Autobayng News Team
Lando Norris was the driver to beat for much of qualifying in Brazil.
However an error on his first lap in Q3 left him at risk of qualifying only 10th. He produced a superb final lap to take pole position and will share the front row of the grid with Andrea Kimi Antonelli again.
Only one of Norris’s championship rivals joined in Q3. Oscar Piastri rebounded from his crash in the sprint race to take fourth on the grid behind Charles Leclerc. Max Verstappen suffered a huge blow as both Red Bull drivers dropped out in the first round.
Q1
The first round of qualifying delivered a shock as Verstappen failed to make the cut for the second round. The Red Bull driver knew he was in trouble when he began his final run on a fresh set of tyres but failed to improve on 16th place despite having the track to himself.
After two slow preparation laps Verstappen had another go, but remained rooted to 16th. The lap times were as close as ever – Verstappen was only eight tenths of a second slower than pace-setter Lando Norris, but crucially six hundredths of a second slower than Nico Hulkenberg.
Both Red Bulls dropped out in the first round, though Yuki Tsunoda’s latest elimination came as less of a surprise, as he was only one place lower than he had been the day before. However that 19th place finish brought the unwelcome distinction of being the slowest of any driver to set a lap time – Sauber were unable to repair Gabriel Bortoleto’s car in time following his huge crash at the end of the sprint race.
Esteban Ocon might ordinarily have been pleased to qualify just three hundredths of a second slower than Verstappen, but not under these circumstances, and particularly when his team mate set the third-fastest time. The same applied to Franco Colapinto, who went out in 18th place while Pierre Gasly was beaten only by Norris.
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Q1 result
| P. | # | Driver | Team | Model | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Mercedes | MCL39 | 1’09.656 | |
| 2 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine-Renault | A525 | 1’09.885 | 0.229 |
| 3 | 87 | Oliver Bearman | Haas-Ferrari | VF-25 | 1’09.891 | 0.235 |
| 4 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren-Mercedes | MCL39 | 1’09.928 | 0.272 |
| 5 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | SF-25 | 1’09.934 | 0.278 |
| 6 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | W16 | 1’09.935 | 0.279 |
| 7 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | SF-25 | 1’10.016 | 0.360 |
| 8 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin-Mercedes | AMR25 | 1’10.041 | 0.385 |
| 9 | 6 | Isack Hadjar | Racing Bulls-Honda RBPT | 02 | 1’10.083 | 0.427 |
| 10 | 30 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls-Honda RBPT | 02 | 1’10.108 | 0.452 |
| 11 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams-Mercedes | FW47 | 1’10.115 | 0.459 |
| 12 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin-Mercedes | AMR25 | 1’10.181 | 0.525 |
| 13 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | Williams-Mercedes | FW47 | 1’10.184 | 0.528 |
| 14 | 12 | Andrea Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | W16 | 1’10.192 | 0.536 |
| 15 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Sauber-Ferrari | C45 | 1’10.337 | 0.681 |
| 16 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull-Honda RBPT | RB21 | 1’10.403 | 0.747 |
| 17 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Haas-Ferrari | VF-25 | 1’10.438 | 0.782 |
| 18 | 43 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine-Renault | A525 | 1’10.632 | 0.976 |
| 19 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | Red Bull-Honda RBPT | RB21 | 1’10.711 | 1.055 |
| 20 | 5 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Sauber-Ferrari | C45 | No time |
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Q2
Bearman remained a factor in the second stage of qualifying, heading the times for much of the session until Norris swapped his initial used set of soft tyres for fresh rubber. Even then the McLaren driver was only able to beat him by just over a tenth of a second, while Piastri abandoned his last run of the session.
Lewis Hamilton was plainly unhappy with his Ferrari’s rear end, fighting the car at Juncao on his final lap to no avail. He ended up 13th and failed to reach the final round of qualifying for the second day in a row. Charles Leclerc did despite an enormous slide at Descida do Lago on his first run.
Aston Martin were unable to replicate the high of their sprint race qualifying session, neither driver reaching the final 10. Williams’ difficult weekend also continued, both drivers dropping out in Q2, while the Racing Bulls pair made it through.
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Q2 result
| P. | # | Driver | Team | Model | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Mercedes | MCL39 | 1’09.616 | |
| 2 | 87 | Oliver Bearman | Haas-Ferrari | VF-25 | 1’09.755 | 0.139 |
| 3 | 12 | Andrea Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | W16 | 1’09.774 | 0.158 |
| 4 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | SF-25 | 1’09.801 | 0.185 |
| 5 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren-Mercedes | MCL39 | 1’09.835 | 0.219 |
| 6 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine-Renault | A525 | 1’09.857 | 0.241 |
| 7 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | W16 | 1’09.880 | 0.264 |
| 8 | 30 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls-Honda RBPT | 02 | 1’09.950 | 0.334 |
| 9 | 6 | Isack Hadjar | Racing Bulls-Honda RBPT | 02 | 1’09.970 | 0.354 |
| 10 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Sauber-Ferrari | C45 | 1’09.985 | 0.369 |
| 11 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin-Mercedes | AMR25 | 1’10.001 | 0.385 |
| 12 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams-Mercedes | FW47 | 1’10.053 | 0.437 |
| 13 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | SF-25 | 1’10.100 | 0.484 |
| 14 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin-Mercedes | AMR25 | 1’10.161 | 0.545 |
| 15 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | Williams-Mercedes | FW47 | 1’10.472 | 0.856 |
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Q3
Following his strong showing in Q2, Bearman suddenly faded in the final round. His first effort was quickly beaten by several of his rivals and he was no quicker on his second attempt, which left him eighth on the grid.
Norris was not one of those who beat Bearman’s time at first, however. He locked his tyres up at the first corner and was slowest of all. Meanwhile his team mate nicked the quickest time off Leclerc by the tiny margin of two-thousandths of a second.
That left Norris with everything to do on his final run. He stumbled in similar situations earlier in the season, but this time he rose to the occasion, producing a 1’09.511 which looked unlikely to be beaten.
The Mercedes pair had been quick, but Russell was frustrated by the soft tyre compound and opted to do his final run on mediums. It lifted him only as far as sixth place.
His team mate looked much happier on the softs, but as in Friday’s qualifying session he didn’t have quite enough to beat Norris. He took second, while Leclerc moved up to third place. Provisional pole winner Piastri sank to fourth.
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Q3 result
| P. | # | Driver | Team | Model | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Mercedes | MCL39 | 1’09.511 | |
| 2 | 12 | Andrea Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | W16 | 1’09.685 | 0.174 |
| 3 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | SF-25 | 1’09.805 | 0.294 |
| 4 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren-Mercedes | MCL39 | 1’09.886 | 0.375 |
| 5 | 6 | Isack Hadjar | Racing Bulls-Honda RBPT | 02 | 1’09.931 | 0.420 |
| 6 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | W16 | 1’09.942 | 0.431 |
| 7 | 30 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls-Honda RBPT | 02 | 1’09.962 | 0.451 |
| 8 | 87 | Oliver Bearman | Haas-Ferrari | VF-25 | 1’09.977 | 0.466 |
| 9 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine-Renault | A525 | 1’10.002 | 0.491 |
| 10 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Sauber-Ferrari | C45 | 1’10.039 | 0.528 |
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