Verstappen will start ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll after the one-hour qualifying session, which is split into three segments with five cars each being knocked out in Q1 and Q2 before the top-10 shootout of Q3.
As this is a sprint weekend format, these sessions set the grid for Sunday’s race and have no impact on Saturday’s sprint event.
Brazilian GP qualifying results: Verstappen on pole from Leclerc
| Cla | Nº | Driver | Car / Engine | Time | Delay |
| 1 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull/Honda RBPT | 1'10.727 | |
| 2 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1'11.021 | 0.294 |
| 3 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin/Mercedes | 1'11.344 | 0.617 |
| 4 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin/Mercedes | 1'11.387 | 0.660 |
| 5 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1'11.469 | 0.742 |
| 6 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren/Mercedes | 1'11.987 | 1.260 |
| 7 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jr. | Ferrari | 1'11.989 | 1.262 |
| 8 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1'11.590 | 0.863 |
| 9 | 11 | Sergio Pérez | Red Bull/Honda RBPT | 1'12.321 | 1.594 |
| 10 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren/Mercedes | - | - |
| 11 | 27 | Nico Hülkenberg | Haas/Ferrari | 1'10.547 | -0.180 |
| 12 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas/Ferrari | 1'10.723 | -0.004 |
| 13 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams/Mercedes | 1'10.840 | 0.113 |
| 14 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine/Renault | 1'10.562 | -0.165 |
| 15 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine/Renault | 1'10.567 | -0.160 |
| 16 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri/Honda RBPT | 1'10.837 | 0.110 |
| 17 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | AlphaTauri/Honda RBPT | 1'10.843 | 0.116 |
| 18 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo/Ferrari | 1'10.955 | 0.228 |
| 19 | 2 | Logan Sargeant | Williams/Mercedes | 1'11.035 | 0.308 |
| 20 | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | Alfa Romeo/Ferrari | 1'11.275 | 0.548 |
What happened in Brazilian GP Q1?
Mercedes’ George Russell set the pace at 1m10.0340s, although he was under investigation for impeding Pierre Gasly’s Alpine at the pit exit, a tenth clear of Verstappen and Leclerc.
Falling at the first hurdle were Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri) and his team-mate Daniel Ricciardo, Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo), Logan Sargeant (Williams) and Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo).
Brazilian GP Grand Prix Q1 results: Russell fastest from Verstappen
| Cla | Nº | Driver | Car / Engine | Time | Delay | Laps |
| 1 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1'10.340 | 9 | |
| 2 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull/Honda RBPT | 1'10.436 | 0.096 | 9 |
| 3 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1'10.472 | 0.132 | 6 |
| 4 | 27 | Nico Hülkenberg | Haas/Ferrari | 1'10.475 | 0.135 | 9 |
| 5 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren/Mercedes | 1'10.519 | 0.179 | 6 |
| 6 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin/Mercedes | 1'10.551 | 0.211 | 7 |
| 7 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin/Mercedes | 1'10.557 | 0.217 | 9 |
| 8 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas/Ferrari | 1'10.602 | 0.262 | 9 |
| 9 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1'10.604 | 0.264 | 9 |
| 10 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams/Mercedes | 1'10.621 | 0.281 | 9 |
| 11 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren/Mercedes | 1'10.623 | 0.283 | 4 |
| 12 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jr. | Ferrari | 1'10.624 | 0.284 | 9 |
| 13 | 11 | Sergio Pérez | Red Bull/Honda RBPT | 1'10.668 | 0.328 | 8 |
| 14 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine/Renault | 1'10.763 | 0.423 | 9 |
| 15 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine/Renault | 1'10.793 | 0.453 | 8 |
| 16 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri/Honda RBPT | 1'10.837 | 0.497 | 9 |
| 17 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | AlphaTauri/Honda RBPT | 1'10.843 | 0.503 | 6 |
| 18 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo/Ferrari | 1'10.955 | 0.615 | 9 |
| 19 | 2 | Logan Sargeant | Williams/Mercedes | 1'11.035 | 0.695 | 9 |
| 20 | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | Alfa Romeo/Ferrari | 1'11.275 | 0.935 | 9 |
What happened in Brazilian GP Q2?
McLaren’s Lando Norris set the fastest time at 1m10.021s, 0.14s quicker than Verstappen.
Knocked out at this point were Nico Hulkenberg (Haas, who was angry about being balked by a Ferrari), Esteban Ocon (Alpine) and his team-mate Pierre Gasly, Kevin Magnussen (Haas) and Alex Albon (Williams, who lost his fastest time due to exceeding track limits).
Brazilian GP Grand Prix Q2 results: Norris fastest from Verstappen
| Cla | Nº | Driver | Car / Engine | Time | Delay | Laps |
| 1 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren/Mercedes | 1'10.021 | 6 | |
| 2 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull/Honda RBPT | 1'10.162 | 0.141 | 6 |
| 3 | 11 | Sergio Pérez | Red Bull/Honda RBPT | 1'10.219 | 0.198 | 6 |
| 4 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin/Mercedes | 1'10.237 | 0.216 | 6 |
| 5 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jr. | Ferrari | 1'10.254 | 0.233 | 8 |
| 6 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1'10.266 | 0.245 | 9 |
| 7 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1'10.303 | 0.282 | 9 |
| 8 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1'10.316 | 0.295 | 9 |
| 9 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren/Mercedes | 1'10.330 | 0.309 | 7 |
| 10 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin/Mercedes | 1'10.375 | 0.354 | 6 |
| 11 | 27 | Nico Hülkenberg | Haas/Ferrari | 1'10.547 | 0.526 | 6 |
| 12 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine/Renault | 1'10.562 | 0.541 | 6 |
| 13 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine/Renault | 1'10.567 | 0.546 | 6 |
| 14 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas/Ferrari | 1'10.723 | 0.702 | 6 |
| 15 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams/Mercedes | 1'10.840 | 0.819 | 6 |
What happened in Brazilian GP Q3?
Having avoided any rain from the threatening dark clouds thus far, teams sent their drivers straight out in Q3.
Verstappen set the bar at 1m10.727s, three tenths ahead of Leclerc. Then the rain arrived, and the session was red flagged and not resumed.
Aston Martin locked out the second row, with Stroll just ahead of Fernando Alonso. The Mercedes duo of Hamilton and Russell took the third row, ahead of Norris in seventh and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz.
Oscar Piastri spun his McLaren off the track at Juncao as the rain arrived. That also delayed Sergio Perez, who could only manage ninth.
On Friday evening, race stewards handed two-place grid penalties to Russell, Ocon and Gasly – which drops them to eighth, 14th and 15th respectively.
Brazilian GP Q3 results: Verstappen takes pole
| Cla | Nº | Driver | Car / Engine | Time | Delay | Laps |
| 1 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull/Honda RBPT | 1'10.727 | 3 | |
| 2 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1'11.021 | 0.294 | 3 |
| 3 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin/Mercedes | 1'11.344 | 0.617 | 3 |
| 4 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin/Mercedes | 1'11.387 | 0.660 | 3 |
| 5 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1'11.469 | 0.742 | 3 |
| 6 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1'11.590 | 0.863 | 3 |
| 7 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren/Mercedes | 1'11.987 | 1.260 | 3 |
| 8 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jr. | Ferrari | 1'11.989 | 1.262 | 3 |
| 9 | 11 | Sergio Pérez | Red Bull/Honda RBPT | 1'12.321 | 1.594 | 3 |
| 10 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren/Mercedes | - | - | 2 |
