George Russell claimed his first win in Formula One in the sprint at Interlagos to take pole position for the Brazilian Grand Prix.

The Ferrari of Carlos Sainz took second but the Spaniard has a grid penalty looming for a change of engine to move third-placed Lewis Hamilton provisionally up onto the front row alongside his Mercedes teammate.

Seven-time world champion Hamilton was being investigated by the race stewards for a starting grid infringement so will have to wait on the conclusion of that inquiry before his front row slot is confirmed.

If it is it will give Mercedes a tremendous shot at a first grand prix win at the tail end of a trying season dominated by Verstappen and Red Bull.

“I wasn’t talking to race control, and they have deferred that to after to look into it,” trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin told Sky Sports.

“That might be down to positioning in the box but we have got the onboard and it looks like we are very, very conservative in where he positioned it in terms of the lines.

“Whether it was a sensory issue I don’t know but from the image we have seen, there doesn’t look to be any hint that we were outside that box.”

Verstappen had to settle for fourth after he was passed by Russell at the third attempt on lap 15 of 24.

His teammate Sergio Perez took fifth with shock pole sitter Kevin Magnussen of Haas in eighth.

Verstappen suffered damage earlier in the race after a collision with Carlos Sainz, with Perez closing in and at one point requesting over the team radio to pass his teammate.

“Am I going to have his position? I need the points,” he said, with the plea falling on deaf ears.

Russell was elated with taking his first chequered flag in F1. “It’s crazy to think we are both starting on the front row - I’m sure Max will be flying tomorrow, but we’ll go for the win,” he said.

“It was incredible,” he added.

“We weren’t expecting to have that much pace, but it goes to show all the hard work we are putting in and the progress we as a team have made.

“These last three races since Austin, the car has been feeling great and it is difficult to know how Max would have got on if he had been on the soft tyres.

“Nevertheless, standing here is a great feeling.”

Elsewhere, Lando Norris finished seventh for McLaren ahead of Magnussen, four-time champion Sebastian Vettel of Aston Martin and Pierre Gasly of Alpha Tauri.

In warm and dry conditions, Magnussen made a perfect start from his maiden pole position and led for the opening two laps while Verstappen defended against Russell.

The world champion then powered into the lead at start of lap three while behind him Fernando Alonso and Alpine team-mate Esteban Ocon battled and collided, the two-time champion pitting after damaging his front wing.

“He pushed me in Turn Four and then finally in the straight,” reported the Spaniard, referring to Ocon as ‘our friend’ in a sarcastic radio message.

“Well done.”

Verstappen stayed in control, without providing convincing pace, until lap 15 when Russell passed him on the run to Turn Four, after four laps in fierce competition had produced thrilling thrust-and-defend battles between them.

Once out in clean air, Russell demonstrated the potential of his Mercedes as Magnussen fell back to seventh and Hamilton rose to fourth in the second of the ‘silver arrows’.

By lap 20, with four to go, Russell led Sainz, who had fought his way past Verstappen at Turn One a lap earlier, leaving the Dutchman with a damaged front wing, and Hamilton, up to third with a clean pass of the Red Bull.

In an all-action race, the two Aston Martins also had a close brush when Lance Stroll defended hard against Vettel, forcing the four-time champion off the track onto the grass.

“Ok,” muttered Vettel of the incident which led to a 10-second penalty for the Canadian.

In his penultimate race, he rediscovered his old spark and raced to ninth as an excited crowd roared their approval.

SPRINT RACE — TOP TEN

1. George Russell, Mercedes

2. Carlos Sainz, Ferrari

3. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes

4. Max Verstappen, Red Bull

5. Sergio Perez, Red Bull

6. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari

7. Lando Norris, McLaren

8. Kevin Magnussen, Haas

9. Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin

10. Pierre Gasly, Alpha Tauri