Provisional starting grid in Brazil | Mercedes and Red Bull prevail

Mercedes and Red Bull Racing will start Saturday's sprint race of the Brazilian Grand Prix at the front. While Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas can be found in first and third place, Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez occupy the second and fourth spots.

The Austrian team was the slight favourite for victory this weekend, but thanks to the replacement of Hamilton's combustion engine Mercedes managed to set a strong first day. Hamilton was faster in free practice and qualifying and will now start the sprint race in Brazil.

Ferrari also did well in qualifying. Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc set sixth and seventh fastest times respectively, keeping them ahead of McLaren. Pierre Gasly again made a positive impact with a fifth place finish.

Qualifying was bad news for George Russell. The British driver, who will switch to Mercedes, had to acknowledge his superiority to his teammate Nicholas Latifi. The Canadian finished one place ahead of him.

1. Lewis Hamilton
2. Max Verstappen
3. Valtteri Bottas
4. Sergio Perez
5. Pierre Gasly
6. Carlos Sainz
7. Charles Leclerc
8. Lando Norris
9. Daniel Ricciardo
10. Fernando Alonso
11. Esteban Ocon
12. Sebastian Vettel
13. Yuki Tsunoda
14. Kimi Räikkönen
15. Antonio Giovinazzi
16. Lance Stroll
17. Nicholas Latifi
18. George Russell
19. Mick Schumacher
20. Nikita Mazepin