Sao Paulo Grand Prix Qualifying: Norris Takes Pole, Verstappen and Hamilton Shocked in Q1 Exit
São Paulo, Brazil – Lando Norris of McLaren clinched pole position for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix with a standout performance in the final qualifying session. Norris, who initially struggled with a lockup at Turn 1 in Q3, rebounded to register a lap time of 1m09.511s, securing the top spot for the race.
Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli matched the pace with a late effort that placed him second on the grid, finishing just 0.174s behind Norris. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Norris’ teammate Oscar Piastri will start from the second row in third and fourth, respectively. Piastri achieved a personal best in the first sector but could not close the gap to Norris.
Isack Hadjar qualified fifth, followed by George Russell in sixth and Liam Lawson in seventh. Notably, Oliver Bearman of Haas showed early promise, qualifying third in Q1 and second in Q2, but fell to eighth in Q3 after setting aside new soft tires for the final session.
Alpine’s Pierre Gasly claimed ninth, while Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg rounded out the top ten, marking his first Q3 appearance of the season.
The session marked an unusual outcome for two notable drivers: Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen both failed to advance to Q3, an event that has occurred only twice since they began racing simultaneously. Hamilton struggled with rear grip, finishing 13th, while Verstappen, despite significant setup changes, was unable to secure enough performance, ending up 16th after a substantial loss of time in crucial sectors.
This qualifying session was the first time Verstappen exited at Q1 based on pace alone, a setback not seen since the 2021 Russian Grand Prix.
Qualifying Results:
- Lando Norris (McLaren) – 1m09.511s
- Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) – +0.174s
- Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) – +0.282s
- Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
- Isack Hadjar (Unknown)
- George Russell (Mercedes)
- Liam Lawson (Unknown)
- Oliver Bearman (Haas)
- Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
- Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber)
The Sao Paulo Grand Prix promises an intriguing race with a tightly packed grid and unexpected storylines from qualifying. Teams will look to regroup after a challenging day, especially for Red Bull, marking their first double Q1 exit since 2006.
