires and knowing how much more to push—or not to push sometimes. But we did the job we needed to do, which was to be fastest today.”
The qualifying session saw Verstappen briefly take command with a time of 1:10.107 before being overtaken by Russell, Norris, and Piastri in quick succession. Meanwhile, Ferrari struggled with both Lewis Hamilton and Leclerc qualifying in 10th and 12th place, respectively.
As the conditions changed with falling temperatures and a strengthening breeze, Alonso initially set the pace with a lap time of 1:09.330, a time that stood until Norris and Piastri made their final runs in the shootout for sprint pole. Verstappen’s frustration was palpable as he described his car as “completely broken” and “undriveable,” while Hamilton faced his own issues, noted for a yellow flag infringement.
