Brazilian Grand Prix Weekend Preview

Round 20 of the 2026 Formula 1 season takes us to the Autódromo José Carlos Pace for the Brazilian Grand Prix, where the skies promise to throw a proper spanner in the works. Andrea Kimi Antonelli arrives at Interlagos holding a commanding 380 points at the summit of the standings, but the local climate might just level the playing field before the lights go out on Sunday.

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Weather Forecast and Session Breakdown

If you enjoy a wet track, this weekend at São Paulo looks set to deliver. Friday’s running starts calmly enough with Practice 1 at 15:30 UTC sitting at 22°C under cloudy skies and a gentle 7 km/h wind. Practice 2 follows at 19:00 UTC sharing those exact 22°C conditions. Things get considerably more interesting on Saturday. Practice 3 at 14:30 UTC brings a rise to 26°C alongside showers, with 1 mm of rain expected over the six hours from the start and winds picking up to 21 km/h. Qualifying at 18:00 UTC dials the weather up further to 28°C with genuine rain and 2.4 mm expected over the same six-hour window, accompanied by a 19 km/h wind. Finally, Sunday’s Grand Prix at 17:00 UTC drops down to a cooler 17°C, staying cloudy with just 0.2 mm of rain anticipated and a 16 km/h wind.

Championship Picture and Interlagos History

Behind Antonelli’s 380-point lead, Max Verstappen sits 119 points adrift on 261, with Lewis Hamilton right behind him on 259. George Russell holds fourth on 250 points, Charles Leclerc is fifth with 245, and Lando Norris rounds out the top group on 221. Mercedes enjoys a comfortable 126-point cushion over Ferrari in the constructors’ standings. Looking at past form around this historic circuit, Verstappen has claimed 3 of the last 6 races here, winning in 2019, 2023, and 2024. Norris took victory for McLaren in 2025, George Russell triumphed for Mercedes in 2022, and Lewis Hamilton took a memorable win for the same team in 2021.

With only three rounds remaining after this weekend, time is running out for anyone hoping to hunt down Antonelli. Practice 1 starts on Friday 6 November at 15:30 UTC.

Timing data: Jolpica-F1. Forecast: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0). Charts and results card by Slip Stream GP.

This report was written automatically with the help of AI (Google Gemini), from public timing data. Every number in the tables and charts comes straight from the data. Spotted a mistake? Tell me.

Published by

Pasindu Senavirathna

Data

Jolpica-F1, OpenF1, Wikidata and Wikipedia, Wikimedia Commons and MET Norway

Last updated

2 Nov 2026, 11:20