The Dutchman will have his work cut out for him in Interlagos however, with title rival, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri both starting the race ahead of him, giving McLaren yet another opportunity to increase their lead ahead of Ferrari and Red Bull in the constructors' standings.
The race on Saturday will be Piastri's second sprint starting from pole, his strong past form posing an interesting conundrum for the papaya outfit over whether they will need to introduce team orders for Norris to gain as many vital points as possible as he looks to close the gap to Verstappen in the drivers' championship.
The scarlet Ferrari of Charles Leclerc is set to start the sprint from P3, the Scuderia having proved themselves the team to beat so far in the triple-header, with Leclerc and team-mate Carlos Sainz having secured a win apiece in Austin and Mexico City.
Reserve driver Ollie Bearman will appear behind the wheel of a Haas once again for the sprint after Kevin Magnussen was unable to compete in Friday's practice or qualifying sessions due to illness, the team eagerly monitoring the young star's performance ahead of his full-time F1 debut from 2025.
F1 2024 Brazilian Grand Prix Sprint Race starting grid
1. Oscar Piastri [McLaren] - 1:08.899secs
2. Lando Norris [McLaren] - +0.029
3. Charles Leclerc [Ferrari] - +0.254
4. Max Verstappen [Red Bull] - +0.320
5. Carlos Sainz [Ferrari] - +0.358
6. George Russell [Mercedes] - +0.544
7. Pierre Gasly [Alpine] - +0.723
8. Liam Lawson [VCARB] - +1.042
9. Alex Albon [Williams] - +1.179
10. Ollie Bearman [Haas] - NO TIME
11. Lewis Hamilton [Mercedes]
12. Nico Hulkenberg [Haas]
13. Sergio Perez [Red Bull]
14. Franco Colapinto [Williams]
15. Valtteri Bottas [Sauber]br>
16. Esteban Ocon [Alpine]
17. Yuki Tsunoda [VCARB]
Brazilian Grand Prix Sprint Race - Saturday, November 2, 2024
The Sprint Race in Sao Paulo kicks off today at 11am local time. Find the session start times converted to your local time zone below:
Local time 11am Saturday United States (EDT): 10am Saturday United States (PDT): 7am Saturday Central European Time 3pm Saturday United Kingdom (BST): 2pm Saturday