Norris and Russell say they need more rain as qualifying conditions remain borderline

Lando Norris secured pole position for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix after a qualifying session that was stopped for almost ninety minutes because of dangerous wet conditions, officials said. Norris said the session brought "some of the wettest conditions" he had ever driven in and he hopes for more rain on race day. Mercedes driver George Russell qualified second and complained that a team miscommunication denied him pole.

The session was paused for nearly an hour and a half when officials deemed the track unsafe, and many drivers described the weather as borderline extreme. Russell, upset by the mishap, said: "Q1 was extremely challenging. The visibility was zero down the straight into Turn Four. I was wheel-spinning in fifth gear, over 200km/h (120mph), aquaplaning.

When you're aquaplaning on the straight and you can't see in front of you, it's... I'm not even sure what the word is to describe it.

It does seem a bit crazy. I guess that's what we have to deal with.

I love driving in the rain. I love driving in the rain here, but at some point, if that was a race, there was no way we should be driving in that because the chances of seeing a really, really horrific incident are very, very high." Grid penalties for four front‑runners, including Russell, reshaped the starting order, allowing Liam Lawson and Nico Hulkenberg to fill the second row. Haas driver Oliver Bearman qualified sixth, while Fernando Alonso and Alex Albon made the top ten for the first time in 2026.

Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, both starting from the back of the grid after engine‑related penalties, will line up 20th and 21st respectively, and Charles Leclerc faces a ten‑place drop despite qualifying fourth. The forecast for Sunday predicts light rain, meaning teams must remain flexible as Interlagos is renowned for unpredictable weather.