The qualifying session for the 2026 F1 Brazilian (São Paulo) Grand Prix at Interlagos was a dramatic, weather-disrupted thriller. Torrential rain completely flipped the script on the weekend, creating a chaotic session packed with red flags, tactical decisions and surprise performances. Rain hit the Autódromo José Carlos Pace right as the session began. Less than 3 minutes in, the red flag was thrown as Kimi Antonelli and Isack Hadjar reported extreme standing water and soaked race suits.
After a long delay, drivers ventured back out on extreme wet tires. Fernando Alonso showed early wet-weather mastery, while Lando Norris set the top time. Local favorite Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi) suffered an early crash into the barrier, leaving him bottom of the timing sheet. Cadillac struggled with grip, seeing both Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Pérez eliminated early alongside Lance Stroll and the Alpine duo of Franco Colapinto and Pierre Gasly.
Knowing he faced a heavy power unit penalty that would banish him to the back of the grid regardless, Max Verstappen opted not to set a lap time in Q2 to preserve equipment. Local rookie Rafael Câmara crashed late in Q2, bringing out another red flag. The interruption caught out Oscar Piastri (McLaren), leaving him stuck in P12. Lewis Hamilton struggled to find pace in his Ferrari SF-26, managing only P11.
George Russell clocked the second-fastest time, finishing +0.204s off Norris. However, tension boiled over on the radio as Russell raged at Mercedes over a late team decision to abort his final push lap. Kimi Antonelli continued his impressive rookie campaign taking P3. Further back, Liam Lawson put in a stunning drive to place his Racing Bulls car in P5, while Nico Hülkenberg brought Audi into P6.
The actual race starting grid looks vastly different from qualifying times due to multiple engine penalties: George Russell carries a 5-place grid drop, Charles Leclerc faces a 10-place penalty and Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton and Sergio Pérez drop to the back of the grid for component changes.
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