Qualifying conditions borderline - but Norris and Russell hoping for more rain

Lando Norris says qualifying for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix brought "some of the wettest conditions" in which he had ever driven - and he is hoping for more rain in the race on Sunday. Mercedes driver George Russell, who qualified second to Norris and was miffed about a team miscommunication that he felt robbed him of pole, said: "Q1 was extremely challenging. The visibility was zero down the straight into Turn Four.

I was wheel-spinning in fifth gear, over 200km/h (120mph), aquaplaning. "When you're aquaplaning on the straight and you can't see in front of you, it's... I'm not even sure what the word is to describe it.

"I love driving in the rain. I love driving in the rain here, but at some point, if that was a race, there was no way we should be driving in that because the chances of seeing a really, really horrific incident are very, very high." The rain - combined with grid penalties for four of the usual front-runners, including Russell - has produced an unfamiliar grid with several drivers exploiting the opportunity of the weather to produce their best results of the year.