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Lando Norris claims pole for rain-disrupted Sao Paulo GP qualifying

McLaren's Lando Norris will start Sunday's Sao Paulo Grand Prix from pole after a wet session at Interlagos.

By , Editor

· 2 min read

Lando Norris
Lando Norris (file photo) Photo: Alberto-g-rovi / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0

Lando Norris took pole position for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix after qualifying was delayed by heavy rain at Interlagos. George Russell was second fastest but starts behind Kimi Antonelli because of a grid penalty.

Key takeaways

  • Lando Norris took pole for McLaren at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
  • Qualifying at Interlagos was delayed by nearly an hour and a half for heavy rain.
  • Norris beat George Russell by 0.204 seconds.
  • Kimi Antonelli moves to second on the grid after Russell's five-place penalty.
  • Liam Lawson starts third after Charles Leclerc's 10-place penalty.

Lando Norris has claimed pole position for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix after a rain-disrupted qualifying session at Interlagos, Yahoo Sports reported. 204 seconds in wet conditions.

The session started at 15:00 local time but was stopped before anyone could set a lap because conditions were too dangerous to continue, according to BBC Sport. It was finally restarted again an hour and 26 minutes after the originally scheduled start time, Sky Sports said.

Why it matters

Norris is the 2025 world champion and has won 13 Grands Prix across eight seasons, Wikipedia noted. He has won two races this season, in Hungary and the Netherlands, according to BBC Sport. Sky Sports said this was a third successive Interlagos pole position for the outgoing world champion. The Sao Paulo Grand Prix is the final leg of the triple header.

Grid penalties

George Russell was frustrated after his engineer told him to abort a faster lap before the rain became heavier, BBC Sport reported. Russell has a five-place grid penalty for exceeding his permitted number of engine parts, promoting team-mate and new world champion Kimi Antonelli to second. Charles Leclerc qualified fourth but has a 10-place grid penalty, promoting Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson to third.

Other drivers

Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who was third fastest in the first session, did not take part in the second because he knew he would be starting at the back of the grid, BBC Sport reported.

Lewis Hamilton, who also starts from the back for the same reason, did take part in the second session but did not make it through into the top 10, qualifying 11th.

The rain gave an opportunity for drivers in usually uncompetitive cars to shine, chief among them Alonso, whose Aston Martin-Honda has been among the slowest cars in the field all season.

Also among them were Audi's Nico Hulkenberg, who qualified sixth and will start fourth, Haas driver Oliver Bearman, who was eighth and will start sixth, and Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso, who was ninth and will move up one place to eighth, plus Williams' Alex Albon, who is right behind Alonso.

What happens next

The Sao Paulo Grand Prix takes place on Sunday November 8 at 5pm local time, Sky Sports said. Build-up begins at 3.30pm, followed by chequered flag reaction at 7pm and Ted's Notebook at 8pm.

Sao Paulo GP qualifying front row after penalties

Grid position

Driver

Team

1

Lando Norris

McLaren

2

Kimi Antonelli

Mercedes

3

Liam Lawson

Racing Bulls

Sources

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