Lando Norris takes pole at São Paulo GP as heavy rain delays qualifying
Lando Norris claimed pole position for McLaren at the São Paulo Grand Prix at Interlagos on Saturday, 7 November 2026, after a rain-disrupted qualifying session that ran for two and a half hours.
Qualifying was delayed by an hour and a half at the start because of heavy rain and standing water, with the track gradually drying and Q2 run on intermediate tyres before further rain arrived for the final runs; Norris’s decisive lap was 1 minute 27.470 seconds. George Russell set the second-fastest time in qualifying but carries a penalty that promotes new world champion Kimi Antonelli to the front row alongside Norris and Racing Bulls’ driver Liam Lawson to third on the grid.
Several drivers took new engine components and face grid drops: Russell has a five-place penalty and will start seventh; Charles Leclerc, who finished fourth in qualifying, carries a 10-place penalty and will start from 14th; Max Verstappen has taken a full raft of components amounting to a 30-place penalty but did not set a time after Q1 to save tyres and will start 20th. Lewis Hamilton required a full set of engine components after a new internal combustion engine used in final practice suffered a problem and will start from the back of the grid, while Cadillac’s Sergio Pérez also took a full set and will start from 21st.
Those penalties leave Mercedes positioned to clinch the constructors’ championship in Brazil if they outscore Ferrari by three points on Sunday; having secured the drivers’ championship with Antonelli last weekend, a constructors’ win would give them their first double since 2020 and their ninth constructors’ title. The grid reshuffle caused by the component changes therefore has direct championship implications for the teams involved.
McLaren introduced what was expected to be the last of their major upgrades at Interlagos, focusing on a new front wing developed with an eye to 2027 and intended to address a narrow edge of balance on the current car; Norris said he felt the developments were working. The upgrade was a key part of McLaren’s preparation for the weekend and contributed to their one-lap pace in the wet conditions.
On-track, drivers initially felt their way around the damp circuit with lap times falling as the surface improved; in Q3 Fernando Alonso went out first to set a banker time, Norris posted a quicker lap, Russell briefly went fastest before Norris found extra pace to reclaim the lead, and those final runs proved decisive as heavier rain arrived. Russell was left angry after being told by his team to back off on his last quick run, a move he believed cost him the fastest lap.
Ferrari appeared off the pace relative to Mercedes on long runs in practice, losing as much as three-tenths to Antonelli on the full-throttle run from the Junção corner to the finish line. Brazilian rookie Rafael Câmara, who is replacing Esteban Ocon at Haas for the rest of the season and has a full-time drive next year, reached Q2 on his debut but then crashed and ended his session. The race is scheduled for 5pm on Sunday and rain is expected for the Grand Prix.