Qualifying started at 15:00 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 race car, if not any car, and that’s saying a lot given I grew up in the UK.”
It was finally restarted again 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, who was third fastest in the first session, did not take part in the second because he knew he would be starting at the back of the grid.
Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, who also starts from the back for the same reason, did take part in the second session but also saved his tyres for the race and qualified 11th.
The rain gave an opportunity for drivers in usually uncompetitive cars to shine, chief among them Alonso, whose Aston Martin has been among the slowest cars in the field all season.
The veteran Spanish two-time world champion was in the running among the leaders throughout the session but even in the wet the lack of power from the Honda engine meant he still faced a handicap.
But it was Norris who shone brightest. The 2025 world champion has looked quick all weekend in the upgraded McLaren. He repeated his pole from Brazil last year, and will start from the front for the first time since the Spanish Grand Prix in September.
Norris said: “It’s been a long day, a great qualifying. It was about getting two laps in at the beginning and not making mistakes and that’s what we did.”
Russell was still ruing the decision not to complete his final lap, saying: “Congrats to Lando. That was definitely the pole lap. The rain was coming and we should have just finished the lap. Felt more confident in the wet than we did in the dry.”