Kiwi Liam Lawson has qualified in the top 10 for the F1 Sao Paulo sprint race, heading off his nearest rivals for a fulltime seat in the Red Bull Racing team next year.
Aussie Oscar Piastri grabbed pole for the 24-lap event on Sunday (NZ time), clocking 1m 08.899s — a full second faster than Lawson in Q3 — pipping championship contender Lando Norris (1m 08.928s), with defending champion Max Verstappen in fourth (1m 09.219s).
Several big names exited the qualifying stages early, with two-time champion Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll failing to guide their Mercedes pas the first stage, and seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton the big casualty in Q2.
Lawson's Racing Bulls teammate, Yuki Tsunoda, finished 18th, while Sergio Perez, whose seat is under threat for 2025, was faster than Lawson in Q1, but could not match the rookie in the next stage, slipping to 13th on the grid.
Lawson began his account with 1m 10.576s in Q1 for 12th fastest time, but knocked more than seven-tenths of a second off that (1m 09.827s) for ninth fastest in the next stage. He could not match that in Q3 (1m 09.9451s), but was still faster than Alexander Albon and Oliver Bearman, filling in for an ill Kevin Magnussen at Haas.
The full grid is:
1. Oscar Piastri (McLaren), 2. Lando Norris (MacLaren), 3.Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), 4. Max Verstappen (Red Bull), 5. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari), 6. George Russell ( Mercedes), 7. Pierre Gasly (Alpine), 8. Liam Lawson (RB), 9. Alexander Albon (Williams), 10. Oliver Bearman (Haas), 11. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), 12. Nico Hulkenberg (Mercedes), 13. Sergio Perez (Red Bull), 14. Franco Colapinto (Williams), 15. Valtteri Bottas (Kick Sauber), 16. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin), 17. Esteban Ocon (Alpine Renault), 18. Yuki Tsunoda (RD), 19.Lance Stroll (Aston Martin), 20. Zho Guanyu (Kick Sauber)
Meanwhile, Verstappen has received a five-place grid penalty in the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, after he again decided to change his engine.
His move could improve the chances of McLaren's Lando Norris in Monday's race to reduce the Dutchman's 47-point lead.
The FIA confirmed the Verstappen decision on Saturday. Drivers are allowed to use four engines throughout the season, but Verstappen is up to six.
Verstappen served a 10-place grid penalty for using his fifth engine at July’s Belgian GP.
During his press conference on Friday, Verstappen expressed doubts about whether he would change his engine for Brazil.
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