Lando Norris' fine pace that he showed at the Mexico City Grand Prix was brought to Interlagos, taking sprint pole position to continue his push for the World Championship.

Behind him were Kimi Antonelli and teammate Oscar Piastri, with George Russell, Fernando Alonso and Max Verstappen all close by. The Dutchman hugely disappointed with his P6 finish.

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko admitted that the Austrian team’s struggles might not be rescued by Verstappen during the Sprint, but McLaren team boss Andrea Stella refused to rule out the four-time champion — or anyone else.

Lewis Hamilton had a tricky day in Sao Paulo, with a trip to the stewards occurring after he failed to slow down for dou yellow flagsble after teammate Charles Leclerc spun.

That capped off a downbeat day for the seven-time world champion, who could only finish P11 in sprint qualifying and made it back-to-back SQ2 eliminations in front of his adoring fans in Brazil.

However, despite not slowing down under double yellow flags, only a reprimand was handed to the 40-year-old, with the stewards stating that the Brit had not seen the light signal originally, and when he saw the stricken Leclerc, he did not continue accelerating.

Before on-track action got underway at the Sao Paulo GP, Alpine made an official announcement on their full driver lineup for the 2026 season.

The French team announced a contract extension for Franco Colapinto, keeping him on the grid next season alongside Pierre Gasly.

It now means there are just three places left to be officially confirmed for the 2026 season, with Red Bull and the two Racing Bull seats left.