Nov 9, 2025 | Formula 1
Summary
Lando Norris starts from pole position in São Paulo. Kimi Antonelli occupies the other spot on the front row of the grid. Max Verstappen has to come a long way. He starts from spot sixteen.
Starting line-up Brazilian Grand Prix
- 1. Lando Norris (McLaren)
- 2. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)
- 3. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
- 4. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
- 5. Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls)
- 6. George Russell (Mercedes)
- 7. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)
- 8. Ollie Bearman (Haas)
- 9. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
- 10. Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber)
- 11. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
- 12. Alex Albon (Williams)
- 13. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)
- 14. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
- 15. Carlos Sainz (Williams)
- 16. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
- 17. Esteban Ocon (Haas)
- 18. Franco Colapinto (Alpine)
- 19. Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull)
- 20. Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber)
Key areas of concern
The front row of the grid is surprising. McLaren and Mercedes are in front. That could determine the opening phase.
Verstappen needs to make up a lot of places. His starting position makes strategy crucial. Teams will need smart tyre choices and pit stops.
Other notable positions include. Lewis Hamilton starts from place thirteen with Ferrari. Carlos Sainz is in fifteen for Williams. Those put the cards differently than expected.
What to expect during the race
The race will be busy early. Lots of overtaking is likely, especially around the chicanes. Team orders and pit strategies will carry extra weight.
Watch out for drivers who overtake often and those with strong long-distance pace. These can benefit from the chaos in the midfield.
Nov 8, 2025 | Formula 1
What happened
Red Bull took a bold set-up decision between sprint and qualifying. The aim was to find more speed. Instead, it went wrong. Max Verstappen and his teammate were eliminated as early as Q1. For the first time in his Formula 1 career, Verstappen was stranded on pure pace on the first lap.
Direct championship implications
Verstappen suffered from poor driving dynamics in the sprint earlier in the day. He finished fifth and lost ground on the leader. After the disappointing qualifying, the points deficit continued to mount. The title race is now under a lot of pressure.
Where did it go wrong?
The team made significant adjustments. They used data from the set-up experiments of Yuki Tsunoda, who had started the sprint from the pitlane. Yet the change did not bring any improvement. The problems changed from poor suspension to excessive sliding.
- Faulty set-up changes between sprint and qualifying.
- Data derived from experiments used, but insufficiently applicable.
- The car started to slide too much instead of becoming more stable.
- Several bottom plates were tested with no obvious improvement.
Technical details and handling
Verstappen lost time mainly in corners with speeds between 100 and 200 km/h. His minimum speed was clearly lower in turns 1, 4 and 12. He also lost time due to a less sharp braking response in turn 9 and had less effective throttle response afterwards. That pattern made the lap consistently slower.
Reaction within the team
Team boss Laurent Mekies acknowledged that the changes were a risk. The aim was to get the car back into a window where it could fight more. That did not work out. Mekies indicated that sometimes risks are necessary, but this time it backfired. He called the adjustments not subtle fine-tuning, but substantial changes.
What does this mean for the race?
With the poor qualifying, Verstappen faces a difficult task on Sunday. There is currently no easy technical direction to quickly improve the car for the race. A start from the pitlane or other interventions could be considered, but first the team needs to analyse exactly what went wrong.
In a nutshell
The combination of bold set-up choices and unpredictable driving led to a dramatic qualifying session for Red Bull. Verstappen could not push and had to deliberately understeer the car to avoid incidents. The team faces the task of learning quickly from this mistake if they want to maintain the title race.
Nov 8, 2025 | Formula 1
Summary
Lando Norris captured a convincing pole position for the Brazilian Grand Prix. Oscar Piastri will start fourth later. Max Verstappen was already eliminated in Q1.
Norris made a mistake in his first Q3 attempt with a blocking at Turn 1. As a result, he fell back to place 10. Piastri was briefly on provisional pole. On his last fast lap, Norris recovered. He took pole by a margin of 0.174 seconds over Kimi Antonelli.
Charles Leclerc finished third. Piastri dropped back on his second fast lap and got no further than P4. Isack Hadjar finished handsomely fifth for Racing Bulls. George Russell finished sixth, after complaining of too little grip many times during qualifying. Russell tried with mediums on the final run, but it did not help.
Liam Lawson was seventh and Ollie Bearman eighth. Bearman was strong in Q1 and Q2 and was fast on his first Q3 lap, but others just rode better closing laps. Pierre Gasly and Nico Hülkenberg completed the top ten. Remarkably, neither Lewis Hamilton with Ferrari nor a Red Bull were in that top ten.
Nov 8, 2025 | MotoGP
Marquez takes narrow win
Alex Marquez won the Tissot Sprint at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve in Portugal on Saturday afternoon. He rode 12 laps on his BK8 Gresini Ducati Desmosedici GP24 and finished with a difference of just 0.120 seconds. It remained exciting until the last lap, with Pedro Acosta on the Red Bull KTM Factory RC16 hot on his heels.
Top results and consequences
Poleman Marco Bezzecchi crossed the line in third on his Aprilia Racing RS-GP25. Fabio Quartararo finished fourth on the Monster Energy Yamaha YZF-M1. Fabio Di Giannantonio completed the top five on the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Ducati Desmosedici GP25.
- 1. Alex Marquez - BK8 Gresini Ducati Desmosedici GP24
- 2. Pedro Acosta - Red Bull KTM Factory RC16
- 3. Marco Bezzecchi - Aprilia Racing RS-GP25
- 4. Fabio Quartararo - Monster Energy Yamaha YZF-M1
- 5. Fabio Di Giannantonio - Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Ducati Desmosedici GP25
In the world championship, Marc Marquez remains in the lead with 545 points. Alex Marquez follows with 425 points, 120 points behind. Marco Bezzecchi is third with 298 points. The sprint result does not dramatically change the proportions, but gives Alex extra confidence heading into the main race.
This gives a lot of confidence.
Nov 8, 2025 | Formula 1
Serious crash on last lap
Gabriel Bortoleto was badly damaged on the last lap of the sprint in Brazil. He was trying to overtake Alex Albon for tenth place. As he approached Williams at Turn 1, he went inside. Part of the track was still damp. As a result, he immediately lost control of his Sauber.
The car slammed nose first against the inside barrier and shot back across the track, narrowly missing Albon. This was followed by a second, much harder hit on the outside. The car tipped over and came to a halt in the run-out lane outside Turn 1. Bortoleto immediately reported to his team that he was okay.
Medical checks: green light
As a precaution, Bortoleto received checks at the medical centre. He was found to have no injuries and was given the green light. Franco Colapinto, who was involved in a crash at Turn 3 on lap six, was also examined and is fine.
Other incidents and implications for teams
On lap six, Nico Hülkenberg also lost control after a wet kerb at the exit of Turn 2 and ended up in the foul in Turn 3. Hülkenberg was able to resume the race, but finished at the back.
On the last lap, Albon dropped down the field as Bortoleto's front wing got stuck in his car. As a result, both Sauber and Alpine are under time pressure to repair damaged cars before Grand Prix qualifying.
Key facts
- Bortoleto crashed on the last lap but is unhurt after medical checks.
- Nico Hülkenberg crashed on lap six and was later able to return.
- Franco Colapinto was also examined and appeared unhurt.
- Albon lost positions as Bortoleto's front wing stuck in his car.
- Sauber and Alpine must make quick repairs before qualifying.
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