Lando Norris claimed pole position for Saturday's Sprint at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix as his title rivals Oscar Piastri took third and Max Verstappen was only sixth.

Championship leader Norris set two laps good enough for Sprint pole as he beat Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli by 0.097s and Piastri by nearly two tenths.

It is a continuation of Norris' strong form as he turned around a 34-point deficit to Piastri into a one-point lead in the Drivers' Championship with four rounds to go.

Verstappen never looked like challenging at the front and is set to see his 36-point disadvantage to Norris increase after Saturday's Sprint at 2pm (build-up from 1pm), live on Sky Sports F1 and Sky Sports Main Event.

Red Bull struggled throughout Friday and Verstappen will be relying on the threat of heavy rain to repeat his Sao Paulo heroics from 12 months ago when he took a stunning win in the rain.

George Russell was fourth with Aston Martin pair Fernando Alonso in fifth and Lance Stroll in seventh, either side of Verstappen.

Lewis Hamilton suffered a second consecutive SQ2 elimination in Interlagos as he was partly hampered by a late spin for Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc.

Leclerc's pirouette meant nobody could improve their lap times, so Hamilton's banker lap proved not good enough and he also faces an investigation for speeding under yellow flags when going past Leclerc, who qualified eighth.

Racing Bulls' Isack Hadjar was ninth and Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg rounded out the top 10.

Red Bull's Yuki Tsunoda had a difficult day after hitting the wall in Practice and was knocked out in 18th, along with Liam Lawson - two drivers who are understood to be battling over a seat at Racing Bulls in 2026.

Alpine announced on Friday that Franco Colapinto would remain with the team next year but the Argentine was only 16th in his first competitive outing since the news.

More to follow...

Saturday November 8
1pm: Sao Paulo GP Sprint build-up
2pm: SAO PAULO GP SPRINT*
3.30pm: Ted's Sprint Notebook
5pm: Sao Paulo GP Qualifying build-up
6pm: SAO PAULO GP QUALIFYING
8pm: Ted's Qualifying Notebook

Sunday November 9
3.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday: Sao Paulo GP build-up
5pm: THE SAO PAULO GRAND PRIX
7pm: Chequered Flag: Sao Paulo GP reaction
8pm: Ted's Notebook

*also on Sky Sports Main Event

Formula 1's thrilling title race continues in Brazil with a Sprint weekend at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix from this Friday, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW - no contract, cancel anytime