Norris earns wet Brazil pole as Antonelli inherits front-row place

AI-generated illustration.

Lando Norris secured pole position for the São Paulo Grand Prix after setting the fastest lap in a qualifying session disrupted by heavy rain. The McLaren driver recorded 1:27.470 at Interlagos on Saturday, earning his third successive pole at the Brazilian circuit.

George Russell was second quickest, 0.204 seconds behind, with Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli third. That qualifying order differs from Sunday’s starting grid: Russell’s five-place penalty for an engine change puts him seventh and promotes Antonelli to the front row alongside Norris.

Charles Leclerc qualified fourth for Ferrari but drops to 14th with a 10-place engine penalty. Liam Lawson consequently starts third for Racing Bulls, ahead of Audi’s Nico Hülkenberg. Isack Hadjar lines up fifth for Red Bull and Haas driver Oliver Bearman takes sixth.

Qualifying began in deteriorating weather and was stopped before a timed lap could be completed. The interruption lasted more than 80 minutes. Drivers returned on full wet tyres, then moved to intermediates as a drier line developed during the second part of the session.

The opportunity to improve disappeared again during the final shootout as the rain intensified. Early laps decided pole, with Russell unable to better his time after being told to abandon an attempt before the conditions worsened.

Oscar Piastri missed the final qualifying stage and was 12th fastest, but penalties lift the second McLaren to 10th on the grid. Rafael Câmara will start his first Formula 1 race immediately behind him, despite crashing his Haas late in Q2.

Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen are set to start 20th and 21st respectively following power-unit changes. The grand prix itself is still to come: Sunday’s race is scheduled for 17:00 GMT, or 14:00 local time in São Paulo.