2026 São Paulo GP: Rain, Chaos and Alonso’s Magic

This week we had the last grand prix of this run of races in the Americas, and it was the turn of one of my favorite circuits: the Interlagos Grand Prix. It’s an incredible track, and we kicked off the weekend with great news: the race has been renewed until 2035.

Saturday’s qualifying: chaos in the rain

This weekend, when I found out rain was forecast, I got up in the middle of the night (in Korea) to watch qualifying. After all, the next day was Sunday and I didn’t have to work. And it was worth it, boy was it worth it, even though we had to wait a whole 80 minutes for the rain to let the session start. It was very eventful: with every lap the conditions improved, so the order kept changing. The first surprise came early, with both Alpines eliminated already in Q1. More was expected from them, but these things happen in conditions like these.

In Q2 there were three things worth highlighting, in my opinion. First, Verstappen didn’t go out on track because he was penalized for engine changes: whatever he did, he was going to start at the back. Also, Hamilton was knocked out (11th), despite several attempts, because he didn’t have time to complete a lap on intermediate tires when they were the best option, since the session was interrupted at the end by a red flag. That red flag, caused by rookie Rafael Camara, also affected Sainz, who couldn’t do a lap on intermediates either.

Finally, Alonso‘s heroics to get that dog of a car into Q3, something he hadn’t managed all season. He was the first to fit intermediate tires, and from that moment on they were the best option, showing his veteran experience. In these conditions it matters a lot when you set your time, because the track keeps improving.

With that picture, we arrived at Q3. Alonso was the first one out of the pit lane, making many of us dream of a good result if the rain arrived early in the session, but it wasn’t to be: he finished ninth. Everyone went out early, but the problem was that the rain arrived halfway through the session and the track became much slower from that moment. In other words, you had to set your time early. Mercedes didn’t understand this: they pulled Russell in just as he was about to take pole, to get a better track position with no traffic ahead. The problem is that he couldn’t make the attempt. In the end, with a monumental outburst of anger from the Englishman, he set the second-best time, although he would start seventh on Sunday because of the five-place penalty for an engine change. As always, here is the timing table.

Grid penalties for engine changes: Russell 5 places, Leclerc 10, Hamilton 75, Lindblad 10, Verstappen 30, Pérez 30 and Bortoleto 10.

And then, Sunday’s race

The race started with a damp track, though not wet. At the start, Antonelli took the lead, but it was the first time I saw him look vulnerable, making several mistakes. He even spun on the formation lap before the race started; maybe he has relaxed a bit after clinching the title. Also worth noting was Hamilton‘s brutal start: he began 20th in his 400th race and gained a lot of places. And if his start was impressive, Verstappen’s wasn’t bad either, although the Englishman’s surprised me more.

The race went on without many more incidents until lap 14, when teams started fitting dry soft tires because the track was drying. Russell made a mistake leaving the pits and spun at the pit exit. That error cost him a lot of positions. He wasn’t the only Mercedes with problems: Antonelli reported suspension trouble (the car pulled to one side under acceleration) and ran wide at Turn 1 on lap 20, handing the lead to Norris, who ended up winning the grand prix. Four laps later he repeated the mistake at the same corner and gave third place to Verstappen.

It was a race in which a lot happened. If at Madring, for example, I didn’t know what to write, here I can’t fit everything in or I’ll never finish. In short, the race followed its course, with Norris out front, Verstappen behind applying pressure and Hadjar keeping up the pace of his team’s lead driver. Behind them were the constructors’ world champions, Mercedes, who despite clinching the title couldn’t do much in the race: Russell finished fourth and Antonelli fifth.

But near the end of the race it started raining again and, surprisingly, it was a clean race. If you look closely, many cars stayed in the same order, but there are several things I have to discuss in depth.

Alonso, working his magic

What Alonso did this weekend is hard to believe. With that dog of a car, he pulled off an overtake around the outside of Hamilton, on the wettest racing line, that I still can’t believe.

INCREDIBLE. Yes, yes, Hamilton had worn tires or whatever you want to say, but Alonso had done the same number of laps. Let’s hope they give him a halfway decent car next year.

Lawson, a great result that could secure his future

Lawson is a driver who, at one point, seemed finished, especially after his brief and disastrous spell at Red Bull alongside Max Verstappen, but he is currently doing very well at Racing Bulls (which, let’s remember, is still the junior team of the senior outfit). He started third on Sunday and crossed the finish line eighth, but the five-second penalty given to Leclerc after the race moved him up to seventh. Watch out, because it was believed he wouldn’t be there next year, but now it’s not so clear.

Anyway, here are the tables with the race classification and both championships, now decided. All that’s left is to see who takes the drivers’ runner-up spot.

Race result

Antonelli and Bearman received 5-second penalties for an unsafe pit release, with no change to their final positions. Leclerc crossed the line seventh but was given 5 seconds for causing a collision with Lawson.

Drivers’ championship

Constructors’ championship

What did you think of the race? Did you enjoy it as much as I did? Do you also want Alonso to never retire? Let me know in the comments.

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Cover photo: Pexels.