With a wet track and more rain coming in, the form book from free practice was out of the window for qualifying for the 2026 F1 São Paulo GP. The drivers lined up early in pit lane anticipating the incoming shower. Unfortunately, right before the lights turned green the heavens opened.
This prompted Aston Martin, Haas and Audi to forfeit their position in line and switch to the full-wets. However, it quickly became clear that even the blue-walled tyres were not enough to displace the water. Newly crowned world champion Kimi Antonelli complained about aquaplaning and Isack Hadjar demanded a new suit. Reason enough for race direction to show the red flag.
Replays showed a very slow and gingerly driving Lando Norris going off the track in Ferradura on the full-wets, so the red flag was justified. Meanwhile, Ollie Bearman is under investigation for reversing in the pit lane.
Rain delay lasts 85 minutes
After about half an hour of delay the drivers were strapped in their cars again, giving some hope to the audience. Even more so when Bernd Mayländer went around doing some reconaissance laps. And while George Russell climbed out of his car it became clear Bearman was reprimanded for reversing in the pit lane. More drivers followed Russell, and with a lot of marshals sweeping the water off the track it was evident the conditions were not good enough yet.
A quarter of an hour later, Mayländer is out again, but after two laps he comes back in. This means the delay is not yet ending. In fact, the rain has increased, meaning any running soon seems unlikely.
75 Minutes after the original qualifying starting time Mayländer was out again, having waited out the increased rain. Williams somehow has had inside info, since Carlos Sainz is ready to go, as is Rafael Câmara. Within minutes, several drivers are looking at a mechanic timing their release into the fast lane.
And right as the start time was announced, all cars but the Mercedes were let go, meaning both Cadillac’s are leading the pack. With the rain still present, all cars are on full wets, as are the Mercedes drivers. They decide to wait it out in the box. Valtteri Bottas is the first one to his all difficult spots, but it looks driveable at first sight.
Q1: Câmara through in debut despite clobbering the wall
Despite several drivers complaining about aquaplaning, the clock is ticking and Bottas puts on the first time of the day. A brief yellow flag was out for a spin by Câmara on the straight. Replay shows he hit the wall and had to change his front wing.
Charles Leclerc takes top time from Nico Hülkenberg, but he is quickly bested by Max Verstappen. Lewis Hamilton slits in in second. Alonso next to the top. Lawson to second. Bottas seventh.
Hülkenberg goes to top as Bortoleto spins off and into the wall, but can crawl back to the pits. The Williams drivers go second and third before Verstappen goes to the top again..
Hamilton is the next to go to the top, but is relieved by Russell. Lance Stroll goes off at Junçao. Pérez goes to tenth on a day where Cadillac might be lucky. Hülkenberg, Bearman and Verstappen switch places at the top, while Sainz went off as well.
As the final laps begin, Russell is on top before Hülkenberg and Verstappen take over the spot. Russell retakes the top spot in his final attempt, followed by Câmara who takes 12th. Bearman brings out another brief yellow flag, but that doesn’t stop Norris to take P1 at the end. Both Alpine drivers make an ultimate attempt at making Q2, but they fail to make it.
Knocked-out of Q1
- Colapinto
- Gasly
- Stroll
- Bottas
- Pérez
- Bortoleto
Q2: Piastri out after Câmara crash brings out red flag
Verstappen decides he has seen enough and no longer takes part in qualifying, as he will start from the back of the grid anyway. Russell sets the first time of this session, but Antonelli gets ahead of him a few moments later. Norris is the next to go to P1, before Leclerc takes a huge chunk out of the fastest time.
The top time is changing a little less frequent than in Q1, but nonetheless Russell decides he wants the bragging rights. Antonelli slots in behind him.
As Hadjar is struggling, Arvid Lindblad is asked to stop the car as soon as possible. This means his qualifying stops in turn 4.
With a little under six minutes to go, it is time to swap to the intermediate tyres. First man to do so is Alonso, and the timing sheets immediately show it is the right choice. Bearman goes first before Liam Lawson shaves of 1.6 seconds to take P1.
Russell goes to first as Sainz has yet another off. Hülkenberg takes over third from Alonso, meaning both McLaren drivers are currently in the drop zone. Norris improves to ninth as Hamilton has decided it was good enough. The Ferrari driver also has a big penalty coming, so no need to take additional risks.
Right as Russell improves on his fastest time it is Câmara who brings out the red flag with a crash in Junçao. The session will not be resumed, meaning Oscar Piastri is out
Knocked-out in Q2
- Hamilton
- Piastri
- Câmara
- Lindblad
- Sainz
- Verstappen
Q3: Norris takes pole as rain returns
The start of Q3 was slightly delayed as the barriers needed repairs, and incoming rain means the pressure is on the drivers. Alonso is first out, which could be a deciding factor. However, Lawson is initially quicker than the Spaniard.
Lawson goes to the top right after Alonso sets the first time. Hülkenberg takes second before Norris takes P1 away from Lawson. Russell goes first, as the other drivers do not manage to challenge the top.
Norris takes provisional pole the lap after as the rain starts to intensify. Antonelli and Leclerc manage to get themselves ahead of Lawson. The Kiwi makes a final attempt, but the track is too wet. Much to the frustration of Russell, who was told to back-off by his engineer.
With 5 minutes to go, all cars are back in pit lane, meaning the times seem to be final. This means Norris takes pole from Russell and Antonelli, who will move a place up due to Russell’s grid penalty. Leclerc in fourth also has a grid penalty, meaning Lawson will be promoted from fifth in the classification to on the grid. An interesting race looks to be on the table with Lawson and Hülkenberg starting up front, and Verstappen and Hamilton coming from the rear.
