World champion Lewis Hamilton on Friday dominated qualifying for the sprint race at the Brazil Grand Prix but title rival Max Verstappen will be right on his shoulder on Saturday.
Red Bull’s Verstappen has a 19-point lead over the seven-time world champion who will take a five-place grid penalty on Sunday after the engine was changed on his Mercedes.
“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,” said Hamilton.
The Briton posted a fastest time of 1min 07.934sec, four-tenths quicker than his Dutch rival.
The 24-lap sprint race on Saturday will determine the starting order for Sunday’s race at Interlagos. The winner receives three points.