Norris extends F1 advantage over Piastri in Brazil. Verstappen says he can ‘forget’ title hopes

SAO PAULO (AP) — It’s shaping up to be a big weekend for Formula 1 leader Lando Norris, and a frustrating one for four-time champion Max Verstappen.

The McLaren driver widened the gap to teammate Oscar Piastri to nine points by winning the sprint race of the Brazilian Grand Prix on Saturday and followed it up by also taking pole position for Sunday’s grid.

“Slippery, inconsistent, but fun,” Norris said about his two drives. “We have been in very good form, the team has given us a great car.”

Verstappen, meanwhile, all but gave up hope of earning a fifth straight F1 title after only finishing 16th in qualifying. With three races left after this weekend, he is 39 points behind going into Sunday after coming fourth in the sprint race.

“I can forget about that,” Verstappen said when asked about his title chances. “Where we are starting, that is not going to work.”

Perhaps he shouldn’t write off his chances so quickly. Last year Verstappen won in Brazil despite starting 17th on the grid.

Norris beat Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli in qualifying by 0.174 seconds at the partially wet Interlagos track. His teammate Piastri — who failed to finish the sprtin race — will start from fourth position.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc will start from third position, with Lewis Hamilton only managing 13th in a disappointing qualifying session.

Rain had been forecast for Sunday as well, but with those predictions now changing some drivers opted to use soft tires that they will now have to keep for the race. A year ago, the qualifying was moved to Sunday due to torrential downpours.

Crash-filled sprint

Norris finished ahead of Antonelli and Mercedes’ George Russell in a sprint race that was also marked by crashes, including a hard hit of Sauber’s home-crowd favorite Gabriel Bortoleto onto the wall in the final lap.

Antonelli finished only 0.845 second behind Norris after the McLaren driver lost some of his lead due to soft tires.

“Kimi certainly wasn’t making my life easier,” Norris said after the sprint race. “Definitely not an easy race, always expect a difficult one in Brazil.”

Ferrari’s cars failed to impress, with LeClerc and Hamilton finishing fifth and seventh, respectively.

Bortoleto could not take part in qualifying after his car was damaged in the crash and will start from the pit lane on Sunday when he races in front of his home fans for the first time.

The Brazilian and Argentine fans that make up the overwhelming majority in the stands at Interlagos might see their soccer rivalry quickly spill over into F1, as Alpine’s Franco Colapinto will start in 18th, close to Bortoleto.

Piastri and Verstappen under pressure

Norris is coming off a win in Mexico City. Piastri has struggled lately; he’s winless in five races and has not reached the podium since Monza in Italy two months ago when he finished third.

Asked about the incident that took him out of the sprint race, Piastri said: “A silly mistake really. An unfortunate mistake. So that’s it.”

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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing