São Paulo Grand Prix · News
2026 São Paulo Grand Prix official starting grid
See the full 22-driver São Paulo GP starting grid after five power-unit penalties, with Lando Norris on pole and Kimi Antonelli alongside at Interlagos.
Lando Norris starts the 2026 São Paulo Grand Prix from pole alongside Kimi Antonelli after five power-unit penalties reshuffled the order at Interlagos. George Russell qualified second but drops to seventh, while Charles Leclerc falls from fourth to 14th. Those changes put Liam Lawson and Nico Hülkenberg on the second row.
The order below matches Formula 1’s published starting grid and the FIA stewards’ provisional grid. The qualifying column shows where each driver finished on Saturday, before the grid penalties were applied.
Full 2026 São Paulo Grand Prix starting grid
- Lando Norris (McLaren), qualified 1st
- Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes), qualified 3rd
- Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls), qualified 5th
- Nico Hülkenberg (Audi), qualified 6th
- Isack Hadjar (Red Bull Racing), qualified 7th
- Oliver Bearman (Haas), qualified 8th
- George Russell (Mercedes), qualified 2nd
- Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin), qualified 9th
- Alexander Albon (Williams), qualified 10th
- Oscar Piastri (McLaren), qualified 12th
- Rafael Câmara (Haas), qualified 13th
- Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls), qualified 14th
- Carlos Sainz (Williams), qualified 15th
- Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), qualified 4th
- Franco Colapinto (Alpine), qualified 17th
- Pierre Gasly (Alpine), qualified 18th
- Lance Stroll (Aston Martin), qualified 19th
- Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac), qualified 20th
- Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi), qualified 22nd
- Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari), qualified 11th
- Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing), qualified 16th
- Sergio Pérez (Cadillac), qualified 21st
How Norris took pole in the rain
Heavy rain stopped Q1 shortly after it began. The session resumed on full wets, and conditions improved enough for a switch to intermediates in Q2. Russell recorded the fastest lap of the entire session, a 1:26.745 in Q2. Pole was decided in Q3, where Norris put in a 1:27.470 before the rain intensified. Russell finished 0.204 seconds behind and Antonelli was 0.625 seconds off pole.
Fernando Alonso reached Q3 for the first time in 2026 and qualified ninth, as detailed in our report on Aston Martin’s qualifying breakthrough. The penalties ahead moved him to eighth and promoted McLaren’s Oscar Piastri from 12th to tenth. A crash for Rafael Câmara brought out the red flag in the final minute of Q2. The Haas debutant had already set a time good enough for 13th overall and will line up 11th for his home race.
Why five drivers have grid penalties
- George Russell (5 places) — Sixth internal combustion engine of the season.
- Charles Leclerc (10 places) — Fifth internal combustion engine of the season.
- Lewis Hamilton (75 places) — An initial 10 for his fifth engine, then 65 for his sixth engine and six other components.
- Max Verstappen (30 places) — Additional engine, turbocharger and exhaust set.
- Sergio Pérez (30 places) — Additional engine, turbocharger and MGU-K.
Ferrari’s power-unit concerns with Hamilton had surfaced on Friday. The second stewards’ decision covers his sixth engine, turbocharger, exhaust set, energy store, control electronics, MGU-K and a power-unit ancillary component. That ruling added 65 places to the earlier ten, bringing the total to 75.
Under Article B2.5.4 of the FIA sporting regulations, classified drivers with more than 15 unserved grid places line up behind the other classified drivers, in their qualifying order. Hamilton qualified 11th, Verstappen was classified 16th after sitting out Q2, and Pérez was 21st. That puts them 20th, 21st and 22nd respectively on the provisional grid.
Two reprimands left the Haas drivers’ grid positions intact. Bearman received one for reversing under his own power in the pit lane during qualifying, and Câmara received one for impeding Leclerc in second practice.
The formation lap is scheduled for 14:00 local time (17:00 GMT) on Sunday, 8 November.