The Sao Paulo Grand Prix will see outgoing World Champion Lando Norris start from pole for McLaren, with newly-crowned World Champion Kimi Antonelli alongside him for Mercedes. It follows a remarkable, rain-hit Qualifying session at Interlagos.
Liam Lawson is a superb third for Racing Bulls, while Nico Hulkenberg’s wet-weather skills put Audi on the second row in P4. Isack Hadjar lines up fifth for Red Bull, with the Haas of Oliver Bearman joining him on row three.
George Russell finished Qualifying second, but drops to P7 for Mercedes thanks to power unit changes, putting him next to the Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso for the start. Williams’ Alex Albon and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri complete a rather unusual top 10.
That leaves some pretty big names to come, all hit by power-unit penalties. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc is 14th after a 10-place drop, and look out for team mate Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen charging from the back – they start 20th and 21st after respective 75- and 30-place demotions.
Arvid Lindblad has also dropped down the order to P18 after making power unit changes on Sunday morning, while Gabriel Bortoleto starts P19 after a challenging Saturday.
Starting Grid
FORMULA 1 MSC CRUISES GRANDE PRÊMIO DE SÃO PAULO 2026
| Pos. | Driver | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lando NorrisNOR | 1:27.470 |
| 2 | Kimi AntonelliANT | 1:28.095 |
| 3 | Liam LawsonLAW | 1:28.321 |
| 4 | Nico HulkenbergHUL | 1:28.668 |
| 5 | Isack HadjarHAD | 1:28.763 |
| 6 | Oliver BearmanBEA | 1:29.831 |
| 7 | George RussellRUS | 1:27.674 |
| 8 | Fernando AlonsoALO | 1:30.311 |
| 9 | Alexander AlbonALB | 1:30.456 |
| 10 | Oscar PiastriPIA | 1:30.369 |
The 2026 Sao Paulo Grand Prix starts at 1400 local time. Be sure to join our live coverage from 1300 here.
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