São Paulo, 2 November 2024 (dpa/MIA) - Oscar Piastri beat McLaren team-mate and title contender Lando Norris to take pole position for the sprint race at the Formula One Brazilian Grand Prix on Friday.

Norris had clocked a strong time to go almost three tenths clear of Piastri, but the Australian improved to post the best time of 1 minute 08.899 seconds.

"It was a tricky session but I’m happy to have qualified on pole. My first lap didn’t feel amazing so I knew I could improve, and my second lap felt good and the tyres held on. I’ll try and win but we’ll see," Piastri said.

Norris skipped his second lap and finished 0.029s behind Piastri, while Charles Leclerc of Ferrari completed the top three.

"A little bit surprised we were so quick today, but a pleasant one. A good first lap, made too many mistakes on my second so boxed. Just too many mistakes," Norris said.

Verstappen hungry for extra sprint points

Leclerc will be joined in the second row by three-time world champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull, who has won every sprint race so far this year.

The Dutchman will be desperate to grab some extra points in the sprint race on Saturday after receiving a five-place grid penalty for Sunday's race for fitting in a new power unit to his car, exceeding the season's allowance.

Verstappen is on a run of 10 winless races and since his last victory in Spain on June 23 he saw his championship lead over Norris be cut to 47 points.

His Red Bull team, meanwhile, fell to third in the constructors' championship, but motorsport advisor Helmut Marko said the decision to fit a new power engine in such a delicate moment of the season was because the Interlagos track offers good overtaking opportunities.

Bearman surprises, Hamilton and Perez disappoint

Carlos Sainz in the other Ferrari was fifth, followed by George Russell of Mercedes, Pierre Gasly of Alpine, Visa RB's Liam Lawson and the Williams of Alex Albon.

Oliver Bearman completed the top 10, failing to improve his time after he had a lap deleted for track limits. He's replacing the unwell Kevin Magnussen at Haas, where he will get a full-time seat at next season.

Haas confirmed late on Friday that Magnussen is out for the remainder of the Brazilian GP and that Bearman will continue to race for the team this weekend.

Local fans' favourite Lewis Hamilton suffered a shock exit in the second part of qualifying and will start the sprint in 11th.

Sergio Perez, who finished his home Mexican GP last weekend in 17th, again disappointed and managed only the 13th best time.

Sprint race and qualifying for Sunday's main event are on Saturday.

Photo: archive