Four-time F1 champion Max Verstappen flopped at the wheel of his RB21 during sprint qualifying at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The Dutchman labelled his Red Bull as being ‘completely broken’ and ‘undriveable’ on Friday before losing out to his title rival and championship leader Lando Norris, after the McLaren star picked up pole position for the sprint race in Sao Paulo.
Norris’ triumph on Friday marks his first sprint pole since Qatar 2024 and therefore, the first of the season in the 100km format for the Brit.
Rookie driver Kimi Antonelli surprised by putting his Mercedes second fastest on the timesheet, splitting Norris from his team-mate and fellow title contender Oscar Piastri.
Antonelli’s own team-mate George Russell will line up alongside the Aussie driver on the second row for Saturday’s sprint having finished qualifying in P4 and two-time champion Fernando Alonso rounded out the top five fastest drivers after impressing in SQ1 and SQ2.
A double yellow flag was waved with just seconds to go in SQ2 after Charles Leclerc suffered a clumsy spin at the wheel of his SF-25, with his error also meaning that his seven-time champion team-mate Lewis Hamilton failed to make it to the line in time.
As a result, Hamilton will start Saturday’s sprint race all the way down in P11 and to make matters worse, is being investigated by the FIA stewards for a yellow flag infringement.
F1 Sprint Qualifying Results: Brazilian Grand Prix 2025
| Position | Driver | Team | Time/Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 1:09.243 |
| 2 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | +0.097s |
| 3 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | +0.185s |
| 4 | George Russell | Mercedes | +0.252s |
| 5 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | +0.253s |
| 6 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | +0.337s |
| 7 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | +0.428s |
| 8 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | +0.482s |
| 9 | Isack Hadjar | Racing Bulls | +0.532s |
| 10 | Nico Hulkenberg | Kick Sauber | +0.692s |
| 11 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | OUT IN SQ2 |
| 12 | Alex Albon | Williams | OUT IN SQ2 |
| 13 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | OUT IN SQ2 |
| 14 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Kick Sauber | OUT IN SQ2 |
| 15 | Oliver Bearman | Haas | OUT IN SQ2 |
| 16 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine | OUT IN SQ1 |
| 17 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls | OUT IN SQ1 |
| 18 | Yuki Tsunoda | Red Bull | OUT IN SQ1 |
| 19 | Esteban Ocon | Haas | OUT IN SQ1 |
| 20 | Carlos Sainz | Williams | OUT IN SQ1 |
How does F1 sprint qualifying work?
The qualifying session is split into three finite windows, which provide a dramatic prelude to Saturday’s race.
The bottom five drivers are eliminated at the end of SQ1, with a further five eliminated after SQ2.
Then, SQ3 gives us a shootout between the remaining 10 drivers in the battle for positions at the front of the grid.
