2026 Sao Paulo Grand Prix Qualifying Review

Linus O'Howell

6 hours ago

3 min read

In treacherous conditions, all 22 drivers looked to show their class in a Qualifying session around Interlagos, where anything was possible!

Q1

In Qualifying 1, Franco Colapinto, Pierre Gasly, Lance Stroll, Valtteri Bottas, Sergio Perez, and Gabriel Bortoleto were the six slowest drivers! It was a difficult day for Alpine, with both Franco Colapinto and Pierre Gasly getting knocked out in Q1, whilst Lance Stroll wasn’t able to take advantage of the wet conditions! Even in the rain, Cadillac were the slowest team, with Valtteri Bottas outqualifying Sergio Perez, whilst Gabriel Bortoleto ended up slowest in Qualifying after another crash at home! Lando Norris topped Q1 for McLaren, a few tenths clear of George Russell’s Mercedes!

Q2

In Qualifying 2, Lewis Hamilton, Oscar Piastri, Rafael Camara, Arvid Lindblad, Carlos Sainz, and Max Verstappen all failed to make it into the Top 10 shootout! Due to a ton of grid penalties, Lewis Hamilton decided against running the Intermediate tyres at the end of Q2, whilst Oscar Piastri suffered a shock elimination as his struggles continue! Rafael Camara did well to qualify P13 on his Formula 1 debut in such tricky conditions, although he did wreck the car at the end of Q2, whilst Arvid Lindblad suffered a tough elimination due to his car conking out! Carlos Sainz was another driver who was unable to get an Inter lap on the board due to the Red Flag, whilst Max Verstappen didn’t even bother to take part in Q2, as, like Hamilton, Verstappen will also be starting from the back of the Grid! Russell was on top in Q2, with Liam Lawson in second for Racing Bulls!

Q3

In Qualifying 3, a 1:27.470 was enough for Lando Norris to take a very impressive Pole Position! In horrible conditions, Lando Norris did everything right in Q3 to take his third consecutive Sao Paulo Pole Position; that’s worthy of a lot of praise! George Russell was furious with Mercedes for telling him to back off on what would’ve been a lap good enough for Pole, despite the fact that Russell will have to serve a 5-place grid penalty, meaning Andrea Kimi Antonelli will start from the front row! Charles Leclerc qualified P4, although he will also serve a 10-place grid penalty, meaning Liam Lawson will start third after once again being the best of the rest! Nico Hulkenberg delivered Audi’s best Formula 1 Qualifying to date, beating Isack Hadjar to P6 (in Quali), whilst Oliver Bearman will start 6th for Haas due to grid penalties; wow! Fernando Alonso did a brilliant job to give Aston Martin their first Q3 appearance of the season, whilst Alex Albon also took advantage of the weather with his first Q3 appearance of the season, too!