Welcome to Total-Motorsport.com’s F1 live blog for Sprint Qualifying at the 2024 Brazilian GP! The Sprint weekend format adds extra excitement to an already unpredictable Grand Prix at Interlagos, where the resurfaced 4.309km circuit and fresh asphalt are creating new challenges for drivers and engineers alike.
This unique format means that today’s Sprint Qualifying session will determine the grid for the Sprint race itself, offering drivers a chance to secure valuable points before Sunday’s main event.
The revised structure could play a key role in the title race between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris, with every point increasingly critical in the championship battle and eight up for grabs for the winner.
And as Verstappen takes a five-place grid drop for the Grand Prix on November 3, he must make sure he gets a big result to limit the damage which might be why he focused exclusively on race pace in FP1 as Norris topped the session.
Will the new surface shake up the grid and keep teams on their toes? Let’s find out as we dive into Sprint Qualifying live at the F1 2024 Brazilian GP!
2024 Brazilian GP FP1 LIVE – Latest Updates
Stay tuned and follow along live with Total-Motorsport.com for all the news and latest updates from Interlagos as Free Practice 1 at the 2024 Brazilian GP gets underway.
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Will Oscar Piastri move aside for Lando Norris on Saturday?
McLaren introduced team orders after the 2024 Italian GP as they said Oscar Piastri will start to play the secondary game to Lando Norris and his quest for the Formula 1 world championship.
Will he fight his teammate tomorrow or will he be keen to get out of the way to let his teammate try to scamper away from Max Verstappen?
OSCAR PIASTRI ON SPRINT POLE FOR F1 2024 BRAZILIAN GP
Oscar Piastri stuns Lando Norris at the very death by stealing Sprint Pole away by just 0.029 on the final lap of Sprint Qualifying! That was not in the script for the McLaren team at Interlagos.
Norris abandoned his final lap, he couldn’t improve and the challenges from Charles Leclerc, Max Verstappen and George Russell fell short leaving the Australian to take Sprint Pole. Incredible drama.
Lando Norris will start second with Max Verstappen on the row behind him and, intriguingly, with the inside line into Turn 1, will we see fireworks tomorrow?
Three minutes to go: Remaining seven cars coming out
Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri and Alex Albon have likely got their laps for the afternoon done, even if they try to go again.
So what are the rest of the cars going to do? Will someone, anyone, deny Norris Sprint Pole at Interlagos?
Six minutes to go: Norris smashes the times again
Lando Norris picks up where he left off with a 1:08.928 at Interlagos to beat his teammate by a sound three tenths, and Oscar Piastri is no slouch either. Exceptional performance from the McLaren star.
Alex Albon slots into third at the end of his lap on the soft tyres with a time 1.150 seconds behind Norris.
Q3 begins: Who will take Sprint Pole at the 2024 Brazilian GP?
The favourite is by far Lando Norris after his sensational lap times from the previous two sessions where nobody else could hold a candle to the McLaren star, including his own teammate.
But will Max Verstappen or Charles Leclerc pull off any surprises at the Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace?
Hats off to Oliver Bearman
Oliver Bearman manages to make it through to Q3 once again in Formula 1 despite another weekend with virtually no preparation at the Interlagos circuit.
This kid is very talented and it’s no surprise that Haas have made him one of their full-time drivers for 2025.
Hamilton and Perez OUT in SQ2
Sergio Perez wasn’t sent out with enough time to make it to the line before the flag and he has to pit. He is out of Sprint Qualifying in 13th.
Also joining him is Lewis Hamilton, eliminated by 0.097 around one of his historically most successful circuits. His awful qualifying performance in his final Mercedes season continues to rage on.
Out in Q2: Valtteri Bottas (15th), Franco Colapinto, Sergio Perez, Nico Hulkenberg and Lewis Hamilton.
Three minutes to go: Final laps due up, who is at risk?
Drivers are coming out of the pits to begin their final laps now in Q2 in Sprint Qualifying so who are the men needing to find extra time around Interlagos?
Liam Lawson (15th), Nico Hulkenberg, Oliver Bearman, Valtteri Bottas and Franco Colapinto need to find some time to get through to Q2, although the Haas cars haven’t set a time as of yet.
Five minutes to go: Verstappen second
Max Verstappen must be incredibly irritating to Lando Norris in qualifying right now as the world champion and defending championship leader always manages to be at the sharp end despite his car troubles.
Meanwhile Sergio Perez in the other Red Bull can only go ninth, he’s at risk of elimination as things stand.
Six minutes to go: Norris comfortably top
Lando Norris is easily quicker than anyone else at the F1 2024 Brazilian GP in Sprint Qualifying as he continues to lead Carlos Sainz by almost half a second. That McLaren is electric.
Max Verstappen’s on his lap now as Lewis Hamilton goes eighth and a second off the pace.
Eight minutes to go: George Russell not wasting time
George Russell isn’t hanging around as he posts a 1:09.683 to light up the timing charts momentarily before Lando Norris easily crushes the Mercedes by going almost six tenths faster.
He’s almost, almost into the 1:08s…
Rain possibly due as Q2 begins
Rain could be due at Interlagos any moment as Q2 gets underway, with none of the drivers wanting to hang around and wait for the showers to appear.
Lewis Hamilton also reports to Mercedes that wind has picked up too, which could create some balance issues.
We lost Zhou (Sauber), Stroll (Aston Martin), Tsunoda (RB), Ocon (Alpine) and Alonso (Aston Martin) in Q1.
Valtteri Bottas with an excellent effort to get into Q2
The Sauber has been the dog of the field throughout 2024 but Valtteri Bottas occasionally sprinkles some one-lap magic in qualifying sessions and that’s what he did at Interlagos as he manages to sneak into Q2 in 15th.
Lando Norris, meanwhile, dropped a brutal hammer on the rest of the field by beating his teammate by seven tenths. He was the only driver in the 1:09s in Q1.
Out in Q1: Zhou (Sauber), Stroll (Aston Martin), Tsunoda (RB), Ocon (Alpine) and Alonso (Aston Martin).
Three minutes to go: Final runs coming up
Time is running out and the teams sense that as they leave the garages for their final laps in their bids to get through into Q2.
Lewis Hamilton is greeted by cheers from the Brazilian fans as they wave to their honorary citizen. He goes eighth fastest.
Five minutes to go: Who is in danger?
The bottom five cars get dumped out of Sprint Qualifying at the end of Q1 so who actually needs to find some extra time at Interlagos?
Franco Colapinto (20th/Lap deleted), Zhou Guanyu, Lance Stroll, Valtteri Bottas and Fernando Alonso all have to improve.
Six minutes to go: Red Bulls not quick
Rain could be due so it is imperative to get the laps on the board sooner rather than later and it’s a tough start to Sprint Qualifying for Max Verstappen who is 0.325 off the pace after a poor final sector.
That’s fourth for Verstappen and ninth for Perez. Not what they need in this constructors’ battle.
Eight minutes to go: Not great by Perez
Sergio Perez briefly goes to the top of the timing boards but he’s already beaten by over a tenth from Alex Albon in the Williams.
The Red Bull driver will need a lot more if he wants to make sure he gets through to Q2. He’s now down to sixth already.
Nine minutes to go: Scruffy from Sainz
Carlos Sainz is six tenths slower than Charles Leclerc on their first laps of the day. The Mexico GP polesitter will need to find a lot more time than that.
He’s currently behind a Sauber and is down in sixth.
GREEN FLAG: Sprint Qualifying begins: How does it work?
Sprint Qualifying begins for the F1 2024 Brazilian GP as we’re set for some thrilling one-lap-only duels between Max Verstappen, Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc. This is all about going as fast as you can. But how does it work?
SQ1: 12 minutes to get the best lap in – new medium tyres only. Bottom five eliminated.
SQ2: 10 minutes to get the best lap in – new medium tyres only. Bottom five eliminated.
SQ3: Eight minutes to get the best lap in – soft tyres only. Bottom five eliminated.
13 minutes to go: We’re excited, are you?
It could be another Lando Norris vs Max Verstappen thriller in Sprint Qualifying, do do Ferrari have a surprise in store?
And what about Mercedes? Can they upset the cards at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez?
ICYMI: Here are the results from FP1
Free Practice 1 marked the first and last practice session at the F1 2024 Brazilian GP due to the Sprint Weekend format.
But who was quickest overall? Find out here by Total-Motorsport.com with the results from the early Friday session.
Max Verstappen takes a five-place grid penalty for the Grand Prix
He already has the new engine in the car meaning he will gain that advantage through Sprint Qualifying, the Sprint Race and Grand Prix qualifying before he will take a five-place grid drop penalty on November 3.
That means even if he’s quickest in GP qualifying, he will start from no higher than sixth on the grid.
Kevin Magnussen will not participate in Sprint Qualifying
Kevin Magnussen had to withdraw from Free Practice 1 due to sickness, with Ayao Komatsu reporting he has nausea and it’s trending worse based on the weekend.
So in his place is Oliver Bearman, in his third weekend as an F1 driver and second with Haas, who he scored points for at the 2024 Azerbaijan GP.
Welcome to the blog for Sprint Qualifying
Stay tuned with Total-Motorsport.com as we bring you live updates from Interlagos from Sprint Qualifying at the 2024 F1 Brazilian GP.
Lando Norris enters as the favourite to take sprint pole after topping FP1 earlier on Friday, but could Max Verstappen spring a shock?
Pirelli tyre compounds for 2024 Brazilian GP
Pirelli has opted for softer tire compounds than last year, bringing the C3 (Hard), C4 (Medium), and C5 (Soft) to Brazil. The combination of new asphalt and limited practice time—due to the Sprint weekend format—adds complexity to tyre management and car setup.
The track’s 15 anticlockwise corners exert medium to low forces on the tires, evenly distributed across both axles. The fresh surface may lead to faster lap times, increasing tyre stress.
When does Sprint Qualifying at the Brazilian GP start?
The Sprint Qualifying session from the 2024 Brazilian GP begins at 6:30pm for F1 fans in the UK. On the US east coast the action starts at 2:30pm ET, with those on the west coast having an 11:30am PT start.
For F1 fans Down Under, it’s an early 5:30am start in Australia.
