Oscar Piastri Clinches Sprint Pole in Sao Paulo, Edging Teammate

Oscar Piastri Clinches Sprint Pole in Sao Paulo, Edging Teammate Norris by Just 0.029s

In a thrilling finish at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix Sprint Qualifying, Oscar Piastri outpaced McLaren teammate Lando Norris by a mere 0.029 seconds to secure pole position for Saturday’s Sprint race. Piastri’s final lap time of 1m 08.899s came in SQ3, just enough to narrowly edge out Norris, who had led through SQ1 and SQ2.

Norris appeared set for pole after his opening run in SQ3, only for Piastri to deliver a stunning final lap. Charles Leclerc put his Ferrari in third, ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who will be aiming to extend his impressive Sprint-winning streak from fourth on the grid. Carlos Sainz qualified fifth in the other Ferrari.

Mercedes’ George Russell claimed P6, while Alpine’s Pierre Gasly took seventh, showing solid pace. Liam Lawson impressed with P8 for Red Bull, followed by Alex Albon in P9 for Williams. Haas substitute Ollie Bearman completed the top 10 but did not set a lap in SQ3 due to a deleted time for track limits.

Big Names Eliminated in SQ2

SQ2 saw some notable exits, including Lewis Hamilton, who ended up 11th for Mercedes, and Red Bull’s Sergio Perez in 13th, with Perez unable to complete a final lap due to time constraints. Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg qualified in 12th, with Williams’ Franco Colapinto and Kick Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas rounding out the runners in SQ2 in P14 and P15, respectively.

Early Exits for Aston Martin in SQ1

In SQ1, Aston Martin had a tough start as both drivers were eliminated early. Fernando Alonso was pushed down to P16, while teammate Lance Stroll managed only P19. Alpine’s Esteban Ocon, Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda, and Zhou Guanyu in the other Kick Sauber also missed the cut, finishing in P17, P18, and P20 respectively.

The drivers faced cooler track conditions than earlier in the day during the initial SQ1 session. Piastri set the early pace with a lap of 1m 10.265s, placing himself two-tenths clear of Hulkenberg, who followed closely, with Lawson in third.

With the starting grid now set for Saturday’s Sprint race, fans eagerly await another intense showdown between McLaren teammates Piastri and Norris at the iconic Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace circuit in