McLaren’s Lando Norris won Sunday’s Sao Paulo Grand Prix, giving him a 24-point lead in the F1 championship. Meanwhile, teammate and title rival Oscar Piastri finished fifth after a collision and a penalty.
Mercedes’ teenage rookie Kimi Antonelli maintained a career-best second place, while Red Bull’s Max Verstappen started from the pit lane to claim an incredible third place.
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Verstappen’s performance was all the more impressive after the four-time world champion, who won from 17th at Interlagos last year, suffered an early slow puncture and was forced to fight back from 18th.
“It’s a crazy race,” said Norris, who took his second consecutive win and seventh of the season after taking the championship lead from Piastri in Mexico last month.
“To be honest, I don’t think we were the fastest today, but I’m happy to bring home the win.
“It’s a great win. But seeing how fast Max was, it’s a shame we weren’t faster.”
Piastri penalized for collision
Piastri, who started fourth with Norris taking pole position, was given a 10-second penalty for early contact with Antonelli, while Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was forced out of the race after three cars lined up.
It was another setback for the Australian, who crashed during Saturday’s sprint to Norris’ perfect weekend win. Norris has stepped up a gear and is now a clear title contender.
George Russell finished fourth for Mercedes, cementing second place overall in the constructors’ championship, which was already won by McLaren.
With three races and Saturday’s sprint left, Norris has 390 points to Piastri’s 366, with Verstappen further behind on 341, and despite his best drive in Sao Paulo, his hopes look slim.
Oliver Bearman was sixth for Haas, following up on his fourth place in Mexico with another great performance from the British rookie, while Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson finished seventh ahead of teammate Isaac Hajjar.
Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg finished ninth, while Pierre Gasly took the points position with his Renault-owned Alpine, marking a year on from the team’s double podium in Brazil.
Sauber’s Gabriel Bortleto ended a disastrous weekend as the only Brazilian driver to spin and crash into the wall on the opening lap after being squeezed by Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll as Norris took a clean lead.
The accident brought out the safety car and Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton had to pit for a new front wing after colliding with Williams’ Carlos Sainz and Alpine’s Franco Colapinto.
The seven-time world champion and honorary Brazilian continued with a damaged floor, but was given a five-second penalty for causing a collision and then retired.
The retirement of these two drivers was the third time this season for Ferrari, which dropped to fourth place in the constructors’ championship behind third-placed Red Bull.
It’s not all Piastri’s fault
The safety car was brought in at the end of the fifth lap, with Piastri locking up and making contact with Antonelli, who was pushed into Leclerc on the restart.
The Ferrari stopped after losing a tire and a virtual safety car was deployed.
“He (Antonelli) didn’t leave me any space,” the Australian said over the team radio, but the stewards disagreed with what some experts and even rivals felt was a tough decision.
“I’m not going to say it’s all Oscar’s fault. I don’t think so,” Leclerc said.
Verstappen qualified 16th and had a new engine and a number of other parts replaced, but on the eighth lap as he climbed up to 13th, he suffered a slow right-front puncture.
He completed 24 of 71 laps to set the fastest lap and move into fourth place, taking the lead when Norris made his second and final stop on lap 51.
Verstappen pitted again on lap 54, falling back to fourth place, and lit up the touch paper in a thrilling chase for the podium.
He passed Russell on the outside at Turn 1 on lap 63, and four laps later Antonelli came into view, but then a tire fell off and the Italian made no mistake.
“I never expected to be on the podium,” Verstappen said. “To finish just 10 seconds off the lead is unbelievable.”
His teammate Yuki Tsunoda was the final driver after receiving two 10-second penalties, the second for an incorrect first serve.
The next race will be the first of a final triple header, starting November 22nd in Las Vegas and ending December 7th in Abu Dhabi.
