Max Verstappen seals Brazilian Grand Prix pole position with qualifying masterclass

Max Verstappen secured his second career pole position for Sunday's Brazilian Grand Prix as world champion Lewis Hamilton had to settle for third.

Verstappen turned on the style in his Red Bull to edge out Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel by just 0.123 seconds. Hamilton moved ahead of Charles Leclerc after he improved with his final lap.

Leclerc is due to start 14th following a 10-place grid penalty for an engine change. That promotes Valtteri Bottas to fourth, with Alex Albon fifth.

Verstappen has performed strongly at Interlagos, delivering a wet-weather masterclass three years ago to finish second, and was on course to win here last season before he was taken out of contention by backmarker Esteban Ocon, leading to the Dutchman shoving his rival three times.

On Sunday, he will be in prime position to avenge for last year's failing, open his winning account in South America, and claim just the second win of his campaign as he bids to usurp Ferrari's Leclerc for third place in the standings, behind the Mercedes duo of Hamilton and Bottas.

Verstappen's lap was the ideal birthday present for Red Bull team principal Christian Horner, who, on Saturday, turned 46.

"The car was really good," said Verstappen, who is looking to add to his wins in Germany and Austria this season. "The car was flying and really enjoyable to drive, so I am really happy with this pole position."

Hamilton, who sealed his sixth world championship in Texas a fortnight ago, added: "Congrats to Max, it was a great lap by him.

"I am really happy I was able to divide the Ferraris which is a tough challenge. I gave it everything I had, and I am glad I delivered my best lap of the session with my final run."

Hamilton, who finished 0.191 sec behind Verstappen, addressed the crowd on the pit straight, pointing to the Brazilian flag on top of his crash helmet.

"This is such a tough race to win," he added. The track is very challenging and there is so much history, but I have a lot of support here."

Lando Norris finished 11th, while Carlos Sainz failed to post a lap after he was sidelined with an engine failure in the sister McLaren.

British rookie George Russell out-qualified Williams team-mate Robert Kubica for the 20th consecutive time. Russell finished half-a-second quicker than Kubica, who will call time on his ill-fated comeback at the concluding round of the season in Abu Dhabi in two weeks' time.

Brazilian Grand Prix qualifying times

1. Max Verstappen (Ned) Red Bull 1min 07.508secs

2. Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Ferrari 1:07.631

3. Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) Mercedes GP 1:07.699

4. Charles Leclerc (Mon) Ferrari 1:07.728*

5. Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Mercedes GP 1:07.874

6. Alexander Albon (Tha) Red Bull 1:07.935

7. Pierre Gasly (Fra) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:08.837

8. Romain Grosjean (Fra) Haas F1 1:08.854

9. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Alfa Romeo Racing 1:08.984

10. Kevin Magnussen (Den) Haas F1 1:09.037

11. Lando Norris (Gbr) McLaren 1:08.868

12. Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) Renault 1:08.903

13. Antonio Giovinazzi (Ita) Alfa Romeo Racing 1:08.919

14. Nico Hulkenberg (Ger) Renault 1:08.921

15. Sergio Perez (Mex) Racing Point 1:09.035

16. Daniil Kvyat (Rus) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:09.320

17. Lance Stroll (Can) Racing Point 1:09.536

18. George Russell (Gbr) Williams 1:10.126

19. Robert Kubica (Pol) Williams 1:10.614

20. Carlos Sainz (Spa) McLaren No Time Set

*Charles Leclerc has been given a 10 place grid penalty due to using a fourth engine of the season, so starts 14th.

7:28PM

Well, that was fairly emphatic

Quickest all three qualifying sessions. It's going to take something special - or unexpected - to stop him tomorrow.

I'll be back about 5pm tomorrow for the race liveblog. Thanks for joining me.

7:09PM

Hamilton reacts to third place

Very good from where he was at the end of Q1 and Q2. Not too far away from a front row start. Will he be in contention tomorrow?

7:08PM

Vettel reacts to a decent second place

A front row start for him. Just had a bit more than Leclerc in the end.

7:06PM

Verstappen reacts to pole

Last time he qualified first he ran his mouth off about not slowing for yellow flags and lost his pole position. Little chance of that happening here today.

7:04PM

Q3 - Top 10

1. VER

2. VET +0.123

3. HAM +0.191

4. LEC +0.220

5. BOT +0.366

6. ALB +0.427

7. GAS +1.239

8. GRO +1.346

9. RAI +1.476

10. MAG +1.529

7:03PM

MAX VERSTAPPEN TAKES POLE POSITION FOR THE 2019 BRAZILIAN GRAND PRIX

He was unbeatable in the end. Vettel wasn't a million miles away but Ferrari could not live with with Red Bull in sector two. That is a decent turnaround from Hamilton to get P3, though. Leclerc will slip down to P14 after his 10 place grid penalty meaning Bottas starts fourth, Albon fifth and Pierre Gasly in P6! Great lap from Gasly there, who pops Grosjean to P7 by just 0.017s.

7:02PM

Q3 - Verstappen goes quickest, setting a 1.07.508

Leclerc has lost a lot of time in sector two! Is that that? Can Vettel do anything? He's a bit off in sector two, as well. No. He's P2 at the end of the lap.

Leclerc can't nudge Vettel out of the way, Hamilton pips Leclerc into P3. Bottas goes P5, six tenths off the pace with a poor lap...

Verstappen has it!

7:00PM

Q3 - Verstappen a tad slower in sector one

But sector two was where he had his big mistake so I expect a big improvement here. Meanwhile Leclerc has gone quickest in sector one. Verstappen is up 0.139s on his previous time at sector two...

6:59PM

Q3 - Verstappen backs up towards the end of his out lap

But he's sorted it all out. If he doesn't string a lap together here he could be in trouble from Ferrari...

6:58PM

Q3 - Drivers out for their final runs

2.10 on the clock. Should be fine for everyone, it's a very short lap. Mercedes will be the last two out, though. Unless something very strange happens.

6:56PM

Q3 - Top 10

1. VER

2. VET +0.008

3. LEC +0.105

4. HAM +0.238

5. BOT +0.251

6. ALB +0.312

7. GRO +1.861

8. RAI +2.036

9. GAS +2.045

10. MAG (no time set)

Leclerc also had a moment running wide in the final turn, too, so there is a bit of time for him to find as well. It's close out there but I think Verstappen just has too much if he can get a clean lap together. Vettel, too, went wide in the final sector, probably costing him a little.

6:55PM

Q3 - What can Verstappen do?

He takes provisional pole! By just 0.008s . And that's with a very big moment in the middle of the lap where he got too greedy on the kerbs...that is pretty dominant. He is going to take some beating here. He had a scruffy lap and was still quicker (just) than anyone else...

6:53PM

Q3 - Hamilton pips Bottas for P1

But for how long? Not very. Vettel displaces him. Leclerc can't displace his team-mate, though, just behind! Albon goes into P5 but Verstappen is going very well comparatively...

6:52PM

Q3 - Vettel quickest in the first sector

So far, quicker than both Mercedes bu a fair chunk! Leclerc goes quicker still but Verstappen is not too far behind...

6:51PM

Q3 - Everyone out on track

The sun is out, but the shadows are creeping over the circuit, driving the temperature down.

6:48PM

Q3 begins!

12 minutes to go. Can anyone stop Max Verstappen? Damon Hill on Sky Sports thinks Hamilton can but that would be quite a turnaround.

6:45PM

Where are Mercedes?

It's hard to see them challenging pole with those times in Q1 and Q2. A place or two on the second row would be a huge result from here. Verstappen the man to beat at the moment. Leclerc with some time to find.

6:44PM

After a miserable weekend in Mexico a month ago...

Haas have had a brilliant qualifying session, both drivers making it into Q3.

What a bizarre season they are having.

6:43PM

Q2 - Top 10

1. VER

2. LEC +0.385

3. VET +0.547

4. HAM +0.585

5. ALB +0.614

6. BOT +0.729

7. GRO +1.202

8. GAS +1.267

9. MAG +1.300

10. RAI +1.355

Drivers eliminated:11. NOR 12. RIC 13. GIO 14. HUL 15. PER

Leclerc the only one of the top 10 who made it through on the mediums. Is he in contention for pole here?

6:41PM

Q2 ends - Verstappen quickest

Norris doesn't improve, he stays P11. Raikkonen pulls into the pits, knowing he's safe. Not sure if those yellow flags meant drivers had to bail out of a hot lap but there was very little movement on those runs. Very few of the bottom five going into the final runs managed to improve. It was Giovinazzi who spun in sector two...

6:40PM

Q2 - Leclerc back out on the softs

His first time was on the mediums. So that should give him a few tenths. Can Perez improve and get into the top 10? No. Racing Point struggling here. There are yellow flags in sector two, double waved yellow suggests a spin or crash of some kind...

6:39PM

Fastest sectors so far

6:38PM

Q2 - Verstappen looks unbeatable at the moment

How much extra grunt do Ferrari and Mercedes have here? Verstappen just looks to have it hooked up here. That's a super lap from Grosjean to be within half a second of Bottas, who is having a bit of a tough weekend here.

6:35PM

Q2 - Top 10

1. VER

2. LEC

3. VER

4. HAM

5. ALB

6. BOT

7. GRO

8. GAS

9. MAG

10. RAI

Drivers in the drop zone:NOR, RIC, GIO, PER, HUL

Grosjean is 1.202s off the pace. Giovinazzi, in 13th is just 1.416s off the pace. It's very close out there in the midfield.

6:34PM

Q2 - What can Vettel do?

It's not great. Quicker than Hamilton but nearly two tenths off his team-mate and 0.547s off Verstappen's very quick time. Third. Red Bull traditionally don't have as much performance gain in Q3 but that's a big, big gap at the moment.

6:32PM

Q2 - Albon pips Bottas for second

And he's less than a tenth of a second from Hamilton. Leclerc beats them all but only for a matter of seconds as Max Verstappen smashes the best time of the day. A 1.07.503, nearly four tenths ahead of Leclerc. Perhaps Mercedes lack of raw pace in Q1 was genuine, then. Neither within half a second of Verstappen...

6:31PM

Q2 - Hamilton quickest in sector one

But only by 0.001s over Bottas. Close! He pulls out a tenth on Bottas in sector two, though and will surely go quickest, especially with a big tow from a car ahead. Indeed it is. 0.144 the gap between Hamilton and Bottas. Hulkenberg exactly a second away from Hamilton. That's...okay.

6:29PM

Q2 - Both Mercedes out on the soft tyres

They seem to be pretty durable this weekend. A few drivers doing two hot laps on them in Q1. Leclerc, however, comes out on the mediums.

6:27PM

Q2 begins!

Nowt happening at the moment...

6:23PM

Not much to read into those times

Other than a rough guide. Mercedes will not finish that far off the pace. Well, I'd be very, very surprised if they were.

6:20PM

Q1 - Verstappen fastest

His time of 1.08.242 is 0.254s quicker than Charles Leclerc.

Top 10:

1. VER

2. LEC

3. ALB

4. BOT

5. VET

6. HAM

7. MAG

8. NOR

9. GAS

10. HUL

Drivers eliminated:  16. KVY 17. STR. 18. RUS 19. KUB 20. SAI (no time set)

6:19PM

Q1 - Final runs underway

Perez gets out of the drop zone, Giovinazzi goes P12. Raikkonen can only go into P14 and is now in danger. Stroll (surprise, surprise) cannot get out of Q1. He joins both Williams, Carolos Sainz and Daniil Kvyat who are eliminated.

6:18PM

Q1 - One minute to go

Hulkenberg trying to get out of the drop zone on the track which produced his only pole position in F1. He improves in sector one but has a scruffy sector two, he's two tenths up on where he needs to be though. But will it be enough, track progression is strong at the moment.

Hulkenberg goes into P10...can he hold onto it?

6:16PM

Q1 - It's quiet out there at the moment

But not for long. Kvyat is trying to improve his time but it's not going very well. He almost certainly won't improve from 12th. And that could be a worry as he's only two tenths away from dropping out of the session. Gasly, his team-mate, does improve into P8. Sainz still not out...

6:13PM

Q1 - Leclerc going again

How is he doing? He has improved in sector one, as has Vettel, but his second sector isn't great. He improves enough to go in second place, though, ahead of Albon. Four minutes remaining and Sainz still isn't in his car.

6:11PM

Q1 - Top 10

1. VER

2. ALB

3. LEC

4. VET

5. HAM

6. BOT

7. MAG

8. NOR

9. GRO

10. GAS

Drivers in the drop zone:HUL, STR, RUS, KUB, SAI (no time set)

6:11PM

Q1 - Verstappen goes quickest

He made a mistake and was also held up in traffic towards the end of the lap but he's still quickest by 0.261 from his team-mate. Hamilton, meanwhile, can only manage fifth, 0.372 off Verstappen's time. Bottas is a further tenth behind his team-mate. It doesn't look good for Sainz at the moment. I think that could be his session.

6:08PM

Q1 - Albon going very well

He's quickest in the first two sectors and pips Vettel by 0.053 as he crosses the line. Norris in P4, just under half a second behind. Sainz complains that something went on his engine. He has yet to set a time and is now being wheeled back into his garage.

6:07PM

Q1 - First runs underway

Kvyat gets into the 1.09s but he's quickly usurped by his team-mate Gasly. The Alfas close behind. Vettel the first of the big guns to go on a quick run. He's nearly three tenths up in the first sector on Gasly and nearly seven tenths by the final serious corner.

He ends up 0.732s up on Gasly in the end, so didn't make up too much time on the straight. Leclerc can't beat it, finishing 0.036s behind his team-mate.

6:02PM

Q1 - 17 minutes to go

Friendly reminder that Charles Leclerc takes a 10-place grid drop today due to an engine change. Robert Kubica is the first man out but his out lap is his in lap as well, as he chooses not to set a lap time. Strange, but not sure if it was planned.

6:00PM

Q1 begins!

Here we go. Five drivers to be eliminated here. 15 to go through to Q2.

5:54PM

Mercedes still working on Hamilton's car in the pit lane

But it doesn't seem to be an emergency in there. Seven minutes to go until Q1. Verstappen's mechanics working on the rear of the car, too, but again it doesn't look to be frantic. Is he favourite for pole position here?

5:47PM

If you read one F1-related thing this weekend

Then it should be Oliver Brown's fantastic long read,  In search of the real Lewis Hamilton. He speaks to those who have competed against him, worked with him and who have helped him to his monumental successes.

5:44PM

We are just under 20 minutes away from Q1

Predictions? I picked Mercedes and Hamilton to win this weekend (duh) but also thought that Verstappen would be in the mix. I can't see that changing in qualifying today and, really, I think the margin from the quickest Mercedes to the next best team might be a fair few tenths. The midfield is anyone's guess, really, but the Toro Rossos have a good chance of making it into Q3.

5:35PM

FP3 highlights

5:32PM

Exclusive Toto Wolff interview: 'The Lewis Hamilton I know is a fantastic personality. If people were to know him, they would see that too'

Read all of Oliver Brown's interview with the Mercedes team principal here. Interestingly, the Austrian has taken  a weekend off for this race. Well earned I would say.

5:27PM

Being the Brazilian Grand Prix, there has been a few events to remember Ayrton Senna

Including Martin Brundle, Senna's old F3 rival, and his nephew, former F1 driver Bruno Senna, taking his old MP4/4 for a run around Interlagos.

5:15PM

Where would you rank Interlagos out of the 21 tracks on the F1 calendar?

Earlier this year I went through each and everyone of them in the 2019 season, ranking and rating them.

It makes its way into the top 10, easily, but where exactly does the Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace rank? Click here to find out. 

5:10PM

Nice little onboard from Vettel's car

Interlagos really is a fantastic circuit and one that has changed little in recent years.

5:04PM

Final times after third practice

1. Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) Mercedes GP 1min 08.320secs

2. Max Verstappen (Ned) Red Bull 1:08.346

3. Charles Leclerc (Mon) Ferrari 1:08.611

4. Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Ferrari 1:08.664

5. Alexander Albon (Tha) Red Bull 1:09.136

6. Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Mercedes GP 1:09.201

7. Daniil Kyvat (Rus) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:09.415

8. Antonio Giovinazzi (Ita) Alfa Romeo Racing 1:09.462

9. Lando Norris (Gbr) McLaren 1:09.585

10. Carlos Sainz Jr (Spa) McLaren 1:09.588

11. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Alfa Romeo Racing 1:09.619

12. Pierre Gasly (Fra) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:09.625

13. Nico Hulkenburg (Ger) Renault 1:09.650

14. Kevin Magnussen (Den) Haas F1 1:09.713

15. Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) Renault 1:09.761

16. Romain Grosjean (Fra) Haas F1 1:09.798

17. Sergio Perez (Mex) Racing Point 1:09.995

18. Lance Stroll (Can) Racing Point 1:10.312

19. George Russell (Gbr) Williams 1:10.843

20. Robert Kubica (Pol) Williams 1:11.205

4:35PM

Good afternoon F1 fans

Both F1 titles are wrapped up now with Lewis Hamilton claiming a sixth - and third successive - F1 drivers' title and Mercedes winning their sixth constructors' title in a row. There is still the matter of two grands prix to finish before the end of the season, though, and the first of those is the Brazilian Grand Prix. That's why you're here, presumably.

Although it would have been nice to have the championships going at this late stage of the season, we've become used to it being wrapped up fairly early on. At least you get the slightly more carefree end-of-term feeling at these supposed dead rubbers. Think: Max Verstappen and Esteban Ocon's crash and fisticuffs at this race last year. And, of course, teams still want to win grands prix and create some kind of good feeling going into the off-season.

Given how dominant Mercedes have been and how many missteps most of the other teams at the front have taken I would be sceptical of anyone but the Silver Arrows feeling good about next year. Some drivers and teams may simply want the season over and done with.

This week's on-track action has been fairly tight and we could have all of the top three teams battling for pole. Hamilton was quickest in final practice this afternoon with Max Verstappen's Red Bull just behind him and then Charles Leclerc's Ferrari a few tenths behind Hamilton but under a tenth ahead of his team-mate Sebastian Vettel. There is only so much we can read into those times but it doesn't look like one team is running away with it, anyway.

The midfield is typically tight, too, with just 0.580 seconds separating Daniil Kvyat's Toro Rosso in seventh place and Sergio Perez's Racing Point in 17th.

As ever, I'll be here with all the build-up, live updates and reaction from the qualifying session.