Marco Rossi · F1 Correspondent
In a qualifying session interrupted twice, the McLaren driver secured his third consecutive pole position in São Paulo, while several power unit penalties completely shift the real balance of power for Sunday.
Lando Norris took pole position for Sunday's Grand Prix at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace in São Paulo on Saturday afternoon. In a qualifying session disrupted by heavy rain and two red flags, the McLaren driver was quicker than the entire field with a 1:27.470, securing his third consecutive pole position at the circuit. Because of several grid penalties for power unit changes, however, Sunday's actual starting order will look very different from the pure qualifying times.
Norris keeps his head in the wet, Russell frustrated with his team
The conditions left hardly any margin for error. Q1 had to be red-flagged just a few minutes after the start because of heavy rain and standing water, delaying the session considerably. Norris made the most of the windows in between and set his fastest laps early in the session, without letting the changing conditions unsettle him.
George Russell set the second-fastest time in the Mercedes, 0.204 seconds behind Norris, but was frustrated with his team afterwards. Mercedes told him to abort his final flying lap in Q3 to create a gap to Alexander Albon, and shortly afterwards the rain returned, ruling out any improvement. “That was definitely the pole lap. The rain was coming, we should have just finished the lap,” said Russell. Teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli was third, 0.625 seconds down, with Charles Leclerc fourth in the Ferrari, 0.819 seconds off the pace.
“It's not easy conditions out there. It was about getting two laps in at the beginning and not making any mistakes, and that's exactly what we did,” said Norris after a session lasting just over two and a half hours.
Wave of penalties shakes up the starting order
Qualifying alone tells only half the story. Russell has to drop five places on the grid for a new internal combustion engine, which effectively moves Antonelli, despite qualifying third, onto the front row alongside Norris. Leclerc is hit even harder: despite qualifying fourth, the Ferrari driver drops ten places for replaced power unit components.
The consequences are even more serious for Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton. Both have received completely new power units and must therefore start from the very back regardless of their lap times. Verstappen was briefly fastest in Q1 but skipped Q2 because of the penalty and is classified 16th, while Hamilton was eleventh for Ferrari. Sergio Pérez also starts from the back after a power unit change, having qualified 21st in the Cadillac.
“Qualifying doesn't really matter that much, to be honest,” Verstappen had already said with a laugh to Viaplay before the session. For the race, the pile-up of penalties means one thing above all: whoever got cleanly through the rain in the midfield should benefit from an unusually favourable grid position on Sunday.
Lawson and Hülkenberg seize their chance, Câmara causes the second red flag
While the penalties caused the shake-up at the front, two drivers in the midfield delivered the real surprise of the afternoon. Liam Lawson put his Racing Bulls car fifth, just 0.851 seconds behind Norris, while Nico Hülkenberg produced a strong lap in the wet for Audi to finish sixth, 1.198 seconds down. Thanks to the penalties for their rivals, both should start well up the field on Sunday.
The second stoppage was caused by Brazilian rookie Rafael Câmara, who had already touched the wall in Q1 and hit the barrier at Junção, Turn 12, with less than a minute of Q2 remaining. The resulting red flag ended Q2 early and with it several drivers' hopes of a final quick lap, with Oscar Piastri hit hardest: unable to improve in his McLaren, he was left in twelfth place. Gabriel Bortoleto finished the session last after crashing at Junção in Q1.
With Norris on pole but a grid that, thanks to the penalties for Russell, Leclerc, Verstappen, Hamilton and Pérez, barely resembles qualifying, Sunday's São Paulo Grand Prix over 71 laps and 305.879 kilometres could become one of the most unpredictable races of the season. Whoever gets through the opening corners best from the midfield could end up deciding the outcome of the whole afternoon.
