Valtteri Bottas made it back-to-back pole positions by beating Max Verstappen to finish first in Sprint Qualifying for the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Championship leader Verstappen will be hoping to take the lead at Turn 1, just as he did last week in Mexico City.
Carlos Sainz held off Sergio Perez on Saturday to line up in third place, with Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc on row three.
It's an all-French fourth row as AlphaTauri's Pierre Gasly and Alpine's Esteban Ocon start next to each other, just in front of Sebastian Vettel in the Aston Martin.
Lewis Hamilton, who trails Verstappen by 21 points in the Drivers' Championship, will start from 10th place having made his way up to fifth in Sprint Qualifying with a stunning drive through the field.
The seven-time World Champion took on a fifth Internal Combustion Engine prior to the weekend, which has triggered a five-grid place penalty. He will be looking to replicate his impressive form in Sunday's 71-lap race around Interlagos.
Further behind, Daniel Ricciardo and Fernando Alonso both had poor starts on Saturday so will be looking to turn things around by getting it right when the lights go out at 14:00 local time (17:00 UK time).
Nicholas Latifi managed to stay ahead of Williams teammate George Russell to officially outqualify him for the second time this season.
The Haas pair of Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin will make up the last places on the grid, while Alfa Romeo's Kimi Raikkonen will start from the pit lane after his team elected to fit him with a new specification rear wing for the Grand Prix.
Starting Grid: F1 2021 Brazilian Grand Prix
| Position | Driver | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes |
| 2 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull |
| 3 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari |
| 4 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull |
| 5 | Lando Norris | McLaren |
| 6 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari |
| 7 | Pierre Gasly | AlphaTauri |
| 8 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine |
| 9 | Sebastian Vettel | Aston Martin |
| 10 | Lewis Hamilton* | Mercedes |
| 11 | Daniel Ricciardo | McLaren |
| 12 | Fernando Alonso | Alpine |
| 13 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo |
| 14 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin |
| 15 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri |
| 16 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams |
| 17 | George Russell | Williams |
| 18 | Mick Schumacher | Haas |
| 19 | Nikita Mazepin | Haas |
| PL | Kimi Raikkonen* | Alfa Romeo |
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In this article
- Brazilian Grand Prix 2021
- Formula 1
- Formula 1 2021
- Formula 1 news
- F1
- F1 news
- Mercedes
- Lewis Hamilton
- Valtteri Bottas
- Red Bull Racing
- Max Verstappen
- Sergio Perez
- Ferrari
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- McLaren
- Lando Norris
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Visa Cash App RB
- Pierre Gasly
- Yuki Tsunoda
- Alpine F1 Team
- Fernando Alonso
- Esteban Ocon
- Williams
- George Russell
- Nicholas Latifi
- Aston Martin
- Sebastian Vettel
- Lance Stroll
- Haas F1 Team
- Mick Schumacher
- Nikita Mazepin
- Stake F1 Team
- Kimi Raikkonen
- Antonio Giovinazzi
F1 2021 Brazilian Grand Prix RN365 News dossier
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