There are some fantastics banners and posters at Interlagos this weekend.

The Pirelli tyres are a step softer than the ones used at last year's Sao Paulo Grand Prix and the whole grid has decided to start this 24-lap sprint on the C4 medium compound.

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We've got two McLarens, both Ferraris, one Red Bull, a single Mercedes and an Alpine and RB starting in the points places for the sprint.

Williams' Alex Albon and super sub Ollie Bearman in the Haas are the two drivers just outside the top eight in ninth and 10th respectively.

1. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)

2. Lando Norris (McLaren)

3. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)

4. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)

5. Carlos Ssainz (Ferrari)

6. George Russell (Mercedes)

7. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)

8. Liam Lawson (RB)

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Oliver Bearman is stepping in for Kevin Magnussen in the Haas, he starts the sprint in tenth. He told Sky Sports: "Not a lot of sleep but I'm looking forward to it. I really enjoy the track so I'm looking forward to racing here."

Ian Fergusson
BBC weather forecaster

Air temperature is 28C and the track 44.1C. Wind lighter than yesterday; gusts to 14mph in past hour, from the north.

Dry; official risk of rain is 10%. This rises in latest FIA guidance to 40% for qualifying and 70-80% for tomorrow's race.

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Lando Norris is starting two places higher than rival Max Verstappen in the sprint race today, however, the McLaren driver was unwilling to give his on what that P4 start could mean in the context of the title fight.

"I don't care. I hate this question so much," Norris said. "I'm just going to race. I don't care about where he qualified.

"For me, it's just focus on my own job. It's the same question every time. It doesn't matter. If he's first or last, I will do the best I can."

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George Russell starts in P6 for the sprint and he told Sky Sports: "Unfortunately, I think it’s going to be a little bit of no man's land between the front five and the guys behind, I hope that changes and we can give them that fight, looking after yesterday’s qualifying that’s where we lie at the moment."

On any new upgrades, he added: "I’ve got all the new stuff on the car. I don’t think the floor is the reason for our fluctuation in performance, I think it’s more down to the ride and how the car is hopping around the track."

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Lewis Hamilton and Sergio Perez were the shock knockouts in SQ2 on Friday, with the Mercedes driver starting P11 and Perez lining up his Red Bull in P13 for the sprint.

Hamilton flagged his pain after driving the Mercedes for an hour on the new asphalt in first practice, and then his lack of pace in sprint qualifying left him downbeat in Sao Paulo.

"Pretty bad, said the seven-time world champion. "But it’s the same as every qualifying for me, not that I’m happy about it.

"I just don’t have any confidence in the car so a big struggle for me."

For Perez, it was balance issues that hampered his performance in the second part of qualifying, plus some confusion on the run plan.

Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent

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Max Verstappen was 0.320 seconds adrift of Oscar Piastri's pole position time and starts today's sprint race in fourth place.

Verstappen said that bumps on the freshly resurfaced track at Interlagos had exposed one of the Red Bull's key flaws.

"As soon as we went into qualifying, it looked like we were definitely off," he said.

"A bit difficult on the bumps. They did the resurfacing but I think they made it worse to drive. It is extremely bumpy everywhere and that is not good for our car.

"On all the bumpy areas the car is jumping around a lot and it is costing me quite a bit of lap time."

On Sunday, championship Max Verstappen will have a five-place grid penalty at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

Red Bull team have fitted a new internal combustion engine, and Verstappen had already exceeded his allocation for the year.

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If Oscar Piastri does stay in front of team-mate Lando Norris (and the rest of the field) to take a sprint victory, it will be the second sprint win of his career following his victory at the Qatar Grand Prix last season.

That shorter win, his maiden victory in Formula 1, was overshadowed by Max Verstappen, who secured his third world title by finishing second in a chaotic and incident-packed event.

Since Piastri's triumph at the Lusail circuit, Verstappen has won six sprints in a row, including last year's race at Interlagos and every sprint race so far this season.

In total, the Dutchman has won 11 of the 16 sprint events that have taken place since the format was introduced in 2021.

If this is your first experience of a sprint weekend, welcome! Great to have you with us. This is how today is going to work.

The 100km sprint takes place as the first track action on Saturday, before main qualifying for Sunday's grand prix in its regular slot later in the day.

Qualifying for the shorter sprint races, (today's is 24 laps, tomorrow's main race is 71), takes place on a Friday following the one practice session for the weekend.

Only the top eight driver score points in the sprint, with the winner scoring eight points, seven points for second place and so on down to eighth.

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There are four races to go, two of which are sprint events and there are a total of 120 points available.

That means Lando Norris needs to close on Max Verstappen by an average of just under 12 points a race.

Twelve points is more than the difference between first and third places, so Norris probably needs something to happen to Verstappen that causes him to lose a significant number of points in at least one race to have a realistic hope of overhauling him.

Have a read of BBC Sport's full breakdown of the title fight here

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The gains may only be small for finishing in the top eight in the sprint race but with the constructors' championship so tight between the top three, taking a decent haul of points on Saturday could be hugely beneficial in the title fight.

McLaren have locked out the front row for the 24-lap sprint and start 29 points ahead of Ferrari in second, with reigning champions Red Bull now 54 points back on the leaders.

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Championship leader Max Verstappen hasn't tasted a main grand prix victory since the Spanish Grand Prix in June but when it comes to sprint races, the Dutchman is undefeated so far this season.

The gap between himself and Lando Norris after Mexico is 47 points, with a total of 34 points on offer for a perfect drive across the Interlagos weekend.

Charles Leclerc in third is 71 points away from Verstappen with four races to go but only 24 points off second-placed Norris' tally.

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Three drivers are on the move from their sprint qualifying positions.

The two Aston Martins of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll, plus Zhou Guanyu of Sauber, will all be starting from the pit lane today, after both teams made changes to their cars under parc ferme conditions.

The trio of drivers were all knocked out in the first part of qualifying yesterday, so were already a long way away from starting in the points places.

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Oliver Bearman said Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu called him at 6:30am to say he would be replacing Kevin Magnussen, who is out through illness, for Friday's running in Sao Paulo.

The 19-year-old Briton was already pencilled in to take part in the sprint race today but Haas have now confirmed Bearman will stay in the car for the remainder of the weekend.

It was a positive performance by Bearman yesterday, as he out-qualified regular driver Nico Hulkenberg and will start 10th on the grid.

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Hello, folks. It was a bumpy start to the weekend for most teams in Sao Paulo with many drivers experiencing an uncomfortable ride on the newly resurfaced Interlagos track.

Today's action is non-stop, with the 24-lap sprint race up first followed by qualifying for tomorrow's main grand prix.

The sprint event goes green at 14:00 GMT.

Qualifying gets under way at 18:00 GMT.

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Commentary on the sprint is available on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra and BBC Sounds, while qualifying will be online-only at the top of this page using the 'listen live' tab.

You can also listen to both sessions via most smart speakers. Just ask BBC Sounds to play Sao Paulo Grand Prix, followed by the current session.

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McLaren secured a one-two in yesterday's sprint qualifying but it was Oscar Piastri who claimed pole position ahead of his title chasing team-mate Lando Norris by 0.029 seconds.

With the sprint prizes a lot smaller than those on offer for winning the main show, Piastri has said he would be prepared to help out Norris in the Briton's quest to close the gap on championship leader Max Verstappen, who starts fourth on today's grid.

So, if the Piastri and Norris stay ahead of the chasing pack until the chequered flag, will we see a team orders lite triggered by McLaren? Let's find out...