Title leader Norris takes Sao Paulo sprint pole

Lando Norris took pole position for the sprint race at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix with McLaren team-mate and title rival Oscar Piastri in third.
Norris beat Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli by 0.097 seconds, while Piastri was 0.185secs adrift of the Briton in third.
Norris took the championship lead from Piastri by one point with victory in Mexico City two weeks ago.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, the only other realistic title contender at 36 points behind Norris, could manage only sixth, beaten by Mercedes’ George Russell and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso.
Lewis Hamilton was knocked out in the second session and qualified 11th in his Ferrari, his final lap in the second session ruined when team-mate Charles Leclerc spun in front of him out of Turn 10.
Hamilton also faces an investigation for failing to slow sufficiently for the yellow flags waved when Leclerc lost control.
Norris topped all three sessions in sprint qualifying and had a comfortable advantage over Piastri throughout.
He said: “It was a little bit tougher than I would have liked. But we did the job we needed to do, which was to be fastest today.
“Qualifying is always one of the best things here. It’s difficult, it’s bumpy, it’s tricky, always a joy, always puts a smile on your face.
“But a long weekend, another qualifying and another couple of races to go but a good start.”
Rain is forecast for Saturday morning in Sao Paulo, when the sprint race is due to start at 14:00 GMT. Qualifying for the grand prix is at 18:00.
Piastri, who comes to Brazil after two difficult races in the US and Mexico, said: “The soft [tyres mandated in the final session] was a bit different to what I expected, a couple of big moments on my first lap, which wasn’t ideal.
“That was a shame but ultimately I felt much happier than the last couple of weeks. We can definitely fight with what we’ve got and there are a lot more points on Sunday.”
Verstappen complained over the radio to the team that his car was “undriveable”.
He added: “A lot of vibration in the car, a lot of ride problems. Not what we want. But besides that we also don’t have the grip, just can’t get the car to turn but at the same time and can’t really rely on the rear.
“For us, quite poor, I would say. It is quite clear we are lacking something. I am not expecting that to be much better in the wet. But we’ll see tomorrow.”
Norris’ result is the best possible start to the weekend and gives him the opportunity to build his championship lead – eight points are awarded to the winner of the sprint, seven for second and so on down to eighth place.
Antonelli impressed in second, his best time set on his first lap, while the surprise package of qualifying was Alonso, who set the fastest time in the second session and was just 0.253secs off pole in his midfield car in the final shootout.
His team-mate Lance Stroll was seventh fastest, ahead of Leclerc, Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar and Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg.