The Brazilian Grand Prix qualifying at Interlagos delivered an extremely competitive session, with Lando Norris securing a brilliant pole position ahead of Kimi Antonelli and Charles Leclerc. Here’s a detailed summary and full results of the qualifying session ahead of Sunday’s race.
Q1 Summary: Shocking exit for Max Verstappen
The first part of qualifying saw Oscar Piastri still facing some challenges following his Sprint Race incident. On his first flying lap, the Australian made a mistake at Turn 1, locking up the front-left tire and setting a significantly slower time. Some drivers, including Leclerc, Gasly, and the Aston Martins, initially used the medium tires, while everyone switched to soft tires for the second attempt.
Piastri recovered in his second attempt, setting a time sufficient to pass the cut in fourth place. Meanwhile, Max Verstappen also struggled after his first run, starting as the fastest eliminated driver. He was unable to improve sufficiently in subsequent laps, complaining about a lack of grip, and will start from 16th place, over seven-tenths off the pace.
The fastest driver in Q1 was Norris, followed by Gasly and Bearman. Bortoleto was unable to participate in qualifying at his home GP due to his Sprint Race crash.
Eliminated in Q1: Verstappen (P16), Ocon (P17), Colapinto (P18), Tsunoda (P19), Bortoleto (P20)
Q2 Summary: Hamilton struggles
Q2 saw Bearman again among the fastest, leading ahead of Piastri and Norris, while Antonelli and Russell initially set the fastest times in the first run. Leclerc had to abort his first flying lap due to oversteer at the start of sector two. After the first run, he was 13th, while his teammate Lewis Hamilton was 10th.
After the second attempt, Lando Norris once again set the fastest time, ahead of Bearman and Antonelli. Hamilton fell to 13th and was eliminated, unable to improve, while Leclerc managed fourth place ahead of Oscar Piastri.
Eliminated in Q2: Alonso (P11), Albon (P12), Hamilton (P13), Stroll (P14), Sainz (P15)
Q3 Summary: Norris spectacular, Antonelli impressive!
In Q3, Piastri initially set the provisional pole by just 0.002 seconds ahead of Leclerc, partly due to an error by Norris in sector one, locking his front-left tire at Turn 1. Bearman remained among the fastest, just 0.08 seconds off Piastri, ahead of the Mercedes of Antonelli and Russell.
On the second and final attempt, Lando Norris confirmed his pole position with a 1:09.511, ahead of Kimi Antonelli and Charles Leclerc. Oscar Piastri settled for fourth. Notably, George Russell chose medium tires for his final run, a strategy that ultimately did not pay off.
Qualifying Results – Brazilian GP 2025
Lando Norris (McLaren) 1m09.511s
Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) 1m09.685s
Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 1m09.805s
Oscar Piastri (McLaren) 1m09.886s
Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) 1m09.931s
George Russell (Mercedes) 1m09.942s
Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) 1m09.962s
Ollie Bearman (Haas) 1m09.977s
Pierre Gasly (Alpine) 1m10.002s
Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber) 1m10.039s
Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) 1m10.001s
Alex Albon (Williams) 1m10.053s
Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) 1m10.100s
Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) 1m10.161s
Carlos Sainz (Williams) 1m10.472s
Max Verstappen (Red Bull) 1m10.403s
Esteban Ocon (Haas) 1m10.438s
Franco Colapinto (Alpine) 1m10.632s
Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull) 1m10.711s
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