Lando Norris took a stunning pole position for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix as Max Verstappen fell out of qualifying at the first hurdle.
Briton Norris set a best effort of a 1:09.511s to clinch top spot from Kimi Antonelli, though that doesn’t tell the whole story of a topsy-turvy session with shocks throughout the grid.
Charles Leclerc will line up third for Ferrari to keep tabs on the Mercedes rookie in the race for second in the constructors’ standings.
F1 Brazilian Grand Prix: Q3 results
McLaren Racing
In a surprising session, Oscar Piastri set the fastest lap during the initial runs of Q3, with Leclerc and Oliver Bearman the duo sat within a tenth of the Australian.
Norris, however, was 10th fastest having locked up into Turn 1 and left himself with an uphill task to join his teammate and championship rival at the front of the grid.
But when it came down to the critical stages of the session, it was the Briton who excelled and ultimately dominated proceedings to clinch pole ahead of Antonelli in a repeat of the sprint front row.
Leclerc managed to overcome Ferrari’s struggles to take third ahead of Piastri, who faces losing more ground in the championship race despite battling back from his sprint crash earlier in the day.
Isack Hadjar continued his fine rookie season with a fifth for Racing Bulls, as teammate Liam Lawson came in seventh, as the junior team outshone the parent outfit.
George Russell was only sixth for Mercedes, having given up with soft tires and switching to mediums, with Bearman eventually eighth, Pierre Gasly a brilliant ninth for Alpine, and Nico Hulkenberg 10th in his first Q3 appearance of the season.
Position / Driver / Team
Gap [s]
1. Lando Norris / McLaren
1:09.511
2. Kimi Antonelli / Mercedes
+0.174
3. Charles Leclerc / Ferrari
+0.294
4. Oscar Piastri / McLaren
+0.375
5. Isack Hadjar / Racing Bulls
+0.420
6. George Russell / Mercedes
+0.431
7. Liam Lawson / Racing Bulls
+0.451
8. Oliver Bearman / Haas
+0.486
9. Pierre Gasly / Alpine
+0.491
10. Nico Hulkenberg / Sauber
+0.528
F1 Brazilian Grand Prix: Q2 results
❌ ELIMINATED IN Q2 ❌
Alonso
Albon
Hamilton
Stroll
Sainz#F1 #BrazilGP pic.twitter.com/XHJpk3me35
— Formula 1 (@F1) November 8, 2025
Lewis Hamilton failed to reach the final segment of qualifying for the second day in a row after struggling for rear grip in his Ferrari.
The seven-time champion could manage only 13th and was left shaking his head on his cooldown lap returning to the pits.
Fernando Alonso couldn’t back up his Friday top 10 and missed out by just 0.016s, with Alex Albon joining him on an Aston Martin-Williams sixth row on the grid.
Hamilton is joined by Lance Stroll in the second Aston Martin on row seven, with Carlos Sainz’s struggles this weekend continuing as he labored to the 15th fastest attempt.
Position / Driver / Team
Gap to Q3 [s]
11. Fernando Alonso / Aston Martin
+0.016
12. Alex Albon / Williams
+0.068
13. Lewis Hamilton / Ferrari
+0.115
14. Lance Stroll / Aston Martin
+0.276
15. Carlos Sainz / Williams
+0.587
F1 Brazilian Grand Prix: Q1 results
Max Verstappen after failing to reach Q2 in qualifying for the 2025 Sao Paulo Grand Prix at Interlagos. | Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
A confusing first segment dominated by an ever-evolving track surface led to the biggest qualifying shock of the season with Verstappen bowing out in 16th.
Complaining of having “zero grip” at the wheel of his Red Bull, he failed to advance into Q2 for the first time since the 2021 Russian Grand Prix at Sochi and the first time in his career he has failed on pure pace.
It is a huge blow to his already slim title aspirations and will lead to a frantic engineering debrief to try and come up with a damage limitation plan for the grand prix.
Esteban Ocon was 17th for Haas ahead of Franco Colapinto after a herculean effort from Alpine to get the car ready after his sprint crash, while Yuki Tsunoda was 19th to underline a dreadful afternoon for the team.
Home hero Gabriel Bortoleto was unable to take part in qualifying despite being passed fit after his massive shunt in the sprint, with the Sauber mechanics unable to repair the extensive damage in time.
A team spokesperson said: “The crew did a formidable job trying to get Gabriel’s car ready for qualifying. Unfortunately, it was not possible to get him out in time for him to set a lap, but this should not detract from the effort every single team member in the garage put in.
“We will now shift our focus to the race.”
Position / Driver / Team
Gap to Q2 [s]
16. Max Verstappen / Red Bull
+0.066
17. Esteban Ocon / Haas
+0.101
18. Franco Colapinto / Alpine
+0.295
19. Yuki Tsunoda / Red Bull
+0.374
20. Gabriel Bortoleto / Sauber
No Time
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