Norris Takes Sao Paulo Pole in a Rain-Hit Qualifying as Russell, Leclerc, Hamilton and Verstappen Drop Back
A downpour split the session, yet he found a 1:27.470 for a third straight Interlagos pole. Engine penalties will reshuffle the grid and lift Antonelli and Lawson.
Saturday, November 7, 2026/2 min read
It rained at Interlagos, as it had been forecast to, and it made a mess of the grid. Lando Norris still came out on top, setting a 1:27.470 in wet qualifying to take pole position for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, his third in a row at the circuit, Formula 1's official report says.
Penalties will redraw the order before the lights go out. As we noted on Friday, there is no sprint this weekend, so Sunday's race alone carries the points.
Who is on pole for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix?
Norris, in the McLaren, was 0.204 seconds clear of Mercedes' George Russell, with Russell's team-mate Kimi Antonelli third, Charles Leclerc fourth for Ferrari and Liam Lawson fifth for Racing Bulls, per the times in Crash.net's results. Nico Hulkenberg, Isack Hadjar, Ollie Bearman, Fernando Alonso and Alex Albon completed the top ten.
Norris called it a great qualifying after what he described as a long day. PlanetF1 noted that Max Verstappen had ended his Q1 early to save tyres, which eased the path, though it argued that did not diminish the lap.
How do the grid penalties change the starting order?
According to Sky Sports, Russell takes a five-place penalty for an engine change and drops to seventh, which promotes Antonelli to the front row beside Norris. Leclerc's 10-place penalty sends him to 14th. Lawson moves up to third, Hulkenberg to fourth, Hadjar fifth and Bearman sixth, with Alonso eighth and Albon ninth.
Lewis Hamilton, who qualified 11th, and Verstappen, who set no time in Q2, start 20th and 21st after taking new power units. Both rank near the head of the fight for second in the drivers' standings, so the back row will be watched closely. Oscar Piastri qualified 12th for McLaren, more than a second off Norris in both Q1 and Q2, as PlanetF1 pointed out.
What happened in the rain at Interlagos?
Heavy rain arrived at the start of Q1 and brought a red flag after about three minutes, Formula 1 reported. Sky said running was suspended for more than an hour before it resumed on full wet tyres. In Q2, Formula 1 said, Lawson switched to intermediates to go quickest, Arvid Lindblad was told to stop at Turn 5 and Rafael Camara, the Brazilian making his home debut for Haas, crashed to bring out a second red flag. Camara had qualified 13th. Gabriel Bortoleto hit the wall in Q1 and was last.
Alonso got Aston Martin a place in Q3 on intermediates and will start eighth, while Russell was frustrated when his team told him to abandon a late lap, Formula 1 said.
What does the Sao Paulo Grand Prix race on Sunday offer?
The race is at 5pm UK time on Sunday, and the constructors' title is in play: Sky says Mercedes would clinch it by outscoring Ferrari by three points or more, which a Ferrari driver starting 14th and another 20th make easier to picture. A wet or drying track again would favour whoever gets out of the traffic first, and Norris, who won here last year, will have clean air in front of him.
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