Oscar Piastri edged out his McLaren teammate Lando Norris to secure the top spot in sprint qualifying at the 2024 Brazilian Grand Prix, while Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc took third ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
The McLaren drivers dominated qualifying, opting for different strategies in SQ3 than their competitors. The Papayas took to the track early on the soft tires used throughout the first two sessions, as rain clouds gathered and track temperatures dropped. Thanks to the softer compound introduced for the 2024 event, the McLarens had no issues getting the tires up to temperature and maintaining performance on the newly resurfaced track.
Norris clocked an impressive 1m08.928s on his initial run, with Piastri close behind, before both returned to the pits—Norris for a front wing adjustment and Piastri for a direct run-through, then went out for another lap on the same set of softs.
Saturday's #F1Sprint starting line-up 👀#F1 #BrazilGP pic.twitter.com/2mXXCIGzKm
— Formula 1 (@F1) November 1, 2024
Piastri capitalized on his second run to edge past Norris by 0.029s with a 1m08.899s, while Britt abandoned his attempt after struggling in the middle sector. Among the drivers who completed only one flying lap in SQ3, Leclerc emerged as the fastest, with Verstappen taking fourth and recent Mexico GP winner Carlos Sainz fifth in the second Ferrari. George Russell finished as Mercedes’ only representative in SQ3, followed by Pierre Gasly, Liam Lawson, Alex Albon, and Bearman to complete the top 10.
Piastri braces for major sacrifice following Brazilian GP sprint pole
Last year, Piastri turned his sprint pole into a win at the Qatar Grand Prix, but this season presents more challenges with the championship still undecided. While Piastri remains in the title race by a slim margin, he’s likely to fall out of contention this weekend. Norris, on the other hand, remains in the hunt and must secure maximum points in each remaining race, with four Grands Prix left on the calendar.
After clinching the pole, Piastri told Sky Sports he would follow team orders and forgo victory if it would help boost Norris’ title chances.
“Yes, I said I would [be prepared to give up victory] when we had these discussions,” he said. “We’ll see what the pace is like for both of us. First and second is the first objective; then we’ll see what order it is. I know I’m not in the running for the drivers standings, and for the team, it doesn’t matter which way around we are.”
Norris trails Verstappen by 47 points heading into Saturday’s sprint race and the Dutchman will be given a 5-place grid penalty in Sunday’s main event for taking a 6th new engine this season.
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Mohd Faisal Hakak is a sports author from Kashmir. He likes to keep tabs on the sporting world with a keen interest in football, motorsports, NBA, and other marquee sports. He is a science graduate from Islamia College Srinagar.
