Lando Norris celebrates his Sprint pole in Sao Paulo. Image: XPB Images
Norris looked strong throughout the session, setting a 1m09.243s to become the fifth different Sprint polesitter of 2025.
Antonelli underlined Mercedes’ strong pace in Brazil with an impressive lap just 0.097s slower, narrowly beating Piastri, who finished 0.185s behind his teammate.
Piastri had a slight moment on his opening banker lap in SQ3 that cost him time but recovered on his final push run to line up directly behind Norris for Saturday’s Sprint.
Norris said he was pleased with the performance and eager to convert it into victory.
“It was a little tougher than I would’ve liked,” Norris said after the session.
“We did the job we needed to do which was to be faster today.
“It was trickier than Mexico, I haven’t been feeling as comfortable so this is a great result.”
George Russell was fourth, just one hundredth of a second ahead of Fernando Alonso in fifth, while Sprint specialist Max Verstappen was unable to repeat his US Sprint qualifying heroics and will start sixth.
Lance Stroll made a rare appearance in SQ3 with an impressive seventh-place effort, ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who struggled for pace and suffered a spin in SQ2 and will start eighth. Isack Hadjar delivered another strong showing in ninth, just ahead of Nico Hulkenberg.
Lewis Hamilton was eliminated in SQ2 after missing the chance for an extra lap when the chequered flag fell.
Leclerc’s late spin in the session brought out double-waved yellows, preventing Hamilton and others from improving their times. The seven-time world champion will start 11th.
Joining Hamilton out in SQ2 were Alex Albon, Pierre Gasly, hometown hero Gabriel Bortoleto, and Oliver Bearman.
Earlier, SQ1 saw less than a second separate the top 16, with Yuki Tsunoda, Liam Lawson, and Carlos Sainz among the biggest names to fall.
Tsunoda struggled after limited track time in Friday’s practice, finishing 18th, just two places ahead of Sainz.
The Spaniard suffered a heavy lock-up at Turn 1 on his flying lap, losing crucial time, and will be disappointed after reaching the podium in the last Sprint race in the USA two rounds ago.
Lawson failed to match his teammate’s top-10 pace and will start 17th, one place behind newly re-signed Alpine driver Franco Colapinto, and two ahead of Esteban Ocon’s Haas, the other driver eliminated in SQ1.
Cars return to Interlagos for the Sprint at 11am local time Saturday (1am AEDT Sunday).
Pos.
No.
Driver
Team
Q1
Q2
Q3
Laps
1
4
Lando Norris
McLaren
1:09.627
1:09.373
1:09.243
20
2
12
Kimi Antonelli
Mercedes
1:10.381
1:09.504
1:09.340
16
3
81
Oscar Piastri
McLaren
1:10.017
1:09.416
1:09.428
19
4
63
George Russell
Mercedes
1:10.048
1:09.384
1:09.495
16
5
14
Fernando Alonso
Aston Martin
1:10.011
1:09.330
1:09.496
12
6
1
Max Verstappen
Red Bull Racing
1:09.975
1:09.707
1:09.580
15
7
18
Lance Stroll
Aston Martin
1:10.326
1:09.647
1:09.671
15
8
16
Charles Leclerc
Ferrari
1:10.324
1:09.732
1:09.725
19
9
6
Isack Hadjar
Racing Bulls
1:10.095
1:09.608
1:09.775
15
10
27
Nico Hulkenberg
Kick Sauber
1:10.333
1:09.735
1:09.935
15
11
44
Lewis Hamilton
Ferrari
1:10.224
1:09.811
14
12
23
Alexander Albon
Williams
1:10.275
1:09.813
12
13
10
Pierre Gasly
Alpine
1:10.097
1:09.852
12
14
5
Gabriel Bortoleto
Kick Sauber
1:10.217
1:09.923
12
15
87
Oliver Bearman
Haas F1 Team
1:10.066
1:09.946
12
16
43
Franco Colapinto
Alpine
1:10.441
6
17
30
Liam Lawson
Racing Bulls
1:10.666
5
18
22
Yuki Tsunoda
Red Bull Racing
1:10.692
6
19
31
Esteban Ocon
Haas F1 Team
1:10.872
6
20
55
Carlos Sainz
Williams
1:11.120
6
