Formula 1 News: Piastri wins pole for Sao Paulo Brazil Sprint race
Driving the superior McLaren Mercedes, Lando Norris turned a lap of 1m08.899s to win the pole for the 2024 Sao Paulo Brazil Sprint race around the Interlagos Circuit.
–by Mark Cipolloni–
McLaren brings upgrades to every track and this weekend it was a new radical rear wing and it is working to perfection as no one can touch the McLarens.
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. No one else could even come close.
Charles Leclerc was third for Ferrari, 0.254s behind Piastri.
Max Verstappen was 4th, 0.320s behind Piastri. while Carlos Sainz Jr., winner last weekend, rounded out the top-5 for Ferrari.
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.
2024 Sao Paulo Brazil Sprint Qualifying Results
| Pos | Driver | Nat. | Team | SQ1 | SQ2 | SQ3 |
| 1 | Oscar Piastri | AUS | McLaren F1 Team | 1m10.265s | 1m09.239s | 1m08.899s |
| 2 | Lando Norris | GBR | McLaren F1 Team | 1m09.477s | 1m09.063s | 1m08.928s |
| 3 | Charles Leclerc | MON | Scuderia Ferrari | 1m10.388s | 1m09.248s | 1m09.153s |
| 4 | Max Verstappen | NED | Oracle Red Bull Racing | 1m10.409s | 1m09.489s | 1m09.219s |
| 5 | Carlos Sainz | ESP | Scuderia Ferrari | 1m10.503s | 1m09.500s | 1m09.257s |
| 6 | George Russell | GBR | Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team | 1m10.479s | 1m09.683s | 1m09.443s |
| 7 | Pierre Gasly | FRA | BWT Alpine F1 Team | 1m10.630s | 1m09.610s | 1m09.622s |
| 8 | Liam Lawson | NZL | Visa Cash App RB F1 Team | 1m10.576s | 1m09.827s | 1m09.941s |
| 9 | Alex Albon | THA | Williams Racing | 1m10.366s | 1m09.844s | 1m10.078s |
| 10 | Oliver Bearman | GBR | MoneyGram Haas F1 Team | 1m10.442s | 1m09.629s | No time set |
| 11 | Lewis Hamilton | GBR | Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team | 1m10.625s | 1m09.941s | – |
| 12 | Nico Hulkenberg | GER | MoneyGram Haas F1 Team | 1m10.466s | 1m09.964s | – |
| 13 | Sergio Perez | MEX | Oracle Red Bull Racing | 1m10.409s | 1m10.024s | – |
| 14 | Franco Colapinto | ARG | Williams Racing | 1m10.470s | 1m10.275s | – |
| 15 | Valtteri Bottas | FIN | Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber | 1m10.861s | 1m10.595s | – |
| 16 | Fernando Alonso | ESP | Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team | 1m10.978s | – | – |
| 17 | Esteban Ocon | FRA | BWT Alpine F1 Team | 1m11.052s | – | – |
| 18 | Yuki Tsunoda | JPN | Visa Cash App RB F1 Team | 1m11.121s | – | – |
| 19 | Lance Stroll | CAN | Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team | 1m11.280s | – | – |
| 20 | Zhou Guanyu | CHN | Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber | 1m12.978s | – | – |