Lando Norris continued his perfect weekend by qualifying on pole position for a São Paulo Grand Prix in which Max Verstappen has it all to do for the second successive year following a disastrous outing.
Norris, who made his first mistake of the weekend with a lock-up into Turn 1 on his first run in Q3 and was 10th on the timesheet, made amends the second time around with a superb lap of 1:09.511s, finishing 0.174s ahead of Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, a mirror image of the front row for the sprint.
It is Antonelli's best grid slot for a grand prix, and he becomes the third youngest driver in F1 history to start on the front row.
Charles Leclerc lines up third in his Ferrari, followed by Oscar Piastri, who again has work to do to reel in McLaren team-mate Norris who was quickest in the sole practice session, fastest in all three sessions for sprint qualifying, victor in the sprint, and quickest in all three qualifying sessions.
Astonishingly, Verstappen's weekend went from bad to worse, after qualifying sixth for the sprint in which he finished fourth, as Red Bull suffered a 19-year low.
Verstappen will start from a shocking 16th on the grid, his first Q1 exit since the 2021 Russian Grand Prix, and his first on pure pace - and the only one previously in his F1 career - since the 2017 Chinese GP, with the other six all power unit-related.
The four-time F1 champion bemoaned a lack of grip with his RB21, and that was evident throughout his various laps.
Last year at Interlagos, Verstappen started 17th and managed to win the race, but rain came to his aid that day. The forecast on this occasion is for a dry Sunday.
Unless Verstappen can conjure another miracle drive, it could be the end of his title hopes following a stunning recent run of three wins in the past five grands prix that had propelled him back into the fight.
To compound Red Bull's misery, team-mate Yuki Tsunoda will start 19th, posting the slowest time, as Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto did not take part. It is the first time since the 2006 Japanese GP that Red Bull has failed to get either car out of Q1.
Result Qualification - Brazilian
Verstappen joined by Hamilton in early exit
Whilst the sight of Tsunoda dropping out in Q1 has not been unusual this season, the fact Verstappen joined him was sensational.
Verstappen posted a best lap of 1:10.403s, finishing eight-tenths of a second adrift of Norris' leading time. Tsunoda was a further three-tenths of a second behind his team-mate.
Sandwiched in between the two RB21s will be Haas driver Esteban Ocon and Franco Colapinto in his Alpine.
Colapinto, following a heavy crash in the sprint, took part in qualifying after his Alpine team changed the chassis and gearbox, whilst previously used power unit elements were also fitted.
Last on the grid will be home hero Gabriel Bortoleto, who suffered a monstrous 57g crash late in the sprint. Despite the exhaustive efforts of his Sauber team to repair the car, he was unable to return to the track for qualifying.
In Q2, it was another miserable qualifying outing for Lewis Hamilton in his Ferrari. After starting 11th for the sprint, the seven-time F1 champion will line up 13th after a poor final sector on his final flying lap.
Surprisingly, after Aston Martin duo Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll qualified fifth and seventh for the sprint, they joined Hamilton in getting knocked out in Q2, with the duo to start 11th and 14th.
Williams pair Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz were also knocked out in Q2, and they will start 12th and 15th.
Norris finished the session quickest again with a 1:09.616s, with Bearman surprisingly his nearest challenger, 0.139s off the pace.
With key players out in the first two sessions, the top 10 had an unfamiliar look.
Behind the top four, Racing Bulls duo Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson start fifth and seventh, either side Mercedes' George Russell.
Bearman lines up eighth ahead of Alpine's Pierre Gasly and Nico Hulkenberg in his Sauber.
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