The 2025 Formula 1 season may be winding down.

But the standings are heating up.

Max Verstappen’s sweep of the United States Grand Prix at the end of October, where he won both the F1 Sprint race as well as the United States Grand Prix, brought the four-time Drivers’ Champion right into the thick of the 2025 title chase. But Lando Norris responded with a dominant performance at the Mexico City Grand Prix, and now leads his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri by a single point — 357 to 356 — with Verstappen just 36 points back, sitting on 321.

And while McLaren already clinched a second consecutive Constructors’ Championship, the fight for second in the standings mirrors the battle for the Drivers’ Championship. At the moment Ferrari has a one-point lead over Mercedes — 356 to 355 — with Red Bull closing the gap thanks to Verstappen’s recent form. Right now Red Bull has 346 points on the year, just ten points behind Ferrari and nine behind the Silver Arrows.

That means … every point counts.

This weekend’s São Paulo Grand Prix is the penultimate F1 Sprint weekend of the 2025 season, and shortly the field will set the starting grid for tomorrow’s F1 Sprint race, where eight points go to the winner. Lando Norris led the way in the one and only hour of practice earlier today, with Piastri just 0.023 seconds off his teammate’s pace.

It was a tough session for Verstappen and Red Bull, as the four-time champion finished P17 and Yuki Tsunoda, who had an incident early in the session, finished in P20.

Still, anything can happen when the lap times count for real.

Update: Lando Norris has taken pole position for the F1 Sprint race at the São Paulo Grand Prix. Read on to see the entire grid, and how it unfolded at Interlagos.

São Paulo Grand Prix provisional Sprint grid

Here is the provisional starting order for the F1 Sprint at the São Paulo Grand Prix, which will be filled in throughout the session.

São Paulo Grand Prix F1 Sprint qualifying

Follow along here as qualifying for the F1 Sprint race at the São Paulo Grand Prix unfolds.

12 minutes went on the clock, and the 20 cars had the mandatory C3 medium tires bolted on as the session began. Yuki Tsunoda was the first driver to roar out of his garage, followed shortly by Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.

Norris set the early marker with a 1:10.311, only to be nipped by Piastri with a 1:10.286 as the McLarens threw down the gauntlet to open the session.

The first effort from Charles Leclerc came in at 1:10.762, nearly a half-second behind Piastri and only good for P7. He was shortly dropped to P8 thanks to teammate Lewis Hamilton, and then hometown hero Gabriel Bortoleto pumped in a strong lap of his own to drop Leclerc to P9.

Then it was over to Max Verstappen for his initial push lap. The Red Bull driver only used the C2 hard tires during the single hour of practice, which saw him down in P17 when the session came to a close. Verstappen went purple through Sector 1 on his initial attempt and came in at 1:10.107, putting him up in P1 for the moment.

Norris answered on his next push lap, as he went purple through both Sector 1 and Sector 2 with a thunderous effort, rocketing to the top of the timing sheet with a 1:09.702, putting him more than four-tenths of a second ahead of Verstappen, and more than three-tenths ahead of George Russell, who was now in P2.

Piastri’s second push lap was better than both Russell and Verstappen, but he could not catch Norris, and the Australian settled into P2 for the moment.

With three minutes remaining in SQ3, the three drivers at risk of elimination were Alexander Albon, Esteban Ocon, Franco Colapinto, Carlos Sainz Jr., and Yuki Tsunoda.

Perhaps the biggest surprise at this point? Pierre Gasly, who was up in P5. The trip to São Paulo brought back some great memories for Alpine, as Gasly and Ocon delivered a stunning double-podium result at this race a year ago, helping Alpine finish sixth in the Constructors’ Championship.

Final runs then began, with Tsunoda’s last effort only good enough for P13. That shortly became P14 thanks to a lap from Oliver Bearman, who rocketed up to P4 on his final attempt.

Tsunoda’s situation got worse when Albon came across the line with an effort good enough for P6, and then a lap from Brotoleto dropped Tsunoda into the elimination zone, and he was knocked out.

So too were Colapinto, Liam Lawson, Ocon, and Carlos Sainz Jr.

At the sharp end of the grid, Norris led the way followed by Verstappen, Fernando Alonso, Piastri, Russell, Bearman, Isack Hadjar, Gasly, Bortoleto, and Hamilton rounding out the top ten.

SQ2 came next, with ten minutes put on the clock and 15 drivers fighting for exactly ten spots. Hometown hero Bortoleto led the field out, followed by fellow rookie Bearman, Nico Hülkenberg, and Albon.

Hülkenberg’s time of 1:09.735 set the benchmark, but the Sauber veteran was quickly nipped by Alonso and Lance Stroll. Then it was Leclerc, whose first effort was good for P4.

The first lap from Hamilton, however, was only good for P5, which quickly became P6 thanks to Verstappen. But the Red Bull driver’s opening gambit was not the fastest from the field, as he slid into P3, and was dropped to P4 thanks to Hadjar’s opening salvo, as the Visa Cash App Racing Bulls driver jumped into P2.

That became P3 when the first effort from Norris saw the McLaren driver slide into second behind Alonso. Norris stayed in P2 after Piastri’s first lap, as the Australian driver’s first push lap came in good enough for third.

After the first set of push laps, here was the running order:

Alonso
Norris
Piastri
Russell
Antonelli
Hadjar
Stroll
Verstappen
Leclerc
Hülkenberg
Hamilton
Albon
Gasly
Bearman
Bortoleto

The clock struck two minutes, and the final push laps of SQ2 began. Hadjar was among the first to make their final runs, but a slip at Turn 10 impacted his lap, and he cut the beam with a 1:09.808, which kept him down in P6.

Verstappen’s final lap was only good enough for eighth, leaving the door open for a shocking elimination given some quick drivers that were still on the track, and behind him on the timing page.

Then came a bit of bad luck, as a spin from Leclerc brought out the yellow flag right in front of Hamilton, who had to ease off the throttle. With Hamilton down in P11, that meant he was out, along with Albon, Gasly, Bortoleto, and Bearman.

But with SQ2 in the books, the ten drivers moving on could do so knowing the soft C4 tires were now available for the final segment of F1 Sprint qualifying.

Those ten drivers finished SQ2 as follows:

Alonso
Norris
Russell
Piastri
Antonelli
Hadjar
Stroll
Verstappen
Leclerc
Hülkenberg

Could anyone catch Alonso?

That was not the question that faced the grid when Friday began, but it was the question that everyone faced as eight minutes were put on the clock for the final segment of F1 Sprint qualifying. The veteran posted the fastest time in SQ2, setting the stage for a dramatic conclusion to the session.

The Mercedes pair of Russell and Antonelli were the first two to attack the circuit on the C4 soft tires, followed by Leclerc, and then the McLaren pair of Piastri and Norris.

Russell set the benchmark, but his time was quickly eclipsed by both Antonelli, and then Norris, who thundered across the line with a 1:09.271 with a lap that was good for P1. Of those five drivers that went early Norris led the way, followed by Antonelli, Russell, Piastri, and Leclerc.

The other five drivers — Hülkenberg, Alonso, Hadjar, Stroll, and Verstappen — remained in the garage.

One of those drivers was celebrating a bit of an anniversary, as it was 15 years ago that Hülkenberg delivered a shocking performance to take pole position at the 2010 Brazilian Grand Prix. But his first lap on this day was only good for sixth, more than six-tenths off the time set by Norris.

Piastri then began his second push lap, having gone with a push-cool-push approach. But that lap was only good for third. Norris found a bit more time on his second push lap, improving to 1:09.243.

As for Verstappen, who posted the fastest Sector 1 in SQ3? His final two sectors saw the time fall off, and he cut the beam down in P6.

When the checkered flag flew it was Norris at the front of the field, ahead of Antonelli, Piastri, and Russell to set the first two rows.

“It was a little bit tougher than I would have liked,” said Norris to Jamie Chadwick trackside after the session. “We did the job we needed to do, which was to be fastest today.”