McLaren’s Norris to Start Sprint Race on Pole Position at Brazilian Formula One Grand Prix

McLaren driver Lando Norris of Britain, attends a press conference ahead of the Formula One Brazilian Grand Prix at the Interlagos race track in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

McLaren’s Lando Norris will start from the pole position at the sprint race of the Brazilian Grand Prix of Formula One on Saturday.

Norris clocked 1 minute, 10.622 seconds in a sunny morning at the historic track in Sao Paulo. Friday’s qualifying and practice sessions came in a cold, rainy and windy Friday afternoon that cut short the time drivers spent racing.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who has already secured this season’s title, will start from second place after finishing 0.061 seconds behind Norris.

Sergio Perez apparently recovered from his frustrating qualifying, which will make him start in ninth place at Sunday’s race, and finished the sprint race qualifying in third position. Mercedes’ George Russel and Lewis Hamilton come next, and AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda completes the third row for the sprint race.

The sprint race awards more points, but under new rules no longer counts as qualifying for the grand prix.

Norris sounded surprised with the result on team radio.

“Good job, I guess? (The lap) looks so bad, but so good,” the 23-year-old said.

Later he added to his disbelief speaking to broadcasters.

“Honestly it felt like one of the worst laps I’ve done, so I’m a bit surprised. My first pole in a long time, so I’m happy,” Norris said.

Sunday’s race will have Verstappen in pole position, as defined by Friday’s qualifying amid heavy rain and strong winds at Interlagos. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc will start in second position and the two Aston Martins of Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso will be in the second row.

Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton will start from the fifth spot on Sunday.

Very little is at stake in Sao Paulo. Verstappen won his third consecutive title in early October and Red Bull has already claimed the manufacturer championship.

Perez is second in the F1 standings and trying to block Hamilton, who cut the deficit from 39 points to 20 with three races remaining.

Alonso in Friday practice said the track was dirty and “not in Formula One standards.” Stewards worked to clean some of the turns as soon as practice was over, and as of Saturday conditions seemed to be improved.

On Friday, Formula One announced it has extended Interlagos’ contract until 2030. -AP

November 04, 2023