Lando Norris has won the São Paulo Grand Prix. After surviving the opening-lap chaos, Norris managed both his pace and his tyres to perfection to come home over 10 seconds clear of the field. Norris dedicated his seventh victory of the season to McLaren’s former sporting director Gil De Ferran and described his weekend as ‘perfect’. With this win, Norris is now 24 points clear at the top of the championship table.
Behind him, Kimi Antonelli capped off a brilliant weekend with his second career podium, one for which he had to fight tooth and nail. Antonelli made it through the opening exchanges and spent much of the race in second, only to come under immense pressure from a charging Max Verstappen in the closing stages. A slight error in the middle sector on lap 70 looked to have cost Antonelli the place, but the teenager hung on for his best-ever finish.
After missing out on Q2 for the first time in four years, the decision was taken to start Max Verstappen from the pitlane. This gave Red Bull the chance to make setup and component changes to optimise his race pace. The gamble paid off; after incurring a puncture and ditching his hard tyres on lap five, Verstappen blitzed the field. By lap 18, he had moved into ninth and by the time Norris completed his final stop on lap 50, he came out in second behind the Dutchman. Norris on fresher softs wasted little time in repassing Verstappen, who dove into the pits for his own set of softs on lap 55. He may have been unable to dispatch Antonelli, but clinching third place after starting from the pitlane is nothing short of extraordinary.
Behind him, George Russell battled brake trouble and was unable to halt Verstappen’s charge through the field as the reigning world champion pulled off an audacious pass around the outside of turn one on lap 63. Compounding Russell’s issues was a persistent Oscar Piastri, who gave serious chase in the closing stages but was unable to find a way past. In the end, Russell hung on for fourth place, which, when allied to his teammate’s podium, has helped Mercedes tighten its hold on second place in the constructors’ championship.
As Norris’ charge gained yet more momentum, Oscar Piastri found himself in the wars. A good launch saw Piastri draw alongside Antonelli at the safety car restart; however, a late lockup caused him to hit the Mercedes, which in turn collided with Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari. Leclerc was forced to retire with broken front suspension as Piastri was handed a ten-second penalty. When the race resumed, he was briefly able to pursue his teammate, but once the penalty was served, Piastri could do little more than try and catch Russell for fourth. With three races left and the gap between him and Norris now 24 points, Piastri is in desperate need of a big result going forward.
Behind them, Oliver Bearman capitalised on his eighth-place starting position, pulled off some eye-catching overtakes, came out on top after a memorable tussle with Nico Hulkenberg on lap 48, and eventually secured sixth, his fifth points finish in eight races.
Once the initial flurry of pitstops had ended and the running order had been established, Liam Lawson found himself in seventh at the head of a very tight DRS train. In the end, seventh through 14th were covered by just 3.1 seconds. Lawson hung on ahead of his teammate, Isack Hadjar, while Nico Hulkenberg was able to take ninth. Pierre Gasly in tenth, secured his and Alpine’s first grand prix points finish since Silverstone ahead of Alex Albon, Carlos Sainz, Fernando Alonso, and Franco Colapinto.
Lance Stroll tangled with Gabriel Bortoleto on the opening lap and was later spun round by Yuki Tsunoda, who ended up with two ten-second penalties after incorrectly serving his first.
Ferrari had a race to forget. Charles Leclerc was forced to retire after that lap five collision, while his teammate Lewis Hamilton made contact with Sainz on the opening lap before running into the back of Colapinto. The resulting wing and floor damage caused a significant drop-off in pace, and Hamilton eventually retired on lap 38.
After missing out on qualifying thanks to a crash in the sprint, Gabriel Bortoleto’s first home race lasted just half a lap. A tangle with Lance Stroll in the middle sector sent him spinning into the barriers, a sad end to a painful weekend for the 20-year-old.
With three races and a sprint remaining, Norris now has a 24-point buffer to Piastri. If his current form is anything to go by, nothing short of a major implosion can deny Norris the 2025 world championship.
