Lando Norris took pole position for the São Paulo Grand Prix in a dramatic and incident-packed qualifying session that could presage a major shift in his world championship battle with Max Verstappen. It puts the McLaren driver in the best possible position to make a huge move in closing the gap to Verstappen, who was unlucky and caught out in qualifying and finished 12th, which will mean he will start the race from 17th with a five-place grid penalty.
Qualifying had been postponed from Saturday after a torrential rainstorm had engulfed Interlagos and instead took place on Sunday morning. When it got going, once more in the wet, Verstappen was unable to finish his final quick lap in Q2 when the session was stopped after a crash by Lance Stroll. The world champion now faces an enormous task in the race.
