Oscar Piastri expects to make staggering sacrifice after clinching pole for Brazilian GP sprint race

Australian Oscar Piastri took pole position for the Brazilian Grand Prix sprint on Saturday morning (AEDT), ahead of McLaren teammate and championship contender Lando Norris.

In the final segment of sprint qualifying, Piastri headed onto the Interlagos circuit early, remaining out on track following an initial flying lap before lunging for a second effort as the chequered flag fell.

Piastri improved on his second flying lap to pip Norris to the top spot by 0.029s

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Last year, Piastri converted his sprint pole at the Qatar Grand Prix to victory, but this year, things are a bit more complicated with the world championship still up for grabs.

Piastri remains in contention, but only just, and is almost certainly to be taken out of the equation this weekend.

Norris, however, is still in with a shot — needing to take home the maximum score every race weekend with four grands prix to go.

Speaking to Sky Sports after taking pole, Piastri admitted that he would uphold team orders and sacrifice the win if it would benefit Norris' title hopes.

"Yes, I said I would [be prepared to give up victory] when we had these discussions," he said.

"We'll see what the pace is like for both of us. First and second is the first objective; then we'll see what order it is.

"I know I'm not in the running for the drivers standings, and for the team, it doesn't matter which way around we are.

"I know that's the case, and we'll see."

However, Piastri is not willing to give up the victory so easily.

"Lando needs the points in the driver standings a lot more than I do, but of course, I still want to win," he said.

So, if I put in the effort and have good pace, I'm sure that won't go unnoticed.

"It would be nice to win, but it's a one-point difference and it's not the main race, so we'll see."

Piastri was pleased with his performance despite battling his used tyres.

"It was a tricky session. I felt pretty comfortable at the start and then grip was really coming up a lot during the session," he said.

"With the track this year, it's hard enough to see where you're going, let alone trying to do a fast lap. It's challenging out there, but happy to qualify on pole for the sprint."

Championship leader Max Verstappen was also handed a five-place grid penalty after he decided to change his engine.

The FIA confirmed the Verstappen decision on Friday.

In Formula 1, drivers are allowed to use four engines throughout the season.

Verstappen is up to six having already served a 10-place grid penalty for using his fifth engine at July’s Belgian GP.

He clocked the 15th best time during the morning practice, one second behind Norris, who was fastest.

Later, he finished fourth in the sprint race qualifier, 0.320 seconds behind Piastri.

Verstappen's move could improve the chances of Norris in Monday morning's race to reduce the Dutchman's 47-point lead in the drivers' standings.