F1 Brazilian Grand Prix Live Commentary and Updates - FP1 & Qualifying | Live text

By: James Newbold, Megan White

Summary


	Summary Hamilton fastest in qualifying ahead of Brazilian GP sprint race Verstappen joins Hamilton on the front row, Bottas in third and Perez in fourth Gasly heads midfield again, from Sainz, Leclerc, Norris, Ricciardo and Alonso Out in Q2: P11 Ocon, P12 Vettel, P13 Tsunoda, P14 Raikkonen, P15 Giovinazzi Out in Q1: P16 Stroll, P17 Latifi, P18 Russell, P19 Schumacher, P20 Mazepin Hamilton to take five-place grid penalty for Sunday's race after receiving fresh ICE
	Leaderboard: 1. Hamilton, Mercedes 2. Verstappen, Red Bull 3. Bottas, Mercedes 4. Perez, Red Bull 5. Gasly, AlphaTauri 6. Sainz, Ferrari 7. Leclerc, Ferrari 8. Norris, McLaren 9. Ricciardo, McLaren 10. Alonso, Alpine

Status: Stopped

23:15 And that's all from us this evening - we'll see you tomorrow for second practice and the sprint race!

23:13 Here's the report from that qualifying session: https://autosport.com/all/news/brazilian-f1-gp-friday-qualifying/6774686/

23:13

23:08 Hamilton: "Firstly, I'm so happy to be back in Brazil. Just a big thank you to all the team, they've been working flat-out. Today was a really good qualifying."

23:06 Verstappen: "For me it's not a big shock, and I'm happy to be second - it's a good position to start from."

23:02 Top 10: Hamilton, Verstappen, Bottas, Perez, Gasly, Sainz, Leclerc, Norris, Ricciardo, Alonso.

23:02 Bottas can't get onto the front row, which will be a crumb of comfort for Red Bull, as Perez pulls alongside and displaces Gasly from fourth.

23:01 But Hamilton does - and it's a 1m07.934s!

23:01 Leclerc moves up to P5, for the time being, but Sainz vaults up to fourth. Gasly then goes fourth, as Verstappen doesn't improve!

23:00 Verstappen's first sector isn't an improvement, but nor is Hamilton's at the moment...

22:59 And here's the final flurry of this qualifying session. Can Verstappen snatch pole? Or can Hamilton extend his advantage?

22:56 "Tyres are overheating in Turn 8," Verstappen reports.

22:55 Bottas moves up to P3, shuffling Perez down to fourth, with Gasly continuing his form as best-of-the-rest in fifth.

22:54 But that's all change, as Hamilton vaults to the top with a 1m08.107s, which Verstappen can only come within 0.2s of.

22:54 Leclerc does a 1m09.403s to get us going, but it's not hugely quick - as Sainz proves by going top briefly with a 1m08.9s.

22:51 The two Ferraris now open up the session with 10 minutes on the clock - short laps, so the teams don't need the full time available.

22:49 Q3 is now open for hunting season.

22:45 In Q3: Hamilton, Bottas, Verstappen, Leclerc, Gasly, Perez, Norris, Sainz, Ricciardo, Alonso.

22:42 Eliminated in Q2: Ocon, Vettel, Tsunoda, Raikkonen, Giovinazzi.

22:42 Norris moves up to seventh, shuffling Ocon back into the dropzone. Hamilton does a 1m08.068s to go quickest, Bottas moves up to second.

22:41 Ocon moves up to P10, dumping Norris into the bottom five for now. Vettel only goes 12th.

22:40 Alonso can't improve on ninth, putting him at risk here, as Tsunoda misses out in P12.

22:38 Round 2 of laps begins, who can avoid dropping out of Q2?

22:36 As it stands Ocon, Tsunoda, Vettel, Raikkonen and Giovinazzi are in the bottom five.

22:35 Bottas goes third fastest on another run too - Mercedes finding time left in those tyres.

22:34 Hamilton vaults back to the top with a second run on these tyres, a 1m08.386s.

22:34 Leclerc went up to third, Bottas becoming the meat in a Ferrari sandwich as Sainz goes fifth fastest. Ricciardo, Perez, Alonso, Norris and Ocon complete the top 10 after the opening runs.

22:32 Bottas can only sit in third for the time being, as Verstappen and Gasly move ahead of the Finnish driver.

22:32 But Hamilton's time gets track limits'd, as Verstappen punches in a 1m08.567s!

22:31 Hamilton posts a 1m08.659s to go top, with Ocon next to set a time in the 1m09s.

22:28 Cars! The two Mercedes eventually kick Q2 off.

22:27 Well, we all seem to be waiting for a qualifier to come past, and we don't seem to be getting one...

22:26 Q2 now begins. Let's go.

22:20 Eliminated in Q1: Stroll, Latifi, Russell, Schumacher, Mazepin.

22:20 Latifi then does a lap to lift himself out of the bottom five, fleetingly, before Stroll knocks him out! Giovinazzi then does a lap to go P6, putting Ocon on the bubble, but the Alpine driver sends Stroll back into the basement.

22:19 Russell moves up to 14th, but Vettel behind him then moves up to ninth.

22:17 Leclerc's attempt this time, a 1m09.155s, gets him up to third place ahead of Bottas and Verstappen.

22:16 Norris moves up to seventh, moving ahead of Alonso.

22:15 Leclerc is back out on track to get out of the bottom five, as is Russell now.

22:14 Our current bottom five is Russell, Schumacher, Giovinazzi, Mazepin and Leclerc.