Lando Norris says qualifying for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix brought “some of the wettest conditions” in which he had ever driven – and he is hoping for more rain in the race on Sunday.
It was the third consecutive year in which Norris has taken pole in Brazil, and it came in a session that was stopped for nearly an hour and a half because conditions were too dangerous to continue when officials initially tried to start it.
Many drivers agreed that conditions were borderline in the extreme.
Mercedes driver George Russell, who qualified second to Norris and was miffed about a team miscommunication that he felt robbed him of pole, 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.”
The rain – combined with grid penalties for four of the usual front-runners, including Russell – has produced an unfamiliar grid with several drivers exploiting the opportunity of the weather to produce their best results of the year.
Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson – who still does not know whether he has a seat next year – and Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg occupy the second row.
Haas driver Oliver Bearman is sixth, and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and Williams’ Alex Albon in eighth and ninth both made it into the top 10 for the first time in 2026.
Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who won this race in the wet two years ago from 17th on the grid, start 20th and 21st after replacing their engines and exceeding their allowance for the year.
Hamilton’s team-mate Charles Leclerc, who qualified fourth, has a 10-place penalty, also for engine usage.
Sunday’s forecast is for light rain, and the unpredictability of the weather at the Interlagos track, which is famous for it, means the teams and drivers will be open-minded about what to expect.
