Lando Norris saw off triple world champion Max Verstappen to take pole position for today’s sprint race in Brazil.
The British driver, 23, beat Verstappen to top spot by 0.061 seconds in Interlagos with Sergio Perez third.
George Russell and Lewis Hamilton will line up from fourth and fifth respectively for Mercedes.
Norris believed he could have taken pole for tomorrow’s 71-lap main event, but for a McLaren strategy blunder in Friday’s rain-hit qualifying session.
However, the young Briton made amends by delivering the quickest time for today’s 24-lap dash to the chequered flag.
Norris, who is seeking his first win in Formula One, said: “It felt like one of the worst laps I have done so I am a little bit surprised to be on pole.
“But I feel like we have made up for yesterday. I have no idea how the sprint will go, but the pace has been good this weekend and the car has been quick.”
Perez was a tenth back from Norris, while Russell finished 0.235 sec behind, with Hamilton 0.318 sec adrift.
Yuki Tsunoda qualified sixth ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Daniel Ricciardo.
Q1 ended early after Esteban Ocon crashed out following a collision with Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso.
Ocon was on a hot lap, but briefly lost control of his Alpine though the left-hander at Turn 3, and thumped into Alonso.
The Spaniard was off the racing line, affording space for Ocon, but the Frenchman clipped Alonso’s Aston Martin which sent him into the tyre barrier at Curva do Sol.
“F****** idiot, Fernando,” said Ocon after he sustained significant damage to the rear of his machine.
Alonso limped back to the pits with front suspension damage leaving his mechanics scrambling to get his machine ready for Q2.
A 28-minute delay followed as the barrier was repaired but Alonso was unable to continue. He will start 15th.
The double world champion’s team-mate Lance Stroll qualified an impressive third for Sunday’s grand prix. But the Canadian will line up three places from the back for today’s sprint which gets under way at 3:30pm local time (6:30 pm GMT).
Horner rues 'heartbreaking' Perez crash in Baku
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner insisted Sergio Perez "deserved more" after a "heartbreaking" crash denied him a place on the podium in Baku on Sunday.
Perez, who made a brilliant start to the season only to struggle in recent months, looked set to register his best finish since finishing third at the Chinese Grand Prix in April after comfortably holding P3 for much of the race.
However, Ferrari's Carlos Sainz snuck past him on the penultimate lap, and when the Mexican attempted to regain third place, the two tangled and hit the barrier, forcing them both out of the race.
That meant that George Russell instead claimed the final podium spot alongside winner Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc.
"He deserved a lot more," Horner told Sky Sports. "He should've at the very least been on the podium today.
"It was a magnificent race out at the front for so many laps. It was great to be in, it was exciting to be a part of, and it's just disappointing that it came to a close like that when it didn't need to.
"Unfortunately, he lost quite a bit of time on his out laps behind Alex Albon and then Lando [Norris] cost him dearly, which gave Oscar [Piastri] track position. I think without that, he would've won the race today.
"It's one of those things that's very heartbreaking for him and the team that so much effort goes in to lose a podium in the dying laps of the race."
It was a tough day for Red Bull all around, as Piastri's win coupled with Lando Norris crossing the line before Max Verstappen meant that McLaren leapfrogged them in the constructors'’ championship.
Red Bull are now 20 points behind McLaren ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix, and Horner admitted he was not happy with how the tide had turned.
"Very, very disappointing," he added. "[The crash] destroyed the race for Checo.
"It's cost us a lot of damage and obviously vital points in the constructors' championship."
Jamaica’s Valentino Evans has solid showing at Pan American Karate Foundation Cadet, Junior and U21 Championships in Sao Paulo
Jamaica’s Valentino Evans reached the Round of 16 of both the U-14 Kata Male and U14 Kumite Male at the 2024 Pan American Karate Foundation (PKF) Cadet, Junior and U21 Championships held from August 26 to September 1 in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Evans was beaten by Chilean Joaquin Ballestero in the Kata category before losing to Brazil’s Arthur Galante in the Kumite Male -40kg category.
The youngster won two medals at the Caribbean Karate Championships in Curacao in July.
He took bronze in the 12-13 Kata before going two better with gold in the 12-13 Kumite, his second straight Kumite gold after winning it in the 10-11 section at the 2023 Caribbean karate Championships in Santo Domingo.
He also won Kata silver at last year’s championships.
Ricciardo ready to experience the world of motorsport amid F1 exit rumours
Daniel Ricciardo revealed his desire to experience the world of motorsport as his 13-year Formula One career hangs in the balance ahead of the 2025 season.
Ricciardo, who has raced for five different teams in F1, is yet to find out whether he will race for RB next year.
The Australian and team-mate Yuki Tsunoda were considered the favourites to replace Sergio Perez at Red Bull until the Mexican signed a new two-year deal.
Red Bull is a team Ricciardo knows well, of course.
Ricciardo has won eight F1 races during his career, seven of which came with the Austrian-based team before his move to Renault in 2019.
Across his 257 race entries, the 35-year-old has also claimed 1,329 points and 32 podiums, but Ricciardo has been unable to get close to the top three in recent times.
The Australian has not stood on the podium since his last victory at the Italian Grand Prix in 2021, picking up just 55 points over the last three seasons for an RB team who have struggled to emerge from the midfield places in a competitive grid.
Ricciardo finds himself 14th in the drivers' championship this term, with his best finish coming at the Canadian Grand Prix in June, where he finished eighth.
With time potentially running out on his F1 career heading into the final seven races of the 2024 season, Ricciardo kept his options open as to what may come next.
“I mean there's things I would like to try and experience," Ricciardo said in an interview with Tourism Western Australia ahead of the release of his new film 'Drive the Dream 2.0'.
"I don't know, let's say on a competitive level, I grew up a fan of NASCAR. I'd like to drive a NASCAR. I'd love to drive around Daytona, for example.
"But would I like to compete? Yes and no, but I also know that, it's not what I grew up doing, and I'll probably get smoked so like, I don't know if I need that!
"I would love to experience it. I love motorbikes. I love MotoGP. I would love to try a MotoGP bike, but I would be very, very slow and probably horrendous. Just like, all in my own time.
"And actually Bathurst, if it's, obviously okay, it's the V8 that does the race there, but you know there's the 12 hour and stuff, so maybe that's one I could compete in.
"If a V8 team said 'hey, do you want to do a few laps around Bathurst, no pressure, just to experience it', then I'll definitely take that up."
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