Mastering the most treacherous of conditions at Interlagos, Lando Norris had the edge to take pole position for McLaren at the São Paulo Grand Prix, having bested a downpour that tested every driver. But with more rain predicted for the race on Sunday, it remains wide open from the front to the very back of the grid.
After a qualifying session that took two and a half hours to complete because of delays caused by the heavy rain, Norris came out on top but the grid will be marked by a very mixed-up formation, as a host of drivers took penalties.
“We could just have an exciting race with a little bit of everything, honestly,” he said. “I was certainly more confident in the wet and inter [intermediate] than I was in the dry. I think in the dry we just didn’t have the pace, so I’ll be certainly more happy if I wake up and see rain in the morning.”
Mercedes’ George Russell was second on track but the British driver has a grid penalty, promoting his teammate Kimi Antonelli, the new world champion, to second and Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson to third, with Audi’s Nico Hülkenberg up to fourth.
Interlagos was awash with streams of water flooding across the track so the early runs were a real test. Russell called the conditions “crazy”. “I love driving in the rain. I love driving in the rain here but if that was a race there was no way we should be driving in that,” he said. “Because the chances of seeing a really, really horrific incident is very, very high.”
Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton were also among a raft of drivers receiving a grid penalty for taking a new engine and the Dutchman opted not to set a time after Q1, to save his tyres for the race, and will start from 21st.
Hamilton also had to take a full range of engine components: having had a new internal combustion engine (ICE) for final practice, that then suffered a problem and he will start from 20th. His Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc finished in fourth but has a 10-place penalty for taking a new ICE and will start from 14th.
Those penalties put Mercedes in a prime position to close out the constructors’ championship on Sunday. They will clinch the title if they outscore Ferrari by three points in Brazil. With their having secured the drivers’ championship with Antonelli last weekend, it will be their first double since 2020 and their ninth constructors’ title.
Russell has a five-place penalty for taking a new engine and he will start from seventh but he was left furious with his team that he was told by the team to back off on his last quick run, which he felt was enough to have at least set the best time.
“That was definitely the pole lap,” he said. “Misjudgment on our side, we need to understand what happened. The rain was coming and we should’ve just finished the lap.”
For McLaren this was the result they were looking for having brought what was expected to be the last of their major upgrades to this race, with the focus on a new front wing. They are hoping the developments – which are designed looking toward their 2027 car with the intent of addressing the narrow edge of balance of the current model – would prove beneficial and Norris had noted he felt they were working.
“For the team, it’s reassuring for them, it’s a confidence booster for all of them to end the season knowing we’ve caught up a lot since the beginning of the season,” he said.
Quite what awaits on Sunday remains very much up in the air, however, and no driver can be ruled out if the rain does return.
Verstappen will not consider the cause lost at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace, where he has shown superb form in the past. Rain is expected for the race set for 5pm on Sunday. In 2016 he came back from 16th to third in the wet, last year he also took third after starting from the pit lane and in 2024 he won from 17th on the grid.
Hamilton has similar form in Brazil having come back twice in the same weekend in 2021, from 20th to fifth in the sprint and then from 10th to the win in the race. However, he likely faces a far tougher task this time round, with the Ferrari’s power deficit looking exposed at Interlagos, though that deficit would be somewhat negated if the race is wet.
Rafael Câmara, the Brazilian Ferrari junior driver replacing Esteban Ocon at Haas for the rest of this season and with a full-time drive next year, had made a good showing on his F1 debut at his home grand prix by making it into Q2, but he then crashed out late on, ending the session.
Cadillac’s Sergio Pérez also took a full set of new engine components and he will start from the back of the grid.
