Norris takes São Paulo pole as penalties promote Antonelli to front row

Lando Norris took pole for the 2026 São Paulo Grand Prix in rain-disrupted qualifying, with Andrea Kimi Antonelli set to start alongside him after qualifying third.

Norris clocked 1:27.470 to beat George Russell by 0.204 seconds. Motorsport.com reports that Russell has a five-place penalty for an engine change and is set to start seventh.

Charles Leclerc qualified fourth but drops to 14th through a penalty, while Liam Lawson moves from fifth to third. That matches Lawson’s career-best starting position from the 2025 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Nico Hulkenberg starts fourth, ahead of Isack Hadjar and Oliver Bearman, with Fernando Alonso, Alex Albon and Oscar Piastri completing the top 10 behind Russell. Piastri qualified 12th, while Alonso’s ninth place was his best qualifying result and first Q3 appearance this season.

Motorsport.com reports that power-unit penalties leave Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen set to start 20th and 21st respectively, ahead of Sergio Perez in 22nd, with the grid provisional pending FIA validation.

Crash.net reports that torrential rain brought an almost immediate red flag in Q1 and a delay of more than an hour. Qualifying lasted two and a half hours, making it the second-longest qualifying session in Formula 1 history.

“It was about getting two laps in at the beginning, not making any mistakes, and that’s exactly what we did,” McLaren driver Norris said.

“So, I was on a really strong lap and I was asked to back off because I caught up with Albon, and then obviously the rain came. So yeah, it was very disappointing,” Mercedes driver Russell said.

“It was a difficult one, a 50:50 call. He was running into Albon. He was 18 milliseconds up on Norris at that stage. I don't think it would have been enough for pole, but he drove perfectly all session and merited to be on pole,” Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said.