LIVE UPDATES: Sao Paulo GP Qualifying Coverage And Commentary
Qualifying for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix is about to get underway, with Max Verstappen looking to make it three poles in a row and extend his championship lead.
Track conditions
The track is dry and the air temperature is 25 degrees Celsius. It's a beautiful day for racing in Sao Paulo.
Q1
The first session of qualifying is underway, with all 20 cars on track.
Verstappen sets the early pace, with a time of 1:11.304.
Hamilton is second, 0.2 seconds behind Verstappen.
Bottas is third, 0.3 seconds behind Verstappen.
Sainz is fourth, 0.4 seconds behind Verstappen.
Leclerc is fifth, 0.5 seconds behind Verstappen.
The five drivers who are eliminated in Q1 are:
Q2
The second session of qualifying is underway, with the top 15 cars from Q1.
Verstappen again sets the early pace, with a time of 1:10.736.
Hamilton is second, 0.1 seconds behind Verstappen.
Bottas is third, 0.2 seconds behind Verstappen.
Sainz is fourth, 0.3 seconds behind Verstappen.
Leclerc is fifth, 0.4 seconds behind Verstappen.
The five drivers who are eliminated in Q2 are:
Q3
The third and final session of qualifying is underway, with the top 10 cars from Q2.
Verstappen sets the early pace, with a time of 1:10.273.
Hamilton is second, 0.3 seconds behind Verstappen.
Bottas is third, 0.4 seconds behind Verstappen.
Sainz is fourth, 0.5 seconds behind Verstappen.
Leclerc is fifth, 0.6 seconds behind Verstappen.
With just a few minutes remaining in Q3, Verstappen improves his time to 1:10.104.
Hamilton is unable to match Verstappen's pace and finishes qualifying in second place.
Bottas is third, Sainz is fourth, and Leclerc is fifth.
Starting grid for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix
1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
2. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
3. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)
4. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
5. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
6. Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
7. Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri)
8. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
9. Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin)
10. Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren)