Lando Norris took seized an advantage over title rivals Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen by claiming pole position for the Sprint at the 2025 FIA Formula 1 São Paulo Grand Prix. The Briton took top spot in Sprint Qualifying ahead of Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli and Piastri, while Verstappen could only manage sixth place on the grid for Saturday’s 24-lap race. 

The McLaren drivers were among the first out on track at the start of SQ1 and Piastri established the early benchmark at 1:10286, 0.025s ahead of Norris. Verstappen then bypassed both, posting a lap of 1:10.107 to go 0.179s clear of Piastri. 

Mercedes’ George Russell was the next to take a turn at the top but his stay was brief and Norris jumped up to P1 with his second flyer with a 1:09.702. Piastri’s second run pushed him up to P2, but three tenths of a second off his team-mate. 

In the final runs, Verstappen put in a good lap of 1:09.975 to move up to P2 but there was no dislodging Norris who found more time to top the opening session with a last lap of 1:09.627. Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso claimed third spot ahead of Piastri who didn’t improve on his final run. Russell went through in P5 ahead of Haas driver Ollie Bearman who put in a strong lap of 1:10.066 to finish ahead of Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar, Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, with local hero Gabriel Bortoleto through in P9 ahead of Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton.

At the other end of the timesheet there was no place for Franco Colapinto, who was earlier confirmed as an Alpine driver for 2026. The Argentinian missed out on Q2 to Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli by just six hundredths of a second. Ruled out behind Colapinto were Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson, Red Bull Racing’s Yuki Tsunoda, Alpine’s Esteban Ocon and Williams’ Carlos Sainz who complained about his team’s execution of the session. 

Bortoleto briefly gave his home fans something to celebrate at the start of SQ2 as he crossed the line first to take P1 with an opener of 1:09.963. The Brazilian driver was soon shuffled back and at the end of the first runs it was Alonso who took a surprise top spot with the two-time champion delivering a lap of 1:09.330 to eclipse Norris by 0.043s. Piastri slotted into third ahead of Russell and Antonelli, with Hadjar in sixth ahead of the second Aston Martin of Lance Stroll. Verstappen had a scruffy middle sector and finished his opener in eighth place ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and the Kick Sauber of Nico Hülkenberg. 

And Alonso held on to top spot to the end of the session. Both Norris and Piastri backed out their final laps, leaving the way clear for Russell to split the McLarens by taking P3. Further back, Leclerc, in ninth place, spun in the middle sector and the resultant yellow flags meant that a number of drivers missed out on the opportunity of a final flyer. 

First among those was Hamilton, who rounded the final corner on his out lap only to see the chequered flag waving. He dropped out of the session in P11 ahead of Williams’ Alex Albon, Gasly, Bortoleto, and Bearman. Hamilton was later noted for a possible yellow flag infringement. 

Norris took provisional pole in the first runs of SQ3 with the Briton setting the pace at 1:09.271 and he was separated from team-mate Piastri by both Mercedes drivers, with Antonelli second, 0.069s off Norris. 

And there was no stopping Norris in the final runs. After putting in two cool down laps, the McLaren pair went again, but even as Piastri was putting in personal bests, Norris was sending the timesheet purple in the opening sector. And after lighting the final two sectors the same colour, the championship leader took pole for the Sprint with a lap of 1:09.243. 

With Piastri unable to find a big enough improvement, the front row berth alongside Norris went to Antonelli who ended up just under a tenth off the Briton. Piastri is set to line up third ahead of Russell with Alonso fifth. Verstappen crossed the line in sixth and shaking his head in disbelief​. The Dutchman will start ahead of Stroll, Leclerc, Hadjar and Hülkenberg. 

2025 FIA Formula 1 São Paulo Grand Prix – Sprint Qualifying 
1 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:09.243 - -
2 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:09.340 0.097 
3 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 1:09.428 0.185 
4 George Russell Mercedes 1:09.495 0.252 
5 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:09.496 0.253 
6 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:09.580 0.337 
7 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:09.671 0.428 
8 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:09.725 0.482 
9 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT 1:09.775 0.532 
10 Nico Hülkenberg Sauber/Ferrari 1:09.935 0.692 
11 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1:09.811 0.568 
12 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1:09.813 0.570 
13 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 1:09.852 0.609
14 Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber/Ferrari 1:09.923 0.680 
15 Oliver Bearman Haas/Ferrari 1:09.946 0.703
16 Franco Colapinto Alpine/Renault 1:10.441 1.198 
17 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT 1:10.666 1.423 
18 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:10.692 1.449 
19 Esteban Ocon Haas/Ferrari 1:10.872 1.629
20 Carlos Sainz Williams/Mercedes 1:11.120 1.877