Formula One F1 - Sao Paulo Grand Prix - Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace, Sao Paulo, Brazil - November 8, 2025 McLaren's Lando Norris during qualifying REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes
SAO PAULO (Reuters) -McLaren's Lando Norris won a Saturday sprint to move nine points clear in the Formula One championship and then seized pole position for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix as his two main rivals stumbled.
While his teammate and closest rival Oscar Piastri crashed in the sprint and qualified fourth for Sunday's race at Interlagos, Norris put himself on track to stretch his lead significantly.
Red Bull's reigning champion Max Verstappen, third overall in the standings but 39 points behind in his chase for a fifth successive title, ruled himself out of the reckoning after qualifying 16th.
Mercedes' 19-year-old Italian rookie Kimi Antonelli joined Norris on the front row with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc qualifying third.
Antonelli will become the third youngest front row starter in the sport's history.
NORRIS WAS ONLY 10TH AFTER FIRST EFFORT
"I think it’s going to be a big challenge tomorrow. We have to see what the weather is going to do again," said Norris of his sixth pole of the season.
"So far this weekend has been clean, so I’m hoping they (Antonelli and Leclerc) don’t ruin it."
Piastri had been on provisional pole following the first flying laps in the final phase of qualifying, with Norris only 10th after locking up into turn one.
With the pressure all on him, and one lap to pull something out of the bag, Norris produced the perfect response to go top with a lap of one minute 09.511 seconds.
Antonelli was 0.174 slower, pushing Leclerc and Piastri down the order. He was also second in the sprint, highlighting Mercedes' potential.
"A bit disappointing with the result but the car has looked quick this weekend, especially over a longer run, so hopefully I can take advantage of that tomorrow," said Piastri, who said he still believed he could be champion.
French rookie Isack Hadjar was an impressive fifth, ahead of Mercedes' George Russell and Racing Bulls' teammate Liam Lawson.
Oliver Bearman qualified eighth fastest for Haas, ahead of Alpine's Pierre Gasly in ninth and Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg rounding out a surprising top 10 with some of the usual frontrunners misfiring.
COULD NOT PUSH AT ALL
Verstappen won from 17th on the grid at Interlagos last year but his comments suggested a repeat was unlikely.
It was the four-times world champion's first failure to get through Q1 on performance since the 2021 Russian Grand Prix in Sochi.
"It was just bad. I couldn’t push at all. The car was all over the place, sliding around a lot," he said.
"I can forget about that," he added when asked for his thoughts on the championship. "We took some more risk before qualifying to try to see if we could put the car in a better place and it obviously went in the opposite direction," said Red Bull boss Laurent Mekies. "It's sometimes the price you pay when you take a risk."
Teammate Yuki Tsunoda qualified 19th, ahead only of Brazilian rookie Gabriel Bortoleto, who crashed in the sprint and was unable to take part in the session as Sauber worked to rebuild his car.
Ferrari's seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton caused another shock when he went out in the second phase, qualifying 13th and struggling for rear grip.
"That's the weekend done pretty much," said the despondent Briton, who has yet to stand on the podium with Ferrari since joining in January. "I can't do anything from there."
(Writing by Alan Baldwin in London, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
