F1 Sprint Qualifying Results: Max Verstappen flops as McLaren claim Brazil pole

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.

Interlagos has hosted a sprint race every year since the format was introduced in 2021, but no driver is yet to claim the victory more than once, with Valtteri Bottas, George Russell, Max Verstappen and Lando Norris having all won a 100km race in Sao Paulo in the last four years.

Pole position will provide whichever driver who manages to claim it an advantage heading into the 24-lap race on Saturday.

F1 Sprint Qualifying Results: Brazilian Grand Prix 2025

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.

F1 RESULTS TODAY: Max Verstappen way off the pace with Red Bull LAST at Brazilian Grand Prix

Written by

Kerry Violet - F1 News Editor

Having graduated from the University of Sheffield with a 2:1 in Journalism in 2022, Kerry continued her pursuit of finding a full-time position in motorsport through work with the F1 Arcade in London, where she got to meet true fans of the sport and make a live grand prix watch party memorable for them. It was here that she confirmed her dream of combining her background in journalism and love of motorsport, going on to volunteer with the female-led platform Empoword Journalism. Having completed stints as a screen editor and sports editor, Kerry landed her first F1-specific editorial role with GPFans and has thoroughly enjoyed continuing to work closely with the sport ever since. The access GPFans offers Kerry has allowed her to interview big names such as Naomi Schiff and David Coulthard and given her experiences she could only have dreamt of as a young F1 fan.

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