Overview
- Lando Norris secured pole position after a chaotic qualifying that was halted for about 84 minutes on Saturday when heavy showers made the track unsafe.
- Teams confirmed multiple power-unit changes that will send Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton and Sergio Pérez to the back of the grid, with Charles Leclerc dropping ten places and George Russell set to lose five.
- Two Brazilian drivers, Gabriel Bortoleto and Rafael Camara, had separate crashes during qualifying but were reported okay, while Nico Hülkenberg and Liam Lawson produced standout wet laps that benefit from the penalties to others.
- Race control restarted qualifying only after repeated Safety- and Medical-Car checks, and the use of Pirelli's extreme-wet tyres followed by a decisive late switch to intermediates dictated who advanced in Q2 and Q3.
- Formula 1 also announced a five-year contract extension for the São Paulo Grand Prix through at least 2035, securing Interlagos as a long-term venue known for dramatic, weather-affected weekends.