It was the fourth consecutive session in Brazil topped by Norris, who claimed his 15th career pole position with a time of 1m09.511s.

Norris had a slight moment in Q3 on his banker lap, locking up into Turn 1 and languishing at the rear of the times before the final push laps.

But the pressure never got to him, as he backed up his earlier Sprint win to continue his dominant run of form.

He said the conditions were tricky, with no rain but a slippery surface making it challenging.

“Again, tough out there with the conditions — just slippery, inconsistent, but good fun,” Norris said.

“It’s always a pleasure around this track. I felt good. I was under a bit of pressure because I locked up on my first lap.

“So a little bit more stressful than I would’ve liked. But I stayed calm and put it all together when it mattered, so I’m very happy.”

Antonelli secured his highest-ever grand prix start, finishing 0.174s behind Norris to lock in the same front row as the Sprint race.

The 19-year-old said he was happy with his performance, though a little frustrated to once again be behind Norris.

“To be fair, I’m a bit annoyed I’m again behind him [Norris],” he said.

“I was so close this morning in the Sprint as well. But it was a very tricky session with the wind — very tricky to put the lap together.

“But still, managing the last run to put in a decent lap, I’m happy with that.

“Starting in P2 tomorrow, of course they’re [McLaren] very fast. It’s going to be important to get a good start and try to set a good pace.”

Charles Leclerc just edged Piastri to third, with the Ferrari driver nearly being eliminated in Q1 after struggling to find pace early in the session.

“Everything is so close — from being a disaster of a weekend to a really good one in a matter of a few hundredths,” Leclerc said.

“I’m happy I could put everything together in Q2 and Q3 — that was crucial for us because it was very on the limit.

“And then P3, I’m satisfied with that. It’s been a difficult weekend for us.”

Piastri set the tone in Q3 early, sitting on provisional pole in the first part of the session. The Australian couldn’t improve on his final run, ending up fourth — his best start since Singapore.

It was an impressive outing for Racing Bulls, with Isack Hadjar fifth and Liam Lawson seventh, split by the second Mercedes of George Russell, who opted to set his final time on medium tyres in Q3.

Oliver Bearman made his fourth consecutive Q3 appearance and will line up eighth, showing strong pace across the session, even looking like a surprise pole contender before fading in the final runs.

Pierre Gasly impressed with ninth, making his first Q3 appearance since Silverstone, while Nico Hulkenberg rounded out the top ten, his first Q3 of the season.

Further down the order, several big names fell in the opening stages.

Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton was the biggest casualty of Q2, following up his Sprint qualifying disappointment with 13th — his sixth Q2 exit of the year.

Fernando Alonso also missed out on Q3 by just two hundredths of a second. The former McLaren teammates were joined by Alex Albon, Lance Stroll, and Carlos Sainz.

Max Verstappen suffered his first Q1 elimination since the 2021 Russian Grand Prix, managing only 16th in a shocking result.

The Dutchman struggled on his banker lap before a big snap of oversteer on his second attempt left everything riding on his final run. He couldn’t find the grip, complaining over the radio, as his father Jos stormed out of the Red Bull garage in frustration.

It was a double blow for Red Bull, with Yuki Tsunoda also failing to progress past Q1 in 19^th, marking the team’s first double Q1 elimination since the 2006 Japanese Grand Prix.

Joining them were Esteban Ocon, Franco Colapinto, and Gabriel Bortoleto, the latter unable to take part as Sauber couldn’t repair his car in time after his Sprint crash.

Racing resumes tomorrow in Brazil, with the Sao Paulo Grand Prix starting at 2pm local time (4am AEDT Monday).