Sprint qualifying for the 2024 Formula 1 São Paulo Grand Prix, round 21 of the season, took place at Interlagos in the early hours of 2 November, Beijing time. McLaren locked out the front row, with Oscar Piastri taking Sprint pole in 1:08.899 and team-mate Lando Norris just 0.029 seconds behind. Charles Leclerc was third and Max Verstappen fourth. RB’s Yuki Tsunoda went out in SQ1 and was set to start the Sprint from 18th.
The three-part dry qualifying session produced several surprises. In SQ1, Tsunoda’s best lap of 1:11.121 was only good enough for 18th, a stark contrast to team-mate Liam Lawson, who reached SQ3 and eventually finished eighth. Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon also went out early. SQ2 then eliminated Hamilton in 11th, Nico Hülkenberg, Sergio Pérez in 13th and Franco Colapinto, among others. Pole was not settled until the final lap of SQ3, when Piastri edged Norris by 0.029 seconds to secure both front-row places for McLaren.
For Ferrari, Leclerc was third, 0.254 seconds off pole, with Carlos Sainz fifth. George Russell and Pierre Gasly followed in sixth and seventh. Oliver Bearman reached SQ3 but did not set a valid time in the final segment and was classified tenth, with Alex Albon ninth. Under the Sprint format, the top eight would share the points in the 24-lap contest later that evening. With both front-row places, McLaren were the clear favourites, and how pole-sitter Piastri and title contender Norris would manage their tactics became the main talking point before the Sprint.
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | SQ1 | SQ2 | SQ3 | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 1:10.265 | 1:09.239 | 1:08.899 | 16 |
| 2 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 1:09.477 | 1:09.063 | 1:08.928 | 14 |
| 3 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:10.388 | 1:09.248 | 1:09.153 | 18 |
| 4 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:10.409 | 1:09.489 | 1:09.219 | 12 |
| 5 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | 1:10.503 | 1:09.500 | 1:09.257 | 15 |
| 6 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:10.479 | 1:09.683 | 1:09.443 | 15 |
| 7 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | 1:10.630 | 1:09.610 | 1:09.622 | 15 |
| 8 | 30 | Liam Lawson | RB | 1:10.576 | 1:09.827 | 1:09.941 | 11 |
| 9 | 23 | Alex Albon | Williams | 1:10.366 | 1:09.844 | 1:10.078 | 12 |
| 10 | 50 | Oliver Bearman | Haas | 1:10.442 | 1:09.629 | DNF | 12 |
| 11 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:10.625 | 1:09.941 | – | 13 |
| 12 | 27 | Nico Hülkenberg | Haas | 1:10.466 | 1:09.964 | – | 8 |
| 13 | 11 | Sergio Pérez | Red Bull | 1:10.392 | 1:10.024 | – | 10 |
| 14 | 43 | Franco Colapinto | Williams | 1:10.470 | 1:10.275 | – | 9 |
| 15 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Sauber | 1:10.861 | 1:10.595 | – | 12 |
| 16 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 1:10.978 | – | – | 6 |
| 17 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | 1:11.052 | – | – | 6 |
| 18 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB | 1:11.121 | – | – | 6 |
| 19 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 1:11.280 | – | – | 6 |
| 20 | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | Sauber | 1:12.978 | – | – | 5 |
