Max Verstappen will start the Brazilian Grand Prix in 16th after a shock early exit from qualifying on Saturday.

The Dutchman, unhappy with his Red Bull car all weekend, struggled for pace and grip in Q1 and could not improve his time with a third and final run, in a huge blow to his hopes of claiming a fifth successive title.

Meanwhile, championship leader Lando Norris took pole position , with Oscar Piastri only fourth.

The four-time F1 world champion said over the radio to his race engineer: “Oh my god mate – the car and the ride is a tiny bit better… but the slide into turn one. I have no grip, zero! Brilliant!”

It’s Verstappen’s first Q1 elimination, on pure speed, in his F1 career, with all his other Q1 exits coming courtesy of power unit failures. His teammate Yuki Tsunod

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