Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas won Saturday's sprint qualifying at Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace to claim pole position for Sunday's Brazil Grand Prix in Interlagos.
Bottas' teammate and seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton started from the back of the grid and improbably fought to fifth. But he'll start Sunday's race from 10th due to a five-place penalty for a new engine.
The full grid:
| Pos. | Driver | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes |
| 2 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull |
| 3 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari |
| 4 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull |
| 5 | Lewis Hamilton* | Mercedes |
| 6 | Lando Norris | McLaren |
| 7 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari |
| 8 | Pierre Gasly | AlphaTauri |
| 9 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine |
| 10 | Sebastian Vettel | Aston Martin |
| 11 | Daniel Ricciardo | McLaren |
| 12 | Fernando Alonso | Alpine |
| 13 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo |
| 14 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri |
| 15 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin |
| 16 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams |
| 17 | George Russell | Williams |
| 18 | Kimi Raikkonen | Alfa Romeo |
| 19 | Mick Schumacher | Haas |
| 20 | Nikita Mazepin | Haas |
Hamilton was penalized for a technical infringement regarding his DRS system during Friday's qualifying session. The British driver originally posted the fastest lap but was disqualified; he was forced to start Saturday's sprint from the back.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen posted the second-fastest lap and was promoted to the front of the grid for Saturday's sprint. But Bottas overtook the championship leader on the first corner and never looked back.
Ferrari's Carlos Sainz rounded out the sprint podium, placing third and earning a single point.
Mercedes maintains its precarious lead atop the constructor's standings with Bottas' result. The Silver Arrows now have a two-point lead over Red Bull.
Verstappen still holds the lead in the drivers' standings, 21 points ahead of Hamilton after claiming two points with his sprint performance.