Leader of the World Championship drivers Formula 1, the British Lando Norris, from McLarenwill start on Saturday from the first position in the sprint race of the Brazilian Grand Prix, in Sao Paulo.
Norris, who had earlier been the fastest driver in free practice, set the best lap of the third qualifying session for the sprint at the Interlagos circuit this Friday, with a time of 1:09.243 minutes.
The Italian Kimi Antonelli, from Mercedes, and his McLaren teammate, the Australian Oscar Piastri, took the second and third fastest times, respectively.
Antonelli clocked 1:09.340 and Piastri had a time of 1:09.428.
“We did what we had to do”
“We did the job. We did what we had to do, which was be the fastest today,” Norris said, although he expressed that “it was a little more difficult” than he would have “liked.”
“Many cars were very close,” explained the 25-year-old Briton, who two weeks ago returned to the top of the drivers’ World Championship with his victory in the Mexican Grand Prix.
“I didn’t feel completely comfortable, but it’s still a great result,” he added.
Piastri had a similar feeling.
“It wasn’t ideal,” but “I felt a little happier than in the last couple of weeks. We can fight with what we have,” said the Australian.
The sprint race will be held on Saturday starting at 11:00 a.m. local (2:00 p.m. GMT).
With four races left until the end of the season, Norris leads the World Championship with 357 points, one more than Piastri. Third is the Dutch four-time champion Max Verstappen (Red Bull), 36 units behind the leader.
Verstapen (6th) will start on the second row in the sprint alongside the British George Russell (4th), from Mercedes, and the Spanish Fernando Alonso (5th), from Aston Martin.
The Top-10 of the session was completed by Canadian Lance Stroll (7th), Alonso’s teammate at Aston Martin; the Monegasque Charles Leclerc (8th), from Ferrari; the Frenchman Isack Hadjar (9th), from Racing Bulls, and the German Nico Hülkenberg (10th), from Sauber.
Bortoleto, eliminated in Q2
The first local to race in the Brazilian Grand Prix since 2017, Gabriel Bortoleto passed the first cut of the sprint classification, but came in second. His last predecessor in the appointment is Felipe Massa.
Bortoleto (14th), from Sauber, was eliminated in Q2 along with the British Lewis Hamilton (11th/Ferrari), the Thai Alex Albon (12th/Williams), the Frenchman Pierre Gasly (13th/Alpine) and the British Oliver Bearman (15th/Hass).
The rookie and local idol regretted not having been able to pass Q2, although he said he was “happy to be driving here in front of the fans.”
“Apologies for not having gone to Q3,” he told Brazilian television.
Alonso was the fastest in this cut.
The five drivers who did not survive Q1 were the Argentine Franco Colapinto (16th/Alpine), the New Zealander Liam Lawson (17th/Racing Bulls), the Japanese Yuki Tsunoda (18th/Red Bull), the Frenchman Esteban Ocon (19th/Haas) and the Spanish Carlos Sainz Jr (20th/Williams).
