Fernando Alonso signs his best qualifying of the year in the rain and will start eighth in Interlagos

We had to wait 20 races for Fernando Alonso to occupy the top-10 on a grid for the 2026 World Championship. The Spaniard finished ninth in qualifying for the Sao Paulo GP, although he will start eighth in Interlagos, benefiting from a penalty to George Russell. The Briton, after his poor performance throughout the year, was also unable to take pole position from his compatriot Lando Norris (1:27.470) this time. Furthermore, the Mercedes driver, overcome with frustration, left an ugly message to his engineer, who had ordered him to lift his foot while waiting to find more space for a last attempt. But the rain was pressing again in Interlagos and there was no longer any option for the fourth place finisher in the World Cup. A red flag, caused by Rafael Camara's accident, knocked down Carlos Sainz's chances in the decisive section of Q2. The Madrid native finished fifteenth.

We had to wait 85 minutes, a wait almost as eternal as the one in Sepang. This time it wasn't the car software, but the rain, which was still coming down hard. The pilots complained about zero visibility and aquaplaning, but the FIA ​​decided to give the green light. A bold decision, very far from current F1 standards. That 15-minute Q1 was enough for Alonso, eighth, and Sainz, fourteenth, to overthrow the predictions. In dry conditions, both would have been knocked out.

This qualy, in reality, had something of a trap, because Max Verstappen, Russell and the Ferrari drivers had penalties due to changes in the power unit components, which delayed them on the grid. In fact, the Red Bull leader refused to go out on the track during Q2, aware of his condemnation to last place. Lewis Hamilton, who had taken advantage of the delay to have the mechanics tune up his car, also did not know how to get involved in the improvement. The seven-time champion was the main victim of an atypical Q2, in which Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) was second, Nico Hulkenberg (Audi), fifth, Alex Albon (Williams), sixth and Oliver Bearman (Haas), eighth.