Brazilian Grand Prix: A Wild Qualifying Session Amid Rain and Penalties: Norris and Antonelli on Top; The Complete Grid

Between weather conditions that made the track nearly impassable (which caused a delay in the start of Q1) and penalties to be served for various component changes on the cars, the Brazilian Grand Prix qualifying session provided endless excitement: Lando Norris emerged with a smile at the end of the timed sessions; he’ll start from pole position in his McLaren regardless of any penalties, thanks to his 1:27.470 set in Q3. Joining him on the front row will be the newly crowned world champion Kimi Antonelli, who trails by more than 6-tenths of a second.

The Bologna-born driver benefited from the penalty handed to his Mercedes teammate, George Russell, who dropped from second to seventh place due to an internal combustion engine replacement. Things are even worse for Charles Leclerc: the Monegasque Ferrari driver, who finished fourth in qualifying, drops to fourteenth on the grid due to a power unit change. Moving up are Liam Lawson, who will start third behind the wheel of the Racing Bulls, and Nico Hülkenberg, who will start from fourth position in his Audi.

The Grand Prix will also pose an extremely difficult challenge for Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen: the British Ferrari driver, who replaced his power unit just like his teammate, managed only one lap in Q2 and will start from 20th position. Behind him will be the Dutch driver, who, in turn, decided with his team to replace all the engine components on his Red Bull.

2026 Brazilian Grand Prix: The Complete and Updated Starting Grid

1. Lando Norris (McLaren) – 2. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)
3. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) – 4. Nico Hülkenberg (Audi)
5. Isack Hadjar (Red Bull) – 6. Ollie Bearman (Haas)
7. George Russell (Mercedes) – 8. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
9. Alex Albon (Williams) – 10. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
11. Rafael Camara (Haas) – 12. Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls)

13. Carlos Sainz (Williams) – 14. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
15. Franco Colapinto (Alpine) – 16. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
17. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) – 18. Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac)
19. Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi) – 20. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)
21. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) – 22. Sergio Perez (Cadillac)