Sao Paulo: McLaren's Lando Norris earned pole position for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix for a third consecutive time and in heavy rain. Final qualifying positions were heavily influenced by power unit changes that sent drivers such as Mercedes' George Russell and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc towards the back of the grid.
Russell and Leclerc were second and fourth but penalized. Norris beat Russell by 0.204 seconds for his first pole since September at the Madrid GP. New Formula 1 champion Kimi Antonelli will start from second place after Russell received a five-place grid penalty for adding fresh engine components to his car. Russell will start seventh.
Racing Bull's Liam Lawson will start third after Leclerc was also penalized, which also promoted Audi's Nico Hulkenberg to fourth on the grid on Sunday. Leclerc, who arrived in Brazil late on Thursday after the birth of his daughter, will start from 14th place.
Norris said changing tires throughout the session was a challenge in the rain. “You feel you want to push so much more but you can't,” Norris said. "It was about getting two laps in at the beginning and not making any mistakes, and that's exactly what we did. So it's been a very good day.”
To prove Norris' point, both Brazilians crashed during qualifying. Haas rookie Rafael Câmara will start from 11th position in his debut after hitting the wall. He has taken the seat of Esteban Ocon while still competing in Formula 2. Audi's Gabriel Bortoleto also crashed and will kick off from 19th place, ahead of Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton, Red Bull's Max Verstappen, and Cadillac's Sergio Pérez, all penalized for power unit changes.
Hamilton and Verstappen were 11th and 16th in qualifying, respectively, which did not advance them to the final part of the session. “I know that I have to start from the back, so we didn't want to take too much risk and just put a lap on the board in Q1,” Verstappen said. “Maybe it's the best place to take it. Who knows? We will see tomorrow how far we can move up to the front, try and have a bit of fun.”
The two Ferrari drivers were initially handed 10-place grid penalties after exceeding their season allocations by taking fresh internal combustion engines. Later, Hamilton changed more parts of his power unit, which will put him further back on the grid. “It is a shame for the penalty because I think we had a car that could have fought further up the order, but tomorrow is a new day,” Hamilton said.
He added he and Leclerc had got over their racing incident in Mexico last weekend. Cadillac's Pérez, who will start last, was punished after his car was equipped with new elements.
Starting from the back at Interlagos doesn't necessarily mean a lost race for top drivers. Hamilton had a legendary charge from the back in 2021 and Verstappen scored a stunning victory from 17th in 2024. Mercedes needs to outscore Ferrari by three points to win the constructors' championship at Interlagos. Team principal Toto Wolff said Mercedes “should make it” with a solid race.
Wolff also said Russell was on his way to clocking the fastest lap in qualifying but received orders to abort. “Sometimes it is a 50-50 call. George was absolutely the quickest in all sessions,” Wolff said.
Earlier, Verstappen clocked the fastest lap in the final practice session ahead of Antonelli. The Dutchman led the Italian by 0.025 of a second. Norris finished third, with Russell in fourth. Hamilton ended in 12th position, more than one second behind Verstappen.