SAO PAULO:

Series leader Lando Norris grabbed his first sprint pole position of the season on Friday to keep his title hopes on track as he topped qualifying ahead of Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli and his McLaren team-mate and rival Oscar Piastri.

The 25-year-old Briton, who leads Piastri by one point in the drivers' championship with four Grands Prix remaining, clocked a best lap in one minute and 9.243 in the final seconds of a tense session at a warm Interlagos.

Antonelli was second, 0.097seconds adrift, with Piastri 0.185 behind in third ahead of George Russell in the second Mercedes and two-time champion Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin.

Max Verstappen, who is 36 points behind Norris in the title race, was an unhappy sixth for Red Bull, the four-time champion grumbling about the balance

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