The primary race of 2026 with out a Mercedes driver on the rostrum was mockingly the place the crew clinched the Constructors’ Championship, with Lando Norris and the Crimson Bull pair denying them a spot within the high three in Sao Paulo. However who impressed our Energy Rankings judges? Try the newest scores and general leaderboard beneath…
With different groups switching their assets to 2027, McLaren have been the one ones to convey upgrades to Interlagos, however Norris was cautious of anticipating any main enchancment. Whereas it’s tough to say simply how a lot they helped contemplating the best way the climate jumbled up the pecking order, Norris’ talent within the moist was clear as he transformed pole place to his third triumph of the season. One of many principal elements that contributed to his 14s profitable margin was, in his phrases, a capability to maintain it cool and keep away from errors.
Was it actually a Sao Paulo Grand Prix if Max Verstappen didn’t cost from the again of the sphere to the rostrum? After his stellar comeback drives in 2024 and 2025, he pulled off one other by climbing from P21 to P5 throughout his opening stint on the intermediate tyres. The softs weren’t nearly as good to him, however he caught his crew mate to enhance to second place and concurrently take a stronger grip of P2 within the drivers’ standings.
Liam Lawson was arguably the largest winner of the Qualifying chaos on the rain-soaked Interlagos, together with his unique results of P5 changing into P3 as soon as the ultimate order had shaken out. He made essentially the most of it too, becoming a member of Kimi Antonelli in storming previous Norris on the opening lap, however was handed by the highest groups because the race progressed. However, his admirable defence towards Charles Leclerc paid off when the latter was handed a five-second time penalty for making contact of their wheel-to-wheel contest, elevating Lawson to P7 post-race.
Though Isack Hadjar hasn’t been happy with the dealing with of his RB22 in current rounds, he appeared to show a nook in Sao Paulo as he excelled within the difficult situations. Beginning fifth, he had the alternative expertise to Verstappen and carried out finest on the gentle tyres, getting caught into a number of thrilling battles with Antonelli en path to ending on the rostrum for the primary time for the reason that Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Interlagos is the place Fernando Alonso secured each of his Drivers’ Championships, and 20 years later, he nonetheless goes effectively there. The Spaniard delivered Aston Martin’s first Q3 look of the season earlier than tackling a tantalising combat with Alex Albon, which noticed him pounce when the Williams driver drifted large. He nonetheless lacked that little bit additional to interrupt into the factors, bringing house a good P12.
Moist climate all the time opens up alternatives for the midfield, and the Sao Paulo Grand Prix was no exception. A powerful Qualifying led to Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg lining up on the second row, however he didn’t get the launch he wanted and instantly misplaced positions. Whereas that left him scrapping with Franco Colapinto on the fringes of the factors, a 10-second time penalty for leaving the observe and gaining a bonus appeared to rule the German out of top-10 competition. Nonetheless, the late rain performed into his palms and he overtook Arvid Lindblad for P10.
An influence unit situation reduce Lindblad’s Qualifying session brief and prompted Racing Bulls to interchange his inside combustion engine and turbocharger, leading to one other grid penalty. It could’ve been simple to overlook that he began from P18 as he rapidly surged via the sphere, difficult the likes of Alonso and Hulkenberg all through, though he was unable to carry off the Audi man for P10 over the ultimate laps.
Undaunted by his grid penalty, Lewis Hamilton gained an astonishing 11 positions firstly – and for just a few laps, it seemed as if he might produce a Verstappen-style comeback to problem for the rostrum. Nonetheless, his tyres quickly light and he tumbled again down the order, so it was no shock that he wished to gamble by being the primary to pit for slicks. He loved one other increase by doing simply that, however his race unravelled when the rain returned, with a spin and late cease limiting him to P9.
Though a five-place grid penalty meant that it was unimaginable for George Russell to begin on pole, he was nonetheless livid when the crew’s name to desert his second Q3 lap left him to qualify behind Norris and subsequently drop to P7. He made good progress on the inters earlier than shedding any benefit he had when he switched to slicks, as proven by his uncommon spin on the pit exit. After that, the tempo step by step got here again to him and he handed Antonelli for P4 – his finest end since profitable in Baku.
“Extraordinarily disenchanted,” was Antonelli’s verdict of his efficiency on the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, with the Italian rather more content material to concentrate on Mercedes’ general victory as a crew. His preliminary launch noticed him snatch the lead from Norris and construct a commanding hole, however like Russell, his race unravelled on the gentle tyres. A scarcity of grip triggered Antonelli to spin at Flip 1 and let Norris again via, and he misplaced out additional when the rain fell afterward, leaving him to accept P5.
Lacking out
Simply lacking out on this week’s Energy Rankings leaderboard are Haas‘ Ollie Bearman (seventeenth, after contact with Alonso, gradual pit stops and a penalty for an unsafe launch) and Williams’ Albon (fifteenth, after shedding tempo when the observe dried out).
