F1 2026 Brazil Grand Prix: Mixed up starting grid after five engine penalties

This is the full starting grid for the 2026 Formula 1 Sao Paulo Grand Prix in Brazil. 

Lando Norris heads a mixed up starting grid in Sao Paulo after a heavily-delayed, rain-hit qualifying that lasted two-and-a-half hours. 

New F1 world champion Andrea Kimi Antonelli lines up P2 alongside Norris, who has taken three consecutive poles at Interlagos. 

Liam Lawson and Nico Hulkenberg form a shock second row of the grid for Racing Bulls and Audi. 

Isack Hadjar lines up from fifth for Red Bull, ahead of Ollie Bearman’s Haas and George Russell, who drops five positions after taking a fresh power unit in his Mercedes. 

Fernando Alonso goes from a season-high P8 on the grid after a fantastic qualifying in his Aston Martin, with Alex Albon and Oscar Piastri completing the top-10 starters for Williams and Oscar Piastri. 

Charles Leclerc, who has a 10-place grid penalty for moving onto a new engine, lines up 14th for Ferrari. 

Lewis Hamilton starts 20th ahead of great F1 rival Max Verstappen after both had all-new engines fitted to their Ferrari and Red Bull cars. 

Hamilton initially had only a 10-place penalty for exceeding his power unit allowance for the 2026 season, but Ferrari had to replace his new internal combustion engine after it failed during its first outing in final practice. 

With Ferrari deciding to fit a second entirely-new power unit to Hamilton’s SF-26, the seven-time world champion’s penalty was increased to a back-of-the-grid. In total, Hamilton’s penalty is 65 places. 

Sergio Perez lines up 22nd and last after also taking on a brand new power unit in his Cadillac.