Sao Paulo GP Qualifying: Lando Norris claims rain-hit pole in wild conditions with Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen to start at back

On a typically rain-hit day at ever-unpredictable Interlagos, qualifying was suspended for over an hour and 20 minutes after a torrential downpour hit the drivers' first laps of Q1.

The rain eventually eased - but never particularly stopped - to allow running take place and create a thrilling and unpredictable battle for pole.

In the end it was Norris who came out ahead as conditions worsened again in Q3 to seal a third successive Interlagos pole position for the outgoing world champion, on a weekend McLaren had already showed improved form in the dry following car upgrades.

Mercedes' George Russell was second fastest ahead of a race he already knew he carries a five-place grid penalty for an engine change, meaning he could not ultimately achieve pole position whatever he did.

He lapped 0.204s slower than Norris and from second will drop to seventh on Sunday's grid.

But the Mercedes driver was left frustrated not to have topped the qualifying timesheet outright, which he believes he would have done had he not been advised by his race engineer to back out of what turned out to be his final representative timed lap of Q3 when he came up behind Alex Albon's slower Williams.

Russell's engineer, Marcus Dudley, clearly hoped this would pay dividends by giving the Briton a clearer run on his next lap but the call coincided with the rain increasing again, meaning lap times quickly became slower.

Drivers swiftly headed back to the pit lane to mark an effective end to the Q3 battle as they all stayed in the garage as the clock ticked down to zero.

"I don't want to be P2. I want to be P1!" fumed Russell on team radio at the end of the session.

New world champion Kimi Antonelli qualified third but will move ahead of team-mate Russell to the front row alongside Norris.

Charles Leclerc was fourth for Ferrari but he has a 10-place penalty for an engine change to serve so will drop down into the midfield.

His team-mate Hamilton was also originally supposed to serve the same sanction but a problem with his fresh Ferrari engine in final practice triggered a complete power-unit change and locked him in to a back-of-the-grid start.

He will be joined on the back rows by old title rival Verstappen, who has also taken a new power unit in his Red Bull from Saturday's running.

Both drivers dropped out in Q2, Hamilton in 11th and Verstappen in 16th after opting not to run in the second phase at all in order to save wet tyres for the race, but neither result mattered given their overriding penalties.

Ferrari's heavier grid penalties increase Mercedes' chances of closing out the Constructors' Championship on Sunday. They will complete a title double for 2026 if they outscore their Italian rivals by three points or more.

Front-running penalties promote midfield runners up grid

The grid penalties for Russell, Verstappen and both Ferraris - which were all confirmed in the sessions ahead of qualifying - mean Sunday's grid has a different complexion to normal in a season dominated by the 'big four' teams.

Russell and Leclerc's demotions move Liam Lawson - whose future at Racing Bulls remain in huge doubt despite his impressive season - to a joint career-best third on the grid after the New Zealander already impressed in the wet to qualify fifth.

There were also strong performances in the rain from Audi's Nico Hulkenberg, who will start fourth, and Haas' Oliver Bearman, who will line up sixth. With Verstappen at the back, Isack Hadjar will be the lead Red Bull driver in fifth.

Fernando Alonso showed his old mastery of the rain to put under-powered Aston Martin into Q3 for the first time this season, while Williams' Alex Albon also made his first top-10 appearance of a difficult year.

Alonso and Albon will line up in eighth and ninth respectively.

That is just ahead of McLaren's Oscar Piastri - after he dropped out in Q2 - and Brazilian debutant Rafael Camara in 11th.

Haas' new signing hugely impressed on his F1 debut to make Q2 before blotting his copybook slightly by crashing into the barriers at the end of that second phase.

Arvid Lindblad will line up 12th after his Racing Bulls car was stopped by technical issues in Q2.

Sunday November 8 3.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday: Sao Paulo GP build-up 5pm: THE SAO PAULO GRAND PRIX 7pm: Chequered Flag: Sao Paulo GP reaction 8pm: Ted's Notebook

Formula 1 is in Brazil for the final leg of the triple header with the Sao Paulo Grand Prix this weekend, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW