Amended F1 2026 Brazilian Grand Prix starting grid with all FIA penalties applied

The FIA have confirmed the provisional starting grid for Sunday's Brazilian Grand Prix after a chaotic qualifying session interrupted by heavy rain set an order that has been altered due to multiple penalties.

Lando Norris will start on pole after setting the fastest time in qualifying on Saturday, two tenths ahead of George Russell. However, Russell won't sit alongside his countryman on the front row – getting dropped to seventh with a penalty for an engine change, and being replaced in second by Kimi Antonelli.

With Russell's demotion, Charles Leclerc would've been set to start third...had he not taken his own ten-place penalty for a power unit component change, meaning that the second row will be made up of Liam Lawson and Nico Hulkenberg, both taking advantage of the chaos.

Where were Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton in all this? Both out in Q2, punting on the session (Verstappen didn't even get into his car to set a lap) due to their respective grid penalties moving them to the back of the grid no matter where they ranked.

Interestingly, Verstappen (30-place grid penalty) lines up P21 and Hamilton (75-place grid penalty) in P20, despite the seven-time champion's punishment having been bigger. This is because Article B2.5.4(b)(iv) of the 2026 FIA Formula One Sporting Regulations states that "classified drivers who have accrued more than 15 cumulative grid position penalties will start behind any other classified driver. Their relative position will be determined in accordance with their qualifying session."

This means that once a driver's penalties exceed 15 places, they are automatically moved to the back of the grid, and if multiple drivers are in that situation, their starting order is then determined by how they qualify, not by how big their penalty is. That is why on Sunday, Hamilton, who qualified P11, will start ahead of Verstappen and Perez, who qualified P16 and P21, despite his penalty being 45 places more severe.

Oscar Piastri, meanwhile, will receive a small boost after being knocked out in Q2 (in his case, on pure pace thanks to a mistake he made on his final lap), with the Ferraris' penalties bumping him up from 12th to tenth.

One more note? Fernando Alonso made it through to Q3 for the first time this year, driving masterfully in the rainy conditions. He will start eighth.

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F1 starting grid - 2026 Brazilian Grand Prix

Here is the provisional grid for the Brazilian Grand Prix on Sunday, which is subject to change ahead of final confirmation from the FIA.

*George Russell is serving a five-place grid penalty for a power unit component change.

**Charles Leclerc is serving a ten-place grid penalty for a power unit component change.

***Lewis Hamilton is serving a 75-place grid penalty for multiple power unit component changes.

****Max Verstappen is serving a 30-place grid penalty for multiple power unit component changes.

*****Sergio Perez is serving a 30-place grid penalty for multiple power unit component changes.

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Written by

Chris Deeley - Editor

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