The session started at 3:00 p.m. local time but was stopped before anyone could set a lap because the conditions were too dangerous to continue.
Bearman said: “Definitely the wettest conditions I’ve experienced in a racing car, or indeed any car, and that’s saying a lot considering I grew up in the UK.”
It was finally restarted an hour and 26 minutes after the originally scheduled start time.
And a plethora of engine-related grid penalties changed the shape of qualifying as Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, third fastest in the first session, did not take part in the second because he knew he would start from the back of the grid.
Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, also starting from the back for the same reason, took part in the second session but failed to enter the top 10, qualifying 11th.
The rain gave drivers of usually uncompetitive cars a chance to shine, chief among them Alonso, whose Aston Martin-Honda has been among the slowest cars in the field all season.
The Spanish veteran, double world champion, was in contention among the leaders throughout the session, but even in the wet, the lack of power from the Honda engine still presented him with a handicap.
But it was Norris who shone the brightest. The 2025 world champion looked fast all weekend in the upgraded McLaren. He repeated his pole position in Brazil last year and will start from the front for the first time since the Spanish Grand Prix in September.
Norris said: “It was a long day, a great qualifying. It was about doing two laps at the start and not making any mistakes and that’s what we did.”
Russell still regretted the decision not to finish his final lap, saying: “Congratulations to Lando. It was definitely the pole lap. The rain was coming and we should have finished the lap. We felt more confident in the wet than in the dry.”
Gn sports
