McLaren’s Lando Norris topped a wet Qualifying session to claim pole position for the 2026 Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Norris finished third in a dry FP3 before he overcame a wet qualifying session which saw two red flags to claim pole on a grid which features several grid penalties.
FP3
Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg was first out on track and posted 1m 14.933 as the initial benchmark time but his time quickly got usurped by several drivers, as Andrea Kimi Antonelli set the initial pace once everyone did their opening lap times after the Italian posted 1m 12.497.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc displaced him three minutes later by 0.060 seconds, but Max Verstappen displaced him with 1m 12.284 in the 18th minute, only for Antonelli to immediately displace the four-time champion with 1m 12.214 before he lowered the benchmark to 1m 12.209 in the 25th minute.
Attentions switched to soft-tyre qualifying simulations in the last 15 minutes as Mercedes’ George Russell posted 1m 11.806 to go top.
Norris displaced his British compatriot by 0.053 seconds before Antonelli went 0.106 seconds faster with 1m 11.647, yet Verstappen posted 1m 11.622 early in the 47th minute to top the session.
Lewis Hamilton and Lance Stroll set their fastest lap times on the medium tyre in 12th and 22nd positions due to reliability issues.
| Position | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1m 11.622 |
| 2 | Andrea Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | + 0.025 |
| 3 | Lando Norris | McLaren | + 0.131 |
| 4 | George Russell | Mercedes | + 0.184 |
| 5 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | + 0.274 |
| 6 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | + 0.313 |
| 7 | Arvid Lindblad | Racing Bulls | + 0.438 |
| 8 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls | + 0.549 |
| 9 | Isack Hadjar | Red Bull | + 0.628 |
| 10 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Audi | + 1.022 |
| 11 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | + 1.022 |
| 12 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | + 1.211 |
| 13 | Nico Hulkenberg | Audi | + 1.243 |
| 14 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine | + 1.303 |
| 15 | Rafael Camara | Haas | + 1.359 |
| 16 | Oliver Bearman | Haas | + 1.487 |
| 17 | Alex Albon | Williams | + 1.525 |
| 18 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | + 1.549 |
| 19 | Carlos Sainz | Williams | + 1,681 |
| 20 | Sergio Perez | Cadillac | + 1.951 |
| 21 | Valtteri Bottas | Cadillac | + 2.100 |
| 22 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | + 3.144 |
Qualifying
Q1
With torrential rainfall at the start, several drivers gambled incorrectly on the intermediates but stewards red flagged the segment with 15 minutes and 37 seconds left due to the conditions.
The session resumed just over 80 minutes later and Bottas set 1m 42.314 as the initial benchmark but times soon tumbled as everyone adapted to the conditions, with Colapinto, Bearman, Bortoleto, Gasly, Hadjar and Camara in the bottom six after initial laps.
Camara however hadn’t set a lap time after he spun at Reta Oposta but recovered to the pit lane.
At the checkered flag, Bearman, Hadjar and Camara survived whilst Bortoleto finished slowest due to a session-ending spin at Juncao.
Perez was second-slowest behind Bottas, Stroll, Gasly and Colapinto, whilst Norris topped the segment with 1m 30.939 ahead of Russell and Hamilton.
Q2
Russell was first out on track and set 1m 30.597 as the initial benchmark and soon found himself exchanging fastest laps with Norris and Leclerc.
Camara, Bearman, Piastri, Albon and Alonso meanwhile found themselves in the elimination zone alongside Verstappen, who opted not to participate in the segment as he is starting from the back row due to a grid penalty for a new engine.
With five minutes left, everyone made a switch from wet to intermediate tyres but some were unable to nail a representative time on the latter tyre compound before Q2 came to an end.
The segment was red flagged and aborted with 43 seconds left on the clock after Camara crashed at Juncao whilst sat 13th, behind Piastri and Hamilton but ahead of Lindblad – who stopped on track with a technical issue – plus Sainz and Verstappen.
Russell topped Q2 with 1m 26.745.
Q3
Alonso was first on track and posted 1m 30.311 but seven drivers beat his lap time as Russell set the pace of 1m 27.674 from Norris, Lawson and Antonelli in the top four.
Norris on his next lap posted 1m 27.470 to go top from Russell and Antonelli, whilst Leclerc, Lawson, Hulkenberg, Hadjar, Bearman, Alonso and Albon.
Everyone eventually pitted with five minutes left due to darkening conditions amidst heavier rain and didn’t venture back out, which left Norris on pole for a third consecutive year in Sao Paulo.
Antonelli will start second ahead of Lawson, Hulkenberg, Hadjar and Bearman after a five-place grid penalty demoted Russell to seventh ahead of Alonso and Albon, whilst Leclerc will drop to 14th on the grid due to his own ten-place grid penalty.
| Position | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 1m 27.470 |
| 2 | George Russell | Mercedes | + 0.204 |
| 3 | Andrea Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | + 0.625 |
| 4 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | + 0.819 |
| 5 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls | + 0.851 |
| 6 | Nico Hulkenberg | Audi | + 1.198 |
| 7 | Isack Hadjar | Red Bull | + 1.293 |
| 8 | Oliver Bearman | Haas | + 2.361 |
| 9 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | + 2.841 |
| 10 | Alex Albon | Williams | + 2.986 |
| 11 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 1m 30.001 |
| 12 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | + 0.368 |
| 13 | Rafael Camara | Haas | + 0.514 |
| 14 | Arvid Lindblad | Racing Bulls | + 1.686 |
| 15 | Carlos Sainz | Williams | + 1.784 |
| 16 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | No Time |
| 17 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine | 1m 33.327 |
| 18 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | + 0.122 |
| 19 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | + 0.326 |
| 20 | Valtteri Bottas | Cadillac | + 0.447 |
| 21 | Sergio Perez | Cadillac | + 1.182 |
| 22 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Audi | + 8.237 |
*Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez will start on the back row after taking a change of engine.
**Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton have taken 10-place grid penalties for change of power unit components.
***George Russell has taken a five-place grid penalty for a a change of power unit component.
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