Antonelli is champion, but Saturday's qualifying decides the São Paulo grid
Andrea Kimi Antonelli is Formula 1's world champion at 20. Now the drivers turn to the Interlagos circuit in São Paulo, where Saturday's qualifying session will set the starting grid for Sunday's race.
Qualifying starts at 15:00 local time, which is 18:00 GMT on Saturday 7 November, according to Formula 1. The race itself is on Sunday 8 November. The event is officially called the Formula 1 MSC Cruises Grande Premio de Sao Paulo, and the Brazilian round is now known as the São Paulo Grand Prix.
Qualifying works in knockout stages. Drivers set lap times against the clock, the slowest drop out, and the fastest few fight for pole position, which is first place on the grid. The gap between the top qualifiers can be a few tenths of a second, and a clean lap matters more than raw speed.
Lando Norris was fastest in the first practice session on Friday, Reuters reported. In the second session, Antonelli set a best lap of 1 minute 10.763 seconds and finished at the top of the timesheets, ahead of Norris and Max Verstappen, according to the FIA.
The wider season sets the scene. Before qualifying, Mercedes drivers had won 12 of the 19 races, with nine for Antonelli and three for George Russell, The Guardian reported. Norris, the deposed world champion, has McLaren's two wins this year. Verstappen has won three of Red Bull's last four races, and he took the most recent one in Mexico City, with Lewis Hamilton second.
Interlagos has a long list of recent winners. Hamilton won here in 2016, 2018 and 2021. Verstappen took the race in 2019, 2023 and 2024, and Russell won in 2022, Reuters noted. Three different drivers have won the race in the last five editions, so the local record is as varied as the grid.
Why does the grid matter so much? At many circuits, track position is hard to win back on Sunday. A driver starting at the front can defend the inside line into the first corner and avoid traffic. Drivers further back often have to gain places through strategy, such as the undercut, which means pitting early to jump a rival onto fresh tyres while they are still on older ones.
Official timing and results will be published as the session runs, and the top ten will be confirmed once the flag falls. For the championship, Antonelli's title is already settled. For everyone else on the grid, Saturday's laps set the starting order for Sunday.
