Brazil: Chaos, Norris on pole, penalties for Verstappen, Hamilton and Leclerc!

In a rainy, chaotic qualifying session for the traditional Brazilian Grand Prix, Lando Norris came out on top: his 20th Pole position in the premier class (equalling the tally of Valtteri Bottas and Damon Hill), his fourth this season (following the Hungaroring, Zandvoort and Madrid) and his third at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace in Interlagos, following 2024 and 2025. The 2025 Formula 1 champion finished the turbulent qualifying session ahead of the Mercedes duo of George Russell and Kimi Antonelli.

For his team, McLaren, this is the 181st F1 pole position in the team’s history, the fourth of the 2026 Grand Prix season and the 14th for a World Championship race in Brazil.

Qualifying began under clear skies, with an air temperature of 22 degrees and a track temperature of 31 degrees – almost 25 degrees cooler than in the third free practice session! It had rained heavily between the third practice session and qualifying, and shortly before the final practice session, it began to rain more heavily again.

Qualifying also began with a number of drivers already knowing they would be subject to grid penalties. Due to the fitting of a new power unit, the champions Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, as well as Sergio Pérez, will be moved back down the grid. Charles Leclerc will have to drop ten places, and George Russell five.

Given that a wet Grand Prix is on the cards for 8 November, things could get interesting with the two champions at the back of the grid!

Topic of the week

World Champion Kimi Antonelli: record-breaker, heart-breaker, the Tifosi’s dream

With his third-place finish at the Mexican Grand Prix, Kimi Antonelli has become the youngest of the 36 Formula 1 world champions to date. The 20-year-old Italian is on a record-breaking run. The Tifosi are dreaming of Antonelli in a Ferrari.

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Sao Paulo: Das Rennen

FIA Formula One World Championship

08.11.2026 - 17:10

In Q1, on a wet track, some drivers initially opted for intermediates (marked green), but that wasn’t enough for this level of rain. A few drivers ventured out on intermediates anyway, whilst a few others pulled over in the pit lane to pick up wet tyres (marked blue).

The rain got heavier, with lots of water on the track; world champion Antonelli on the radio: “I’m already aquaplaning.”

After just two minutes: a red flag. Drivers such as Isack Hadjar and Kimi Antonelli reported that they were soaked right down to their fireproof underwear; Oliver Bearman even had water in his helmet!

Two old hands who hadn’t even gone out on track and were therefore dry: Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton.

But Formula 1 is well prepared for all eventualities in such situations. The procedure in such cases is always the same: the medical car or the safety car is sent onto the track to assess the conditions. Particular attention is paid to standing water, where the GP cars could be swept off the track due to aquaplaning.

Qualifying is postponed in stages until conditions allow driving to resume, or until the whole session has to be abandoned – either because there is too much water, because the rain won’t let up, or because daylight is running out.

After an 84-minute break, proceedings resumed, with the rain falling more heavily once again. The cars were on wet tyres, not intermediates. And they had plenty of fuel on board, as nobody knew how long the session would last.

Max Verstappen was told that the rain would intensify again within five minutes. Alpine driver Pierre Gasly complained of aquaplaning – and nearly flew off the track.

A yellow flag was soon waved after Haas rookie Rafael Câmara spun and made contact with the track barrier.

Naturally, lap times were tumbling by the second. First, Audi driver Hülkenberg was in the lead, then Leclerc, then Verstappen, then Alonso in the Aston Martin-Honda.

It was now a matter of setting your best lap before the rain picked up again. Visibility was critical due to the heavy spray, particularly at the start and finish lines.

Leclerc was back in the lead, followed by Verstappen, then Hülkenberg, then a yellow flag – Gabriele Bortoleto was off the track; the Brazilian had sustained damage to his rear wing and was out.

Once again, everything had changed at the front: Hamilton first, then Norris, then Russell, Lance Stroll off the track, in the same spot as Bortoleto earlier.

A sensation was in the air, as Oliver Bearman set the fastest time, ahead of Lawson and Lindblad, then Verstappen was back in front, ahead of Hamilton – the two who would have to start further back on the grid.

But just two minutes later, everything looked completely different again: Russell, Norris, Antonelli, Bearman, Verstappen, Hamilton – and then Nico Hülkenberg in the Audi at the front!

As this crazy, delayed Q1 drew to a close, the following were eliminated: Colapinto in P17, then Gasly, Stroll, Bottas, Pérez and Bortoleto.

The top ten: Norris, Russell, Verstappen, Hamilton, Hülkenberg, Hadjar, Lawson, Alonso, Leclerc and Antonelli.

Verstappen was nowhere to be seen in the second qualifying segment; the Dutchman has to start from well back anyway. He didn’t want to risk his car, and he was also clever enough to save his tyre sets.

Why did Hamilton carry on, given that he’ll also have to start from the back? Because the Englishman was enjoying the drive and wanted to practise for Sunday, when wet conditions are also forecast.

The first drivers with cause for concern: all drivers have only two sets of wet tyres and five sets of intermediates. And rain is forecast for Sunday.

The rain had almost stopped, so it was a quieter phase again, but there was still plenty of spray and treacherous conditions.

Mercedes driver George Russell on the radio: “It looks like intermediates, but the wet tyres are behaving quite well.”

Once again, the order was changing almost every second: Russell in the lead, then Antonelli, then Norris, then Leclerc.

Arvid Lindblad had to pull the Racing Bulls car over to the side: a technical problem – bad luck for the Brit.

Fernando Alonso was the first to switch to the green-marked intermediate tyres. This happened as the sky grew darker again. Other drivers also picked up intermediate tyres.

Then a red flag! An accident involving Haas rookie Câmara. The car’s front axle was damaged. Rafa had skidded off the track; on the wet grass, the car barely slowed down at all. The young Brazilian didn’t stand a chance.

The final seconds of Q2 were not completed, and Q3 began with a further delay because Câmara’s Haas had to be removed from the track.

Out: Hamilton in P11, followed by Piastri, Câmara, Lindblad, Sainz and Verstappen.

The top ten: Russell, Lawson, Hadjar, Leclerc, Hülkenberg, Albon, Alonso (his first top ten of the season for Aston Martin!), Bearman, Norris and Antonelli.

The minutes ticked by whilst the repairs were carried out, which wasn’t good as very dark clouds were rolling in.

Alonso immediately took the front of the queue to ensure he had a clear run at the start of what might be a shortened Q3.

Radio to Antonelli: “We’ll probably only get one lap before heavy rain sets in.”

Had the drivers already made a mistake by opting for intermediates? Should they have switched to wet tyres? The Mercedes were right at the back of this line-up of ten cars.

George Russell briefly took the lead, followed by Lando Norris; neither Antonelli nor Leclerc could keep up.

Towards the end, the rain intensified again, making it clear that no one would beat Lando Norris’s time.