Lando Norris Beats out Red Bull to Claim Pole Position for the Sao Paulo Sprint

Lando Norris found redemption in the sprint shootout this morning claiming pol ahead of Max Verstappen and and Sergio Perez. Norris edged out Verstappen by 0.061s in a nail biter qualifying session. “A great day, but honestly it felt like one of the worst laps I’ve done so it’s a surprise,” said Norris. “My first pole in a long time so I’m happy. The pace has been good all weekend, the car has been strong. It’s a tough one, the Bulls are always quick, Max is very quick. I’ll give it my all.” Sergio Perez found some much needed damage control pace in the sprint shootout. He finish P9 in qualifying for the Grand Prix and will look to score maximum points in the Sprint race with the improved position.

The most important aspect of this finish is that Perez is ahead of Lewis Hamilton. If Perez can extend his lead over Hamilton in the Sprint it will help with damage control in the Grand Prix.

Ocon and Alonso Crash Out of SQ1

Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso made contact in SQ1 which brought out the red flag. Ocon was not able to get his car repaired. Aston Martin attempted to turn Fernando’s car around to get him back out on track but the efforts would prove futile. Alonso and Stroll were both below the cut off for SQ2.

Ricciardo Continues Good Form

Daniel Ricciardo secured P9 in the sprint shootout which puts him in good points scoring position. His teammate Yuki Tsunoda finished P6 to secure a double top 10 finish for Alpha Tauri. With both cars in points scoring position it could be a good start to the weekend for an Alpha Tauri team who desperately wants to return to mid pack contention.

Full Sprint Shootout Results