Although the World Drivers’ Championship title was decided last time out in Mexico, the Formula One season ticks on. Action resumed in Brazil for the FORMULA 1 MSC CRUISES GRANDE PRÊMIO DE SÃO PAULO 2026. Rain throughout the day left the circuit damp for the race start, but unpredictable weather conditions would spice up the latter stages of the race as well.
Lando Norris and Kimi Antonelli had an equal launch off the line, but Antonelli had a better second phase to take the lead into the first corner. Liam Lawson, who started in an impressive P3, snuck onto the outside of Norris, promoting himself to P2 over the 2025 World Champion. He continued to stick with Antonelli as the Mercedes driver began to create a gap out front in the opening laps.
Further back, Lewis Hamilton gave everyone a masterclass on how to start from the back of the field. He had a fantastic launch and hung his car around the outside of the first corner to gain a ton of positions. After the first few corners, the seven-time World Champion was up 11 places from his P20 start. His early push had really chewed away at the tyres, especially on a circuit that was relatively dry.
Before long, he was overtaken by Max Verstappen, who had also had a great start. Starting just behind Hamilton, Verstappen had gained 10 places on the opening lap, eventually overtaking Oliver Bearman on the third lap to equal Hamilton’s gains. While Hamilton struggled for grip out of turn 12, Verstappen got his car accelerating to overtake the Brit.
But the Dutchman didn’t stop there. He attempted to overtake Oscar Piastri at turn 12 later in the lap, but couldn’t get the power down on that occasion. He hung onto the McLaren driver down the main straight, trying to get his car around in the first corner. He managed to overtake Piastri in the first corners, also overtaking Alex Albon at turn four. Another overtake against Nico Hulkenberg a few laps later put Verstappen up to P6.
While Verstappen was charging his way through the field, Hamilton got the unfortunate news that he was under investigation for leaving the track and gaining an advantage. This was from his overtake on Bearman at turn five on the opening lap. His Ferrari was narrowly over the track limits on the outside. Fortunately for Ferrari, Bearman was still right behind Hamilton, which allowed them to give back the position, avoiding a penalty.
It was unclear whether he could have held the position anyway, as he complained about the state of the tyres. Shortly after giving back the position to Bearman, he was also overtaken by Arvid Lindblad and teammate Charles Leclerc. Hamilton attempted to stick with his teammate, but just did not have the grip. He lost another position to Fernando Alonso a lap later.
Hamilton began pleading with the team to let him change to the slick tyres, but the team felt it was too slippery in turn 12 to take the gamble. The team finally sided with Hamilton on lap 15, calling him into the pits for soft tyres. All eyes were on the Ferrari driver during his outlap. Although the grip was not perfect, the soft proved to be quick.
The teams responded, calling in their drivers. Antonelli and Verstappen stayed out for an extra lap compared to the rest of the field, perhaps wanting to avoid the risk of double stacking. Drama struck for George Russell, who spun in the pit exit. He did a good job of avoiding hitting the barriers, but lost a ton of time getting his Mercedes turned around in that narrow area without blocking the other cars that were leaving the pits.
Antonelli rejoined the race still in the lead ahead of Lando Norris. He began complaining about the handling of the car over the team radio. While the team felt it was just a tyre temperature issue, Antonelli was adamant it was a suspension issue, with the car pulling to one side when accelerating.
A spin in turn one showed just how much he was struggling with the car. It was a sudden snap of oversteer that sent his car spinning. This unleashed Norris into the race lead. The first turn proved to be difficult for the Italian. He ran deep again the following lap, losing another position to Hadjar, and then ran wide off the road at the same corner a few laps later to lose a position to Verstappen.
This put Hadjar up into P2. If he could manage to hang onto that position until the end of the race, it would be his career-best finish in Formula One. He stayed there for more than ten laps, but eventually gave up the position to his teammate on lap 38.
Further rain was initially forecast for the middle of the race, but it seemed to primarily miss the circuit. This prompted some drivers to make a second stop. Hamilton was one of the first to do so, taking another set of soft tyres. His pace on the new tyres was strong, even allowing him to unlap himself, which is something rarely seen in Formula One.
Other drivers pitted for tyres with roughly 20 laps remaining in the race. This included Verstappen, Norris, Hadjar, and Antonelli. Some drivers decided to take the gamble on staying out and potentially taking their tyres to the end, which included Russell and Leclerc.
But the weather can be unpredictable around this circuit, and this would be one of those times. With roughly ten laps remaining in the grand prix, the rain began to fall, slowing the lap times. Within a couple of laps, the slick tyre was no longer the faster tyre.
This benefitted the drivers who hadn’t pitted for a second set of slicks, including Russell and Leclerc. These drivers were the first to pit for intermediate tyres, and everyone else followed suit the next lap. Hamilton was lucky to make it into the pit lane, suffering a high-speed spin in turn 14. He clipped the barrier, but it wasn’t enough to cause severe damage to the car, only losing a position to his teammate.
Antonelli caught the attention of the stewards in the pit lane, being released into the fast lane alongside an Alpine and having to take evasive action to avoid a collision. The stewards noted the incident and decided to investigate it after the race. This potentially contributed to the team’s decision to have the Mercedes duo swap positions, unleashing Russell to chase down a podium position.
Interestingly, Russell was also complaining about strange handling from his Mercedes, similar to the complaints voiced by his teammate earlier in the race. The pace just did not seem to be there for the Mercedes duo, so Russell was unable to finish on the podium. The Silver Arrows were likely unbothered by that, having achieved sufficient results to claim the World Constructors’ Championship title for the ninth time in their history.
But it was Lando Norris who claimed the top spot at the end of 71 laps, with the rain absolutely pelting down. He stood alongside the two Red Bull drivers.
The teams and drivers will get their final week off before the final stint of the 2026 season. The season’s final triple-header starts in Las Vegas on November 21, takes us to Qatar a week later, and ends with the season finale in Abu Dhabi.
UPDATE: Oliver Bearman and Kimi Antonelli were given five-second time penalties for an unsafe release. Neither penalty had an impact on the race results.
UPDATE: Charles Leclerc was given a five-second penalty for causing a collision with Liam Lawson. The two made contact in a tense battle in the final laps of the race over P7. Leclerc bumped the Racing Bulls driver, who retained the position but was eventually overtaken by Leclerc. The incident caused minor damage to Lawson’s tyre and enabled Leclerc to overtake him, according to the FIA stewards. The penalty dropped Leclerc down one position to P8, promoting Lawson to P7.
| Pos. | Driver | Laps | Time | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 71 | 1:35:23.504 | 25 | ||
| 2 | 71 | +14.602 | 18 | ||
| 3 | 71 | +24.485 | 15 | ||
| 4 | 71 | +33.991 | 12 | ||
| 5 | 71 | +41.017 | 10 |  | |
| 6 | 71 | +56.475 | 8 | ||
| 7 | 71 | +75.402 | 6 | ||
| 8 | 71 | +78.586 | 4 | ||
| 9 | 70 | +1 Lap | 2 | ||
| 10 | 70 | +1 Lap | 1 | ||
| 11 | 70 | +1 Lap | |||
| 12 | 70 | +1 Lap | |||
| 13 | 70 | +1 Lap | |||
| 14 | 70 | +1 Lap | |||
| 15 | 70 | +1 Lap | |||
| 16 | 70 | +1 Lap | |||
| 17 | 70 | +1 Lap | |||
| 18 | 69 | +2 Laps | |||
| 19 | 69 | +2 Laps | |||
| 20 | 69 | +2 Laps | |||
| DNF | 30 |
| 1 | K. Antonelli | 390 |  | |
| 2 | M. Verstappen | 279 | -111 | |
| 3 | G. Russell | 262 | -128 |  |
| 4 | L. Hamilton | 261 | -129 |  |
| 5 | C. Leclerc | 249 | -141 | |
| 1 | Mercedes | 652 | | |
| 2 | Ferrari | 510 | -142 | |
| 3 | Red Bull | 415 | -237 | |
| 4 | McLaren | 398 | -254 | |
| 5 | Racing Bulls | 114 | -538 | |
