Rain is often called the great equalizer in Formula 1, with slippery conditions making driver ability far more crucial to success than car performance. F1 rekindled its wet-weather magic on Sunday in São Paulo, Brazil. As the dominant Mercedes team faltered, 2025 champion Lando Norris showed poise through changing conditions to take his third victory this season. The weekend at Interlagos broke the recent trend of rain halting on-track action instead of shaking up the competitive order. Actually racing in the rain had become as rare as spotting a dodo bird in the wild.
Saturday previewed both sides of the wet-weather coin. After a heavy downpour delayed Q1 by more than an hour, fans were treated to one of the season’s best qualifying sessions. Wily veterans Fernando Alonso and Nico Hülkenberg dragged their subpar equipment into Q3. They were joined in the final segment by Red Bull’s often-scrutinized prospects Liam Lawson and Isack Hadjar. In all, nine teams slotted into Q3’s 10 spots.
Total frustration for George 😖#F1 #BrazilGP pic.twitter.com/yb6vJsOzOx
— Formula 1 (@F1) November 7, 2026
An approaching storm cut the fight for pole into a one-lap shootout. Norris put his McLaren on provisional pole, and George Russell hoped to beat the lap time. However, the Mercedes driver was impeded by Williams’ Alex Albon and reassured by his team that he could squeeze in a second lap. When heavy showers proved another run was impossible, Russell lashed out over the radio. Team principal Toto Wolff had to chime in to calm him down.
The cream rose to the top
Norris wasn’t as fortunate at the start on Sunday. With the track still wet from earlier rain, the field took to the grid on intermediate tires. Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli actually slid off the track on his reconnaissance lap. The new world champion would have much better traction from his second-place grid box. He launched past the McLaren for the lead into Turn 1 with Lawson following him into second. More action unfolded behind the leaders. Despite starting 20th, Lewis Hamilton flew through the field and was ninth by the end of the opening lap. Max Verstappen made it to 11th from 21st.
Ladies and gentlemen, Lewis Hamilton!
Watch the seven-time world champ charge through the field at the start 🤩#F1 #BrazilGP pic.twitter.com/M685ysLctw
— Formula 1 (@F1) November 8, 2026
F1’s phenoms didn’t just leverage their wet-weather prowess, but also adapted better to the changing conditions. After prodding the Ferrari pit wall, Hamilton was the first driver to switch to slicks on lap 14 of the 71-lap contest. The seven-time champion, making his 400th career start, was immediately the fastest driver on track. With a dry line forming, the challenge was getting the tire up to the optimum temperature on the cool track. Russell spun in the pit exit after his stop. Others ran wide into the runoff areas in corners.
Here’s Antonelli’s spin at Turn 1 which handed Norris the lead 👀#F1 #BrazilGP pic.twitter.com/bZRcgm07h5
— Formula 1 (@F1) November 8, 2026
The biggest casualty was Antonelli, who lost the lead to Norris on lap 19 after spinning in Turn 1. He had reported a strange issue where his Mercedes was pulling one side under acceleration. The issue would also crop up on Russell’s car. The rain would return with 10 laps to go, but Norris safely swapped back to inters and cruised to the finish line. The only thing that went wrong for Norris was him shattering his champagne bottle on the podium.
Mercedes stumbled to its coronation
While Mercedes clinched the World Constructors’ Championship at Interlagos, the factory team didn’t have a weekend befitting a title-winning campaign. The errors behind the wheel and in the garage were impossible to ignore, even though Russell and Antonelli finished fourth and fifth, respectively. After the race, the team had no idea what went wrong with either car. Russell shared his thoughts with The Race, stating:
Maybe it’s a small theory because we were the first ones onto the inters, even just on that outlap on the driest track, you damage the tires and the temps go up and you’re in this negative spiral. As of now, that’s the only explanation.”
The unpredictability of wet races is always thrilling. It’s a shame we can’t see racing in the rain more often. The São Paulo Grand Prix thankfully fell within a golden window where the track could be wet without the rooster tails reducing visibility to effectively nothing. The FIA trialed wheel covers in 2024 to reduce the spray, but they had no impact. The reasoning behind them ignored that the car’s floor is an aerodynamic device that sucks in water and shoots it out of the rear diffuser. The only guaranteed solution would be to somehow slow the cars down, which would be universally unpopular.
