Sao Paulo (AFP) – Briton Lando Norris, 2025 world champion with McLaren but dethroned this season by Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes), will aim for a third victory this year at the Brazilian Grand Prix on Sunday, after being the fastest in qualifying in torrential rain.

Published on: 07/11/2026 - 23:24Modified on: 08/11/2026 - 00:00

The 26-year-old driver, who is only sixth in the provisional ranking on the eve of the 20th round (out of 23) in Sao Paulo, will start in pole position at 2:00 p.m. (6:00 p.m. in France), alongside the 20-year-old Italian, crowned the youngest world champion in F1 history in Mexico last weekend.

It was not Antonelli who set the second time on Saturday, but his British teammate George Russell, during difficult qualifying which began 90 minutes late due to heavy showers, and whose third session was even shortened.

The Italian set the third time, behind Russell, who finished 204 thousandths behind Norris but who will have to move back five places on the grid due to the replacement of engine parts outside the quotas allocated by the regulations.

Likewise, Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) set the fourth time but will be positioned ten places further back at the start, just like his teammate, the seven-time British world champion Lewis Hamilton and the Dutchman with four crowns Max Verstappen (Red Bull).

Hamilton and Verstappen at the back of the grid

The two men, 11 titles between them, will start from the back of the grid - 20th and 21st ahead of Mexican Sergio Perez (Cadillac) - due to the complete replacement of their engine blocks.

These "veterans" - Hamilton is 41 years old and Verstappen 29 - are second and third in the provisional ranking and, even if the championship is decided, they will be keen to overcome the twenty or so of their competitors.

Especially the Dutchman, who started 17th in 2024 in Sao Paulo where he won in torrential rain.

Red Bull and Verstappen have been in full renaissance since the end of the summer and the four-time world champion has returned to victories (Bahrain GP in Malaysia, Singapore and Mexico).

Hamilton, who brought to light a war of egos with Leclerc that their Ferrari team director, Fred Vasseur, is trying to appease, said with a smile that he was not unhappy with his 11th time.

Russell on the other hand, completely outplayed this year by Antonelli, screamed into his radio when Mercedes asked him to slow down and come into the pits to change tires during the third qualifying session due to intensifying rain on an already wet track.

“Error of judgment”

“It was quite a lap to get pole and it was an error of judgment on our part (...) The rain was coming and I should have finished the lap,” he complained as he got out of his seat.

Norris, for his third pole in Brazil and first in the rain, was delighted by saying "hope for a race in the wet" on Sunday, a strong probability depending on the weather. “In the dry (the McLarens) are obviously not on the pace,” he said.

The Briton, who won in Hungary and the Netherlands this summer, Kimi Antonelli and "Mad Max" Verstappen were in turn the fastest in the three practice sessions on Friday and Saturday.

Thanks to the penalties from Russell and Leclerc, it is Liam Lawson, the New Zealand driver of Racing Bulls, Red Bull's "little sister" team, who will be in third position on the grid, followed by the very experienced German from Audi, Nico Hulkenberg, and the young Frenchman Isack Hadjar (Red Bull) in fifth place.

This Sao Paulo GP is therefore very open.

Four Sundays from the end of the season (Brazil, Las Vegas, Qatar and Abu Dhabi), the main issue is the name of the future vice-world champion of drivers (Verstappen, Hamilton or possibly Russell and Leclerc) and the constructor's title that Mercedes is almost guaranteed to win.

© 2026 AFP

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