SAO PAULO, Brazil — Oscar Piastri will start Saturday’s Sprint Race for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix from the pole.
The McLaren driver turned a lap of one minute and 8.899 seconds to edge teammate Lando Norris by a mere .029 seconds as the duo will share the front row for the Sprint at the Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace.
“I felt pretty comfortable at the start, and the grip was really coming up a lot through the session,” Piastri said. “My first lap didn’t feel amazing, and I knew that there were a few places to improve. The second lap was good, and the tires hung on. I’m very, very happy and excited to be starting from P1.”
Charles Leclerc slotted his Ferrari in third, ahead of Max Verstappen – who will be hoping to continue his consecutive run of Sprint victories – in fourth for Red Bull, while Carlos Sainz was fifth in the Scuderia’s other car.
George Russell qualified sixth for Mercedes.
With Kevin Magnussen battling an illness, Oliver Bearman got the call for Haas F-1 and earned the 10th starting position.
Verstappen will be assessed a five-position grid penalty for Sunday’s grand prix because of an engine change in his Red Bull entry.