LANDO NORRIS DOMINATES BRAZILIAN GRAND PRIX FROM START TO FINISH
Lando Norris increased his lead in the championship after winning an exciting São Paulo Grand Prix. The McLaren driver finished ahead of Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli, while Max Verstappen made a huge comeback to take third place after starting from the pit lane.
Fans had already seen plenty of action during Saturday’s Sprint. On Sunday, the drivers prepared for the 71-lap Grand Prix at Interlagos.
Qualifying on Saturday brought surprises: Norris took pole, while Verstappen was knocked out in Q1 after saying his car had “no grip.” Before the race, Red Bull changed many parts on Verstappen’s car — including a new engine, which broke the parc fermé rules. This meant he had to start from the pit lane. Esteban Ocon also started from the pit lane after taking a new engine.
Light rain fell as the cars went to the grid, but conditions stayed mostly dry. Drivers started on different tyre types: seven on mediums (including Norris), eight on softs, and five on hards (including Verstappen).
When the race began, Norris kept the lead. Behind him, Piastri defended hard, and chaos broke out deeper in the pack. Hamilton was hit by Sainz, then clipped Colapinto. He had to pit for repairs and fell to last place, with damage to his Ferrari’s floor.
More trouble came when Bortoleto hit the barriers after contact with Stroll. Bortoleto was out of the race, and the Safety Car came out.
After five laps, racing restarted. Norris stayed ahead, but Turn 1 brought more drama: Piastri locked up and hit Antonelli, who then hit Leclerc. Leclerc lost a tyre and had to stop the car. A Virtual Safety Car followed. Verstappen, who had climbed to P13, pitted because of a puncture and dropped to the back again.
When racing resumed, Piastri was second but received a 10-second penalty for the earlier collision. Verstappen began climbing the order quickly on his medium tyres, reaching P9 by Lap 18.
Pit stops shuffled the field, and Verstappen rose to sixth. Norris led comfortably. Antonelli and Russell were also strong.
As the race went on, drivers picked different strategies. Norris pitted and dropped behind Verstappen, but soon passed him because Verstappen’s tyres were worn.
By mid-race, Leclerc and Hamilton were both out after Ferrari suffered a difficult day. Piastri served his 10-second penalty during his pit stop, dropping him back.
Norris continued to lead, Antonelli held second, and Verstappen kept pushing. After another pit stop for fresh soft tyres, Verstappen began hunting down Russell and Antonelli.
With about 12 laps left, Norris was six seconds ahead of Antonelli. Russell struggled with his brakes, and Verstappen eventually passed him for third.
In the final laps, Verstappen tried to attack Antonelli but couldn’t quite get by. A small mistake from Antonelli on the last lap made it close, but he held on.
Norris crossed the line 10 seconds ahead to win. Antonelli finished second, and Verstappen took third, a remarkable result given his pit-lane start.
Russell managed to stay ahead of Piastri for fourth. Piastri is now 24 points behind Norris in the championship.
Bearman finished sixth, followed by Lawson, Hadjar, Hülkenberg, and Gasly. Albon, Ocon, Sainz, Alonso, Colapinto, Stroll, and Tsunoda completed the finishers. Hamilton, Leclerc, and Bortoleto did not finish.
Formula 1 now moves on to the Las Vegas Grand Prix after a week off.
Share this content:
