Rain-affected Sâo Paulo qualifying saw Norris claim pole position for third consecutive year
It wouldn't be a Formula One race weekend at Interlagos without some dramatic weather, and before the qualifying session even began, the rain started to come down heavy.
An early red flag was brought out due to the severe weather, but unlike in 2024 where qualifying was held early on Sunday morning, the session was still able to go ahead.
It was a chaotic session overall, and ended early due to the rain intensifying again. Lando Norris will start on pole position for tomorrow's Grand Prix, with Kimi Antonelli in second and Liam Lawson in third.
Q1
A few minutes before the green light, several cars lined up in the pit lane, which may not have been the best idea as the rainfall got heavier. Most of the drivers who were first out on track had intermediate tyres on their cars, and got ready to pit for extreme wet tyres.
Before any times could be set, the session got red flagged due to the weather. Multiple drivers, even those on extreme wet tyres, were seen aquaplaning and out of control of their vehicles.
Around 20 minutes after the session was stopped, the medical car assessed the track conditions, and there were still some big pockets of rain on the circuit. The Safety Car then went out around 10 minutes after the medical car did, but there was still too much standing water on the track.
Some more time passed and the rain just got worse. The heavy downpour was supported by some
thunder and lightning, with the water looking like it'll take a while to clear from the track.
After over an hour, qualifying finally restarted. The rain was still coming down but it was nowhere near as intense as it was before. The drivers took a longer pause between each release out of the pit lane to help with the visibility that is affected by the spray.
Valtteri Bottas was first to start a timed lap in the session. During this lap, Rafael Câmara spun out, but managed to get going again in his first F1 qualifying session.
The times being set weren't the quickest due to the wet conditions, but Max Verstappen managed to set the first competitive time of 1:37:932. However, Fernando Alonso shockingly went quickest with a time of 1:26:930, and Lance Stroll moved up to third.
The pace started to pick up, with Verstappen and Charles Leclerc moving back up towards the top.
In front of his home crowd, Gabriel Bortoleto went off track, and subsequently had to retire from the session. Meanwhile, his teammate, Nico Hülkenberg set the quickest lap.
Lewis Hamilton for the first time in the session went the fastest, but the seven-time World Drivers' Champion will take a 30-place grid penalty for tomorrow's race due to a full power unit change.
The standings were constantly changing as the drivers got to grips with the weather and found the pace on the extreme wet tyres. George Russell went fastest with just over two minutes to go in the first part of qualifying, setting a time of 1:32:441.
Hülkenberg was showing great pace in the conditions, going fastest from Russell and Norris, setting a time of 1:31:693. Then, both Racing Bulls made their way up to the top three, showing great pace all weekend.
It wasn't long until those standings changed again with Verstappen, Oscar Piastri and Hamilton joining them at the top. Russell went quickest from Verstappen, but Norris managed to take that spot at the top of the board to close out Q1.
Q1 eliminations
17 Franco Colapinto
18 Pierre Gasly
19 Lance Stroll
20 Valtteri Bottas
21 Sergio Pérez
22 Gabriel Bortoleto
Q2
Verstappen, despite making it through to the second part of qualifying, did not go out on track to try and save his wet tyres in case the weather picks up again during tomorrow's race. The Dutch driver has a grid penalty to serve for tomorrow's race and will start at the back of the grid regardless.
Russell set the first timed lap of Q2, but Antonelli went fastest shortly after. Lawson and Arvid Lindblad still looked incredibly quick at the start of this session.
Leclerc set the quickest time of the session yet with a 1:29:795. Hamilton joined him in second, two tenths off the pace of his teammate.
Every driver was still on the extreme wet tyres as they were performing well, despite the rain calming down.
Mercedes made it a 1-2, finding the pace against the Ferrari's. The drivers were giving it their all in the wet conditions, despite Russell, Leclerc and Hamilton all being hit with grid penalties tomorrow.
Lindblad stopped behind the barriers due to an issue with the car, which was an unfortunate early end to his session where he was performing so well.
Alonso and Isack Hadjar were the first two drivers to make a gamble on the intermediate tyres, as several others began to follow. Alonso managed to gain on his previous time, moving him up to third. Oliver Bearman then went quickest on the intermediate tyres, setting a lap time of 1:29:130, but Lawson had a flying lap, making 1:27:478 the time to beat.
Russell then moved up to go seven tenths quicker than Lawson's previous time, but the New Zealander improved on his time, staying second and closing the gap to 0.3 seconds.
Câmara had a nightmare end to his session, crashing into the barriers at Turn 12, bringing out the second red flag of qualifying. Due to this, the it was decided that Q2 would not be resumed and the start of Q3 would be delayed.
Q2 eliminations
11. Lewis Hamilton
12. Oscar Piastri
13. Rafael Câmara
14. Arvid Lindblad
15. Carlos Sainz
16. Max Verstappen
Q3
Some unusual names made it to the final part of qualifying, including Alex Albon, who has not made it to Q3 since Austria 2025. Alonso also moved through after showing some strong pace in the Aston Martin.
Every driver started off on intermediate tyres as the rain was coming down yet again when Q3 got underway, with the potential of it getting more intense. Alonso was first out on track, attempting to make the most of this top 10 opportunity, setting the first time of 1:30:311
It didn't take long for other drivers to go quicker, with Norris, Lawson and Hülkenberg making the top three. Albon moved up to third, before Russell went quickest overall.
Leclerc couldn't match the pace up ahead, only going fifth as the rain continued to pick up. However, Norris went fastest again, with a lap time of 1:27:470.
The 2026 Drivers' Champion, Antonelli, only managed third behind his teammate, before the rain began to intensify.
Despite there being no red flag, all of the drivers made their way back to their garages and called an end to the session.
This means Norris will start on pole position tomorrow, making it his third consecutive pole start in Brazil. After penalties, he is joined by Antonelli on the front row and Lawson in third.
Top 10*
1. Lando Norris
2. George Russell
3. Kimi Antonelli
4. Charles Leclerc
5. Liam Lawson
6. Nico Hülkenberg
7. Isack Hadjar
8. Oliver Bearman
9. Fernando Alonso
10. Alex Albon
*Top 10 does not reflect tomorrow's starting grid. Several grid penalties will be served.
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