Lando Norris took home the victory in the F1 Sprint race Saturday morning at Interlagos.
But the big points in São Paulo are handed out tomorrow.
Norris’ win in the F1 Sprint race at the São Paulo Grand Prix — coming as teammate and Drivers’ Championship rival Oscar Piastri crashed in the early going — extended his lead over Piastri to nine points. Norris now leads the way with 365 points, followed by Piastri in second with 356. Max Verstappen finished fourth in the F1 Sprint race to pick up five points, increasing his season tally to 326.
Norris has a bit of momentum as qualifying looms, coming off a win in both the Mexico City Grand Prix as well as the F1 Sprint race at Interlagos.
Now we will see if Piastri can respond.
The Australian driver, who led the Drivers’ Championship for 15 races until Norris regained the lead after the Mexico City Grand Prix, has endured a difficult stretch over the past month. After winning the Dutch Grand Prix, Piastri finished third at Monza. From there, he crashed out of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, crashed out of the F1 Sprint race in Austin, and as noted above, crashed out in São Paulo earlier today.
He left Zandvoort with a 34-point lead over Norris, and a 104-point lead over Verstappen. Since then, Verstappen has closed to within 30 points of him, and Norris has taken the Drivers’ Championship lead.
But the team to watch just might be Mercedes. Kimi Antonelli finished second, and George Russell finished third, in the F1 Sprint race earlier today. The Silver Arrows are locked in a three-way fight for second in the Constructors’ Championship, and might be on the front foot this weekend in Brazil.
Follow along as the grid is set for the São Paulo Grand Prix.
São Paulo Grand Prix provisional grid
Here is the provisional starting order for the São Paulo Grand Prix, which will be filled in throughout the session.
Row |
Position |
Driver |
Team |
Position |
Driver |
Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Row 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||
| Row 2 | 3 | 4 | ||||
| Row 3 | 5 | 6 | ||||
| Row 4 | 7 | 8 | ||||
| Row 5 | 9 | 10 | ||||
| Row 6 | 11 | 12 | ||||
| Row 7 | 13 | 14 | ||||
| Row 8 | 15 | 16 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | ||
| Row 9 | 17 | Esteban Ocon | Haas | 18 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine |
| Row 10 | 19 | Yuki Tsunoda | Red Bull | 20 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Sauber |
São Paulo Grand Prix qualifying
Follow along here as qualifying for the São Paulo Grand Prix unfolds.
The start of qualifying was delayed by five minutes as race officials made repairs to the barriers following a crash in a support race, which was welcome news down at the Sauber garage. After Nico Hülkenberg’s crash early in the F1 Sprint race and Gabriel Bortoleto’s hard shunt in the closing laps, the team was furiously repairing Hülkenberg’s car while building a new one using the backup chassis for Bortoleto.
When the session began, it was the Williams pair of Carlos Sainz Jr. and Alexander Albon on the track first, followed by none other than Hülkenberg. Sauber had managed to get his C45 ready for the start of Q1, while they continued to work on Bortoleto’s challenger.
Those were just installation laps for the Williams duo, as both Sainz and Albon returned to the pits rather than attempt a push lap.
Hülkenberg then returned to pit lane himself, with Sauber likely wanting to confirm that the repairs were in working order.
Lap times started to come in, with Liam Lawson leading the way early. Piastri’s first lap came on a set of used soft tires, and a lockup at Turn 1 hampered the entire lap; his initial effort was only good for P7. As additional times came in, Piastri’s time tumbled down the order, and he was soon shuffled down to P12.
Norris, however, delivered a strong opening gambit as he went purple through all three sectors and jumped to the top of the table with a 1:10.404 effort.
Verstappen’s first effort was only good enough for P4, as he was behind Norris, Lawson, and Oliver Bearman.
He was then dropped to fifth, as Lewis Hamilton rocketed to the top of the timing sheets with a 1:10.233.
Down at Sauber, the mechanics continued to work on Bortoleto’s C45, but time was running out.
As the clock struck ten minutes remaining, Bortloleto remained in the garage, and in the drop zone. Down in the bottom five with him? Pierre Gasly, Yuki Tsunoda, Franco Colapinto, and none other than Piastri, whose opening lap was eventually dropped down to P18.
But there was time to be found on the circuit, evidenced by a lap from Bearman that came in at 1:09.891, putting the Haas rookie into P1 for the moment. That was probably a welcome sight for Piastri, whose second attempt clocked in at 1:09.928, sliding him into P2 behind Bearman.
That lap was one of several that dropped Verstappen into the elimination zone, as the four-time Drivers’ Champion was sitting in P16 with six minutes remaining in Q1. Verstappen found some clear air on his next push lap as he had Interlagos largely to himself, and his second lap of Q1 clocked in at 1:10.727.
Which kept him in P16, in the elimination zone along with Colapinto, Esteban Ocon, Tsunoda, and Bortoleto.
“Oh my god mate, the car and the ride is a tiny bit better but now sliding in Turn 1,” reported Verstappen over the radio as he crawled back around the circuit.
As the final push laps were posted, Norris went back to P1, going purple once more through all three sectors with a 1:09.656. Lance Stroll jumped into P5 with a solid lap, and a strong effort from Isack Hadjar put him into P7.
Hadjar was dropped down to P7 when Charles Leclerc cut the beam with a lap good enough for P4.
Then Verstappen finished his final push lap, and as Alex Jacques noted, the “day of shocks continues,” as his lap was only good enough for P16.
Verstappen had been eliminated, along with Ocon, Colapinto, Tsunoda, and Bortoleto, as the Sauber crew could not make the repairs in time.
If it is any solace for Verstappen, he won in the rain from P17 at Interlagos a year ago.
At the front end, a stunning lap from Gasly saw him finish Q1 in P2. Norris led the way, followed by Gasly, Bearman, Piastri, Leclerc, Russell, Hamilton, Stroll, Hadjar, and Lawson to round out the top ten.
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![Kevin Knight is here, he’s hungry, and ready to take over AEW Kevin Knight’s rise has been nothing short of stratospheric. A year that began with Knight having a promising run as one of All Elite Wrestling’s up-and-coming stars morphed over the course of 2026 into something much, much larger. Knight captured individual gold by winning the TNT Championship in April, and now he’s on the precipice of the biggest match of his career. Knight will stand across the ring from AEW World Champion Kenny Omega at Redemption in Montreal, headlining a pay-per-view and looking to shatter expectations in the process.I talked with Knight this week in the lead up to his match against Omega to learn what makes him tick as a wrestler, understand the decision behind joining The Don Callis Family, and learn that in a world of heroes and villans, Knight is perfectly comfortable to exist in the grey area.A turning point for Knight came in May at Double or Nothing when he shocked the world by turning on Darby Allin and joining with Don Callis to close the show. It felt like a staggering rejection of his role as fan-favorite inside the company, but it was clinical for Knight. This wasn’t about trying to become hated, but trying to elevate himself.“The goal has stayed the same,” Knight says, “become Jet 2 Belts.” Not only does he want to hold onto his TNT title, but to win the AEW World Championship as well, asserting himself at the top. “I saw the opportunity to overtake this company after Double or Nothing and figured I need to invest in myself.“Getting myself with the Don Callis Family and, seeing how he moves and how, how he’s brought so many championships to AEW, it was a no-brainer, and it’s been nothing but success ever since.”Knight speaks plainly in a business so influenced by emotion. Joining Callis wasn’t a conscious decision to make fans angry or to reject his longtime friend “Speedball” Mike Bailey, but came about organically, as with any difficult change an athlete needs to make. The NFL player demanding a trade, the NBA star making a decision — Knight is walking the same line.“He’s [Callis] been here from day one, and he’s seen people come and go. He’s seen all different types of performers, so he snatched me up. I was tagged with Speedball Mike Bailey, and he had a smile, and he was just naive to the politics of it all. [Don’s] smartened me up, giving me another angle, another perspective in attacking this game that we call wrestling.”If pro wrestling is a game, then Kenny Omega is its final boss. Not only is “The Best Bout Machine” the world champion, but he is also regarded as one of the greatest wrestlers of all time. Knight might have faced a lot of challenges, but fighting Omega in Canada for a championship is on a different level. Still, Knight feels like he might have an edge — and he’s excited to“Always attack his weaknesses, attacking his weaknesses and, and knowing who he is as a person, and, and capitalizing on those weaknesses. Don Callis has known Kenny a long, long, long time, so he’s priming me up. He’s giving me some game on Kenny’s blind spots. We all love Kenny as a person, but he’s careless in some ways — so, whenever I see those openings, I’m definitely gonna definitely going to attack, take advantage.”It’s not lost on Knight that a majority of wrestling fans are writing him off on Sunday. The lingering perception is that Omega will win, move on to All In at Wembley Stadium, and have another epic match against Will Ospreay. That’s a narrative Knight isn’t willing to accept.“People are expecting this long-life anime fantasy between Omega and Osprey. Redemption is gonna be a change of course, and we’re gonna see a new era. We’re gonna see a new superstar rise to the top. I laugh at the people who look past this match. I use it as more fuel, because I love being a spoiler.”It’s big talk, but Kevin Knight has backed it up in recent months. He’s on a nine-match win streak, perfectly part of his “vision board,” which includes winning the AEW World Heavyweight Title, and then involves becoming the face of the company.“If all goes to plan, Jet Two Belts becomes a reality this upcoming Sunday, and I don’t see myself relinquishing it for anybody, that comes my way. I think I will let up and maybe relinquish the TNT title or, you know, let the other people have a little bit of fun. don’t wanna take up all the time at AEW, but AEW is gonna be set up in the next 6 months if The Jet is on top.”The groundwork for this run, this chance at the championship is built on the backs of people who lifted up Kevin Knight along the way. I asked him for his personal wrestling Mount Rushmore, the individuals who have meant the most to him during his career.“Katsuyori Shibata and Kushida, because they helped mold me. From a young lion to my first couple of tours in New Japan and being able to do Impact as well alongside Kushida. Those two guys definitely mean a lot to me. I gotta throw in there Speedball Mike Bailey because one of my first tours in Japan, one of my first matches in TNA/ Impact was against him, and then, of course, our whole run as Jet Speed and everything that we’ve been able to accomplish together. It means a lot to me, on a sentimental level. Fourth, I would like to give it up to Tony Khan just for believing in me and giving me the opportunity to go out there and show the world who and what I am, giving me the opportunity to try new things and just always encouraging me.”This is only the beginning for Kevin Knight, who will be a staple of the pro-wrestling landscape for a long, long time — win or lose.Kevin Knight will face Kenny Omega at AEW Redemption, which will air on Sunday, July 26 from CentreBell in Montreal, Canada, beginning at 6 p.m. ET #Kevin #Knight #hes #hungry #ready #AEW](https://i1.wp.com/platform.sbnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/knight.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C4.865499187579%2C100%2C90.269001624842&ssl=1 "Kevin Knight is here, he’s hungry, and ready to take over AEW Kevin Knight’s rise has been nothing short of stratospheric. A year that began with Knight having a promising run as one of All Elite Wrestling’s up-and-coming stars morphed over the course of 2026 into something much, much larger. Knight captured individual gold by winning the TNT Championship in April, and now he’s on the precipice of the biggest match of his career. Knight will stand across the ring from AEW World Champion Kenny Omega at Redemption in Montreal, headlining a pay-per-view and looking to shatter expectations in the process.I talked with Knight this week in the lead up to his match against Omega to learn what makes him tick as a wrestler, understand the decision behind joining The Don Callis Family, and learn that in a world of heroes and villans, Knight is perfectly comfortable to exist in the grey area.A turning point for Knight came in May at Double or Nothing when he shocked the world by turning on Darby Allin and joining with Don Callis to close the show. It felt like a staggering rejection of his role as fan-favorite inside the company, but it was clinical for Knight. This wasn’t about trying to become hated, but trying to elevate himself.“The goal has stayed the same,” Knight says, “become Jet 2 Belts.” Not only does he want to hold onto his TNT title, but to win the AEW World Championship as well, asserting himself at the top. “I saw the opportunity to overtake this company after Double or Nothing and figured I need to invest in myself.“Getting myself with the Don Callis Family and, seeing how he moves and how, how he’s brought so many championships to AEW, it was a no-brainer, and it’s been nothing but success ever since.”Knight speaks plainly in a business so influenced by emotion. Joining Callis wasn’t a conscious decision to make fans angry or to reject his longtime friend “Speedball” Mike Bailey, but came about organically, as with any difficult change an athlete needs to make. The NFL player demanding a trade, the NBA star making a decision — Knight is walking the same line.“He’s [Callis] been here from day one, and he’s seen people come and go. He’s seen all different types of performers, so he snatched me up. I was tagged with Speedball Mike Bailey, and he had a smile, and he was just naive to the politics of it all. [Don’s] smartened me up, giving me another angle, another perspective in attacking this game that we call wrestling.”If pro wrestling is a game, then Kenny Omega is its final boss. Not only is “The Best Bout Machine” the world champion, but he is also regarded as one of the greatest wrestlers of all time. Knight might have faced a lot of challenges, but fighting Omega in Canada for a championship is on a different level. Still, Knight feels like he might have an edge — and he’s excited to“Always attack his weaknesses, attacking his weaknesses and, and knowing who he is as a person, and, and capitalizing on those weaknesses. Don Callis has known Kenny a long, long, long time, so he’s priming me up. He’s giving me some game on Kenny’s blind spots. We all love Kenny as a person, but he’s careless in some ways — so, whenever I see those openings, I’m definitely gonna definitely going to attack, take advantage.”It’s not lost on Knight that a majority of wrestling fans are writing him off on Sunday. The lingering perception is that Omega will win, move on to All In at Wembley Stadium, and have another epic match against Will Ospreay. That’s a narrative Knight isn’t willing to accept.“People are expecting this long-life anime fantasy between Omega and Osprey. Redemption is gonna be a change of course, and we’re gonna see a new era. We’re gonna see a new superstar rise to the top. I laugh at the people who look past this match. I use it as more fuel, because I love being a spoiler.”It’s big talk, but Kevin Knight has backed it up in recent months. He’s on a nine-match win streak, perfectly part of his “vision board,” which includes winning the AEW World Heavyweight Title, and then involves becoming the face of the company.“If all goes to plan, Jet Two Belts becomes a reality this upcoming Sunday, and I don’t see myself relinquishing it for anybody, that comes my way. I think I will let up and maybe relinquish the TNT title or, you know, let the other people have a little bit of fun. don’t wanna take up all the time at AEW, but AEW is gonna be set up in the next 6 months if The Jet is on top.”The groundwork for this run, this chance at the championship is built on the backs of people who lifted up Kevin Knight along the way. I asked him for his personal wrestling Mount Rushmore, the individuals who have meant the most to him during his career.“Katsuyori Shibata and Kushida, because they helped mold me. From a young lion to my first couple of tours in New Japan and being able to do Impact as well alongside Kushida. Those two guys definitely mean a lot to me. I gotta throw in there Speedball Mike Bailey because one of my first tours in Japan, one of my first matches in TNA/ Impact was against him, and then, of course, our whole run as Jet Speed and everything that we’ve been able to accomplish together. It means a lot to me, on a sentimental level. Fourth, I would like to give it up to Tony Khan just for believing in me and giving me the opportunity to go out there and show the world who and what I am, giving me the opportunity to try new things and just always encouraging me.”This is only the beginning for Kevin Knight, who will be a staple of the pro-wrestling landscape for a long, long time — win or lose.Kevin Knight will face Kenny Omega at AEW Redemption, which will air on Sunday, July 26 from CentreBell in Montreal, Canada, beginning at 6 p.m. ET #Kevin #Knight #hes #hungry #ready #AEW")
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