With just one practice session, the Brazilian Grand Prix weekend kicked off with the first major session of the weekend: Sprint qualifying.
These are the full F1 results for Sprint qualifying at the 2025 Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos in São Paulo, with McLaren’s Lando Norris finishing with the fastest time.
F1 results: Brazilian Grand Prix Sprint Qualifying 3 (SQ3)
With Max Verstappen having complained about his car being “undrivable” after the SQ2 session, the Red Bull driver appeared to be up against it as the final part of qualifying began at Interlagos, with all the drivers mandated to use the soft tyre.
The two Mercedes set the fastest time initially, with Kimi Antonelli going quickest ahead of George Russell, while Oscar Piastri slotted his McLaren into third behind the two Brackley cars as he had a snap of oversteer through Turn 1.
Norris popped to the front with a 1:09.271 to go 0.069 clear of Antonelli, and almost four-tenths clear of Piastri.
Five drivers elected for just a single lap in SQ3, including Verstappen, who, despite setting the fastest first sector of all, could only manage sixth overall.
Piastri improved but remained in third, while Norris improved by three-hundredths to further consolidate provisional pole position, finishing 0.097 clear of Antonelli as the Italian driver secured a front-row start.
It was Mercedes power at the front with Norris ahead of Antonelli, Piastri, Russell, and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, with Verstappen the first non-Mercedes-powered car in sixth.
Seventh went to Lance Stroll in his Aston Martin, ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar, and Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg.
1. Lando Norris McLaren 1:09.243
2. Kimi Antonelli Mercedes +0.097
3. Oscar Piastri McLaren +0.185
4. George Russell Mercedes +0.252
5. Fernando Alonso Aston Martin +0.253
6. Max Verstappen Red Bull +0.337
7. Lance Stroll Aston Martin +0.428
8. Charles Leclerc Ferrari +0.482
9. Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls +0.532
10. Nico Hulkenberg Sauber +0.692
F1 results: Brazilian Grand Prix Sprint Qualifying 2 (SQ2)
Alonso set the fastest time of the opening few minutes of FQ2, with Stroll going three-tenths slower to make it an Aston Martin 1-3 as the pair were split by Hadjar.
A storming first sector from Verstappen was followed by a less impressive second and third sector to go fourth-quickest, while Norris and Piastri popped into second and third as the three championship contenders were still lagging behind Alonso’s 1:09.330.
Verstappen’s four-tenths deficit meant he quickly slid down the order to threaten his position in SQ3, although it was Ferrari who appeared in greatest danger of the expected frontrunners as both Leclerc and Hamilton had scruffy laps. Leclerc was just ninth, with Hamilton down in 11th, as the timer ticked down to three minutes remaining.
Also in the dropzone were Albon, Gasly, Bearman, and home hero Bortoleto.
Alonso held on to remain quickest ahead of Norris, while Russell improved on his second run to climb into third, ahead of Piastri, while there were no last-minute shocks as Hamilton failed to make it to the start/finish line in time to get a final lap in, not helped by yellow flags due to a spin from Leclerc in the middle sector.
His attempt to make it to the finish line suggested that he had accelerated past his stricken teammate, with the incident highlighted for investigation after the session.
Gasly was also unable to improve in the final minutes, having been forced to back off due to the yellows, meaning he joined Hamilton, Albon, Bortoleto, and Bearman on the sidelines.
Bolded drivers were knocked out in SQ2:
1. Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 1:09.330
2. Lando Norris McLaren +0.043
3. George Russell Mercedes +0.054
4. Oscar Piastri McLaren +0.086
5. Kimi Antonelli Mercedes +0.174
6. Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls +0.278
7. Lance Stroll Aston Martin +0.317
8. Max Verstappen Red Bull +0.377
9. Charles Leclerc Ferrari +0.402
10. Nico Hulkenberg Sauber +0.405
11. Lewis Hamilton Ferrari +0.481
12. Alex Albon Williams +0.483
13. Pierre Gasly Alpine +0.522
14. Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber +0.593
15. Oliver Bearman Haas +0.616
F1 results: Brazilian Grand Prix Sprint Qualifying 1 (SQ1)
With medium tyres mandatory for SQ1, it was a relatively slow start to the session as the two McLarens set the initial pace; Piastri ahead of Norris with a 1:10.285 for the Australian to go 0.025 clear of Norris.
Alonso went third-fastest, ahead of Hadjar and Stroll, while Hamilton and Leclerc didn’t have particularly strong first runs with seventh and ninth, respectively.
Halfway through the session, Verstappen put in his first lap to go fastest of all by almost two-tenths of a second, benefitting from a useful slipstream going up the hill out of Juncao.
Russell then took over at the front by just over half a tenth of a second, before a second lap from Norris put him top by over three-tenths of a second.
Piastri promptly responded to make it a McLaren 1-2 once again, with Russell keeping Verstappen out of the top three.
A second run from the Ferraris did little to inspire confidence that the first runs were an outlier, as Hamilton climbed to sixth, Leclerc eighth, but some seven-tenths of a second off the leading pace.
Heading into the final three minutes, the bottom five consisted of the two Williams drivers, Ocon, Colapinto, and Tsunoda – the Japanese driver having lost practice time in FP1 after damaging his car due to a crash.
Tsunoda remained in the bottom five, as did Sainz, Albon, and Colapinto, but Ocon escaped – to be replaced by Liam Lawson as the Kiwi driver got knocked out in 17th.
Replays showed Sainz had locked up on his final run in SQ1, as he took to team radio to complain about “the worst execution he’d ever seen”, while Lawson appeared completely bewildered by why he had ended up in the elimination zone.
Bolded drivers were knocked out in SQ1:
1. Lando Norris McLaren 1:09.627
2. Max Verstappen Red Bull +0.348
3. Fernando Alonso Aston Martin +0.384
4. Oscar Piastri McLaren +0.390
5. George Russell Mercedes +0.421
6. Oliver Bearman Haas +0.439
7. Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls +0.468
8. Pierre Gasly Alpine +0.470
9. Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber +0.590
10. Lewis Hamilton Ferrari +0.597
11. Alex Albon Williams +0.648
12. Charles Leclerc Ferrari +0.697
13. Lance Stroll Aston Martin +0.699
14. Nico Hulkenberg Sauber +0.706
15. Kimi Antonelli Mercedes +0.754
16. Franco Colapinto Alpine +0.814
17. Liam Lawson Racing Bulls +1.039
18. Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull +1.065
19. Esteban Ocon Haas +1.245
20. Carlos Sainz Williams +1.493
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