Hamilton claimed the 60th pole position of his career at Interlagos, setting a 1:10.736 on his final run. Rosberg qualified second, 0.102 seconds behind.
Archive image from the 2016 Brazilian Grand Prix
Before qualifying, the forecast gave a 70% chance of heavy rain, while a brake problem delayed Vettel’s Ferrari from taking to the track. Hamilton nevertheless led Q1 with a 1:11.511, followed by Rosberg and Verstappen.
Button qualified 17th after locking his brakes in Q1, with Magnussen 18th. Wehrlein and Ocon were 19th and 20th, and the two Saubers occupied the final two positions. Palmer reached Q2, while Magnussen was eliminated in the opening segment.
Hamilton led again in Q2, while Haas’s Grosjean broke into the top ten as Bottas and Massa were both eliminated. Grosjean ultimately qualified seventh, becoming the only Haas driver in the top ten.
Hamilton led Rosberg on the first Q3 runs, with Verstappen provisionally third. On his final run, Hamilton improved to 1:10.736, while Rosberg also improved to 1:10.838. Räikkönen moved up to third at the end.
Ocon received a three-place grid penalty for impeding Palmer in Q1. He remained 20th in the qualifying classification but would start the race from last place.
Räikkönen finished third, Verstappen fourth, Vettel fifth and Ricciardo sixth. Grosjean was seventh, with Hülkenberg, Pérez and Alonso completing the top ten. Alonso set a 1:12.266 for tenth in Q3, while Bottas missed the final segment and took 11th with a 1:12.420.
Hamilton was targeting a Sunday victory to sustain his championship challenge, and pole gave him the initiative. Rosberg would start alongside him on the front row and still had the opportunity to control the points situation in the race.
| Position | Driver | Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:11.511 | 1:11.238 | 1:10.736 | 12 |
| 2 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:11.815 | 1:11.373 | 1:10.838 | 12 |
| 3 | Kimi Räikkönen | Ferrari | 1:12.100 | 1:12.301 | 1:11.404 | 15 |
| 4 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:11.957 | 1:11.834 | 1:11.485 | 12 |
| 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1:12.159 | 1:12.010 | 1:11.495 | 13 |
| 6 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull | 1:12.409 | 1:12.047 | 1:11.540 | 12 |
| 7 | Romain Grosjean | Haas | 1:12.893 | 1:12.343 | 1:11.937 | 18 |
| 8 | Nico Hülkenberg | Force India | 1:12.428 | 1:12.360 | 1:12.104 | 20 |
| 9 | Sergio Pérez | Force India | 1:12.684 | 1:12.331 | 1:12.165 | 21 |
| 10 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren | 1:12.700 | 1:12.312 | 1:12.266 | 17 |
| 11 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams | 1:12.680 | 1:12.420 | 10 | |
| 12 | Esteban Gutiérrez | Haas | 1:13.052 | 1:12.431 | 14 | |
| 13 | Felipe Massa | Williams | 1:12.432 | 1:12.521 | 11 | |
| 14 | Daniil Kvyat | Toro Rosso | 1:13.071 | 1:12.726 | 15 | |
| 15 | Carlos Sainz | Toro Rosso | 1:12.950 | 1:12.920 | 15 | |
| 16 | Jolyon Palmer | Renault | 1:13.259 | 1:13.258 | 11 | |
| 17 | Jenson Button | McLaren | 1:13.276 | 10 | ||
| 18 | Kevin Magnussen | Renault | 1:13.410 | 6 | ||
| 19 | Pascal Wehrlein | Manor | 1:13.427 | 8 | ||
| 20 | Esteban Ocon | Manor | 1:13.432 | 8 | ||
| 21 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber | 1:13.623 | 8 | ||
| 22 | Felipe Nasr | Sauber | 1:13.681 | 8 |
