São Paulo Grand Prix tyre strategy: Pirelli’s one-stop plan, the tyre sets per driver and the rain risk

Result, 8 November: Lando Norris won the São Paulo Grand Prix ahead of Max Verstappen, who started 21st, and Isack Hadjar. Mercedes clinched the 2026 constructors’ title. Full classification: São Paulo Grand Prix 2026 results.

Pirelli expects a one-stop race at the São Paulo Grand Prix if the track stays dry, but a chance of rain at Interlagos could make the tyre stock each driver saved on Saturday decisive. The race strategies and tyre sets Pirelli published on Sunday show a medium-to-hard one-stopper as the quickest plan, and big differences in fresh intermediates after a wet qualifying session.

The race starts at 14:00 local time, 17:00 UK, 18:00 CET and 12:00 ET: São Paulo Grand Prix 2026 start times.

One stop from medium to hard is Pirelli’s quickest plan

Over 71 laps, with an average pit stop loss of 22.5 seconds, Pirelli lists one one-stopper and three two-stoppers. The one-stopper starts on the C4 medium and switches to the C3 hard between laps 28 and 34.

• Soft, stop between laps 17 and 23, medium, stop between laps 42 and 48, soft.
• Medium, stop between laps 23 and 29, hard, stop between laps 50 and 56, soft.
• Soft, stop between laps 16 and 22, hard, stop between laps 44 and 50, soft.

The start matters too. According to Pirelli, a car on the medium needs 1.70 metres more than a car on the soft to reach 150 km/h, and on the hard 3.75 metres more. Pirelli brought the C3, C4 and C5 to Interlagos, one step softer than last year: Pirelli goes one step softer for Interlagos.

Four or five new softs in the dry

Every driver has one new set of the hard and one new set of the medium for the race. The difference is in the C5 soft. Piastri, Verstappen, Hamilton, Sainz, Lindblad, Stroll, Câmara, Bortoleto, Gasly, Colapinto, Pérez and Bottas have five new sets. Norris, Russell, Antonelli, Hadjar, Leclerc, Albon, Lawson, Alonso, Bearman and Hülkenberg have four. That extra set mainly counts for drivers who go for two stops and a soft at the end.

Wet qualifying left the front-runners short of intermediates

Saturday’s qualifying ran on full wets and then intermediates, and drivers who ran more in the session used more rain tyres. Russell, Antonelli, Hadjar, Leclerc and Alonso have only two new sets of intermediates left, plus three used sets. Pole sitter Lando Norris has three new and two used, and neither he nor his McLaren team-mate Piastri has a new full wet.

At the other end, Lindblad, Stroll, Bortoleto, Pérez, Verstappen and Hamilton still have five new intermediates. Russell, Antonelli, Hadjar, Leclerc, Gasly, Colapinto, Bottas, Verstappen and Hamilton each have one new full wet. Qualifying report: Norris takes pole for the São Paulo Grand Prix.

A chance of rain at the start

Brazil’s weather service INMET forecast morning storms on Sunday, followed by cloud and a chance of isolated rain in the afternoon, with temperatures between 14 and 21°C. The latest forecast: São Paulo GP weather.

Our bet

On a dry track this looks like a straightforward race: medium, hard, one stop, and the softer C5 for anyone who gambles on two. Rain changes the sums. A driver with two new sets of intermediates has little room if the track goes from wet to damp and back again, and a driver with five can stop whenever the crossover comes without worrying about the stock. Interlagos weather rarely holds still for 71 laps. If showers come, watch who is still on fresh inters in the second half, because that is where positions will be won.

Results as soon as the race is over: São Paulo Grand Prix 2026 results.

Source: Pirelli F1 Media, race tyre sets and possible strategies, 8 November 2026. Graphics: Pirelli.

Will the São Paulo Grand Prix stay a dry one-stop race, or will the rain decide it? Tell us in the comments.