Lando Norris won qualifying for the São Paulo Grand Prix in Formula 1 and will start from pole position at “Interlagos”. The McLaren driver set a time of 1:27.470 minutes, beating George Russell by 0.204 seconds.
This is Norris’ fourth pole position of the 2026 season and his third consecutive one in São Paulo. Qualifying took place in torrential rain and was interrupted just 2:23 minutes after the start. The track flooded, and the session remained suspended for nearly an hour and a half.
“The rain is crazy and the session is suspended,” Formula 1 announced during the first interruption.After the restart, the drivers began on full wet tyres. As conditions improved, lap times dropped by more than 10 seconds, and some of the competitors switched to intermediates in the second phase. In the third phase, the rain intensified again, and after the first flying laps, nobody was able to make another serious attempt.
Penalties reshuffled the front
George Russell finished second in qualifying, but will start seventh due to a five-place penalty. As a result, his teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli will start second. The Italian qualified third with a time of 1:28.095 minutes and will take his place on the front row alongside Norris.
Liam Lawson will start third. The Racing Bulls driver set the fifth-fastest time, but benefited from the penalties imposed on Russell and Charles Leclerc, who lost 10 places. Nico Hülkenberg will start fourth, followed by Isack Hadjar and Oliver Bearman.
Russell and Fernando Alonso will occupy the fourth row, while Alex Albon and Oscar Piastri complete the top 10.
Incidents and penalties at the back
Lewis Hamilton finished 11th after failing to switch to intermediates at the right moment. Oscar Piastri, Rafael Câmara, Arvid Lindblad, Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen were eliminated in the second phase. Verstappen set no time, while Câmara caused a red flag at the end after hitting the wall at Turn 12.
Gabriel Bortoleto was eliminated in the first phase after crashing at the same spot. He will start 19th due to Verstappen, Pérez and Hamilton’s penalties. Verstappen and Sergio Pérez have each been handed 30-place penalties, while Hamilton’s penalty reached 75 places after a power unit change.
The São Paulo Grand Prix, the 20th round of the season, will take place on 8 November.
Sources: sportal.bg