The Brazilian Grand Prix, held at the Interlagos circuit in São Paulo, will host the 20th round of the F1 2026 season this weekend.

Kimi Antonelli has the title sewn up, and George Russell’s woes are tipped to only become worse. Meanwhile, fresh Ferrari fireworks are on the cards, with a different outcome for Lewis Hamilton.

Verstappen to splash his way to win No.4

By Michelle Foster

A wet Brazilian GP? Only one name comes to mind for pole position and the Grand Prix win – Max Verstappen.

While in yesteryear it used to be Lewis Hamilton who dominated in the rain, then along came Verstappen to steal the crown as F1’s rain master.

The Dutchman may have made a slight mistake with big consequences at the Dutch Grand Prix, but he seldom makes the same mistake twice.

Max will take the win from pole position.

As for P10, Sergio Perez will secure that for Cadillac, as he takes advantage of the conditions to put his team on the board.

George Russell will fall in a rain-affected Q1

By Oliver Harden

Often when the title race is over, there is a temptation to believe that everyone involved will be automatically liberated now the pressure is off.

Not in this case.

George Russell’s disappointing performances this season suggest that his problems run far deeper than the mind, yet his no-show after the race in Mexico gave an indication of where his head is at after the hardest season of his career.

It would be highly surprising if he suddenly finished with a Rosberg 2015-style flourish to set himself up for a much-improved 2027.

So maybe the misery will only continue from here.

With rain forecast for Saturday at the time of writing, Russell will get it horrible, horribly wrong in qualifying and exit in Q1.

Kimi Antonelli unchained

By Sam Hall

Everything about the Interlagos weekend makes me want to suggest that Max Verstappen will be utterly dominant. Even the weather, with a significant chance of rain throughout qualifying, screams a Verstappen masterclass.

However, Antonelli is now competing without the shackles of a potential championship win after completing the job last time out, and it will be very interesting to see if or how this changes his approach to the weekend.

With this in mind, I’m expecting that Antonelli could reach a whole new level on what is one of the most beloved tracks on the calendar. Wearing an Ayrton Senna tribute helmet, he will enjoy support from the passionate Brazilian crowd, and this could be the cherry on top of a near-perfect triple-header.

Don’t get me wrong, Verstappen will still be a major player on the weekend, but I expect Antonelli to edge it with the pressure of sealing his first title now removed.

Lewis Hamilton to mark 400th start in style

By Henry Valantine

Lewis Hamilton and Brazil have struck up a relationship which clearly holds a special place in the Ferrari driver’s heart, and the fact he is an honorary citizen of the nation speaks of how the feeling is clearly mutual.

Beyond that and the three victories he’s had before at Interlagos, though, he and Ferrari should stand a good chance this weekend.

The twisting nature of the circuit should be favourable for the Scuderia on paper, and after the much-discussed tussle between himself and his teammate in Mexico, Hamilton has known in years gone by how to harness that energy to improve at the next race.

Of those 399 starts to date, his most recent Brazilian Grand Prix victory in 2021 surely ranks towards the very top of his wins in the sport.

How he’d love a repeat of that result, not only to potentially ease some of the external pressure being applied on Ferrari, but as a reminder of how to convert pre-race promise into a hard-won result.

Further Hamilton and Leclerc fireworks

By Jamie Woodhouse

Like Henry says, Interlagos has the potential to be a happy hunting ground for Ferrari in F1 2026, while Hamilton has the pedigree and connections to succeed.

However, as we saw in Mexico City, pace alone is not always enough if execution is lacking.

Ferrari failed to capitalise on the performance which it possessed, leaving Hamilton furious and the team with a fresh driver clash to address.

Things quickly blew over after Monza, but it remains to be seen whether the latest Hamilton and Charles Leclerc flashpoint can also be controlled. Frustrations appear, from an outside observation, to be mounting at Ferrari as a title challenge continues to elude.

Maybe not a crash, but I can see another spiky incident between the Ferrari drivers going down which requires fresh intervention from the team to cool heads.