McLaren Duo Dominates as Piastri Outpaces Norris, Ferrari and Red Bull Left Chasing
In a nail-biting finish to sprint qualifying for the Brazilian Grand Prix, McLaren’s Oscar Piastri pulled off a last-minute lap to steal pole position from teammate Lando Norris, setting a time of 1m08.899s. Norris had looked unbeatable through SQ1 and SQ2 and led for much of SQ3 until Piastri’s stunning lap edged him out by a razor-thin 0.029 seconds. Norris, who aborted his final lap after a series of small mistakes, was visibly disappointed, admitting to “too many errors” in his last run.
Behind the McLaren duo, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc secured third, though he couldn’t close the gap to McLaren’s dominant pace. Meanwhile, F1 points leader Max Verstappen, struggling with balance in his Red Bull, managed only fourth, sandwiched between the Ferraris. Carlos Sainz, last week’s Mexican GP winner, rounded out the top five for Ferrari, and George Russell took sixth in the lone Mercedes to reach SQ3.
Pierre Gasly impressed again in his Alpine, claiming seventh, just ahead of Liam Lawson’s strong showing in the second Red Bull. Alex Albon secured ninth for Williams, while Haas’s stand-in driver Ollie Bearman took 10th, despite a final-lap mishap in SQ3 that saw his initial eighth-fastest lap deleted for track limits.
This weekend is a critical one for Sergio Perez, as the Mexican driver’s future with Red Bull remains uncertain. Perez, granted a switch to a new chassis, showed early promise by outpacing Verstappen in SQ1 but failed to capitalize in SQ2, ending up 13th—marking Red Bull’s worst sprint qualifying position this year. Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes also faced disappointment, exiting in 11th in SQ2, alongside Haas’s Nico Hulkenberg, Williams’ Franco Colapinto, and Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas, who made it to SQ2 for the first time since April’s sprint weekend in Shanghai.
Aston Martin’s struggles continued, with both Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll failing to advance past SQ1, placing 16th and 19th, respectively. Alonso’s former teammate Esteban Ocon in the Alpine and Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda joined them among the bottom five, alongside Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu, who was 2.1 seconds slower than teammate Bottas.
With Piastri on pole and McLaren looking strong, the Brazilian GP sprint promises high stakes and intense competition as teams push for critical points.
