Oscar Piastri has managed to secure an impressive pole position for the Sprint at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, beating his McLaren teammate Lando Norris by just two hundredths of a second in the final moments.
Norris had been leading the way in the previous sessions, showing his pace ahead of the competition. However, Piastri was able to outperform him in the final session, clinching the pole position with a lap time of 1m 08.899s, just 0.029s ahead of Norris.
In third place, Charles Leclerc from Ferrari put up a good performance, followed by Max Verstappen in fourth for Red Bull and Carlos Sainz in fifth for Ferrari. Other notable drivers in the top 10 included George Russell in sixth for Mercedes, Pierre Gasly in seventh for Alpine, and Liam Lawson in eighth for Red Bull.
Unfortunately, big names like Lewis Hamilton and Sergio Perez failed to make the cut for the final segment, finishing in 11th and 13th place respectively. Haas’s Nico Hulkenberg qualified in 12th, while Franco Colapinto and Valtteri Bottas also exited Sprint Qualifying in 14th and 15th place.
Aston Martin faced a double elimination in the early stages, with Fernando Alonso finishing in 16th and Lance Stroll in 19th. Other drivers who left the competition early included Esteban Ocon in 17th, Yuki Tsunoda in 18th, and Zhou Guanyu in 20th place.
The Sprint Qualifying session saw Norris dominating and claiming the fastest lap time, while other drivers like Piastri, Leclerc, and Perez also showed strong performances. The grid is now set for the Sprint race on Saturday, where the drivers will compete for a chance to improve their starting positions for the main race.
Piastri expressed his satisfaction with his pole position win, highlighting the challenging conditions of the track and the competitive nature of the session. With the Sprint race on the horizon, fans can look forward to an exciting battle between the drivers as they aim for a strong performance in Sao Paulo.