Lando Norris further strengthened his grip on the 2025 Formula 1 World Championship with a commanding victory in Sunday’s Sao Paulo Grand Prix, leading from start to finish at Interlagos to claim his seventh win of the season.
The McLaren driver outpaced rookie sensation Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who secured a career-best second for Mercedes, while Max Verstappen completed a remarkable charge from a pitlane start to finish third.
For Norris, it was another display of composure and control – a timely reminder of why he’s emerging as the man to beat this season. In contrast, teammate Oscar Piastri’s hopes of keeping his title challenge alive suffered another blow after a costly early clash and a penalty left him only fifth at the flag.
Early Chaos: Bortoleto’s Crash and Hamilton’s Woes
The race began in chaotic fashion. Norris held his lead off the line, with Antonelli tucking into second ahead of Charles Leclerc and Piastri.
But the local crowd gasped on lap two when Gabriel Bortoleto, making his first home grand prix appearance, was squeezed wide by Lance Stroll at Turn 7 and spun into the barriers. The impact, though relatively low-speed, ended the Sauber rookie’s race and brought out an early safety car.
Behind them, Lewis Hamilton’s torrid afternoon began with contact against Franco Colapinto’s Alpine on the main straight, damaging his front wing. The seven-time champion also clipped Carlos Sainz at Turn 1, later pitting for repairs and receiving a five-second penalty for the collision.
Piastri Collides with Antonelli - Leclerc Suffers
At the lap six restart, the tension escalated. Piastri made a daring move down the inside of Antonelli and Leclerc into Turn 1, creating a three-wide squeeze. With Antonelli trapped in the middle, contact was inevitable – the Mercedes bounced into Leclerc’s Ferrari, ending the Monegasque’s race and prompting a virtual safety car.
While Antonelli escaped with minor damage, Piastri was handed a 10-second penalty for causing the collision. Verstappen, meanwhile, had climbed to 13th from the pitlane but was forced to pit again under the VSC after picking up a front-right puncture.
When racing resumed, Piastri briefly challenged Norris for the lead, but the McLaren driver soon reasserted control, pulling away as his teammate’s penalty and tyre strategy unraveled.
Verstappen’s Fightback Through the Field
Freed from parc fermé restrictions after starting from the pitlane, Verstappen’s reworked Red Bull setup paid dividends. The Dutchman, who had been eliminated in Q1, showed vastly improved pace on his medium tyres and sliced through the midfield with a string of bold overtakes.
His progress was so relentless that, following Norris’s first pit stop, Verstappen briefly inherited the race lead. However, Red Bull’s three-stop strategy — designed to maximize tyre life and data gathering — ultimately dropped him back behind both Mercedes cars.
Undeterred, Verstappen surged again on fresh softs in the closing stages, overtaking George Russell for third on lap 63 with a clean move into Turn 1. He chased down Antonelli at a blistering pace but ran out of laps to challenge for second, settling for a hard-earned podium that keeps his mathematical title hopes alive.
McLaren in Command, Mercedes on the Rise
Out front, Norris cruised to victory by 10 seconds over Antonelli, whose second-place finish marked a breakthrough result in his rookie campaign. The Italian teenager managed his tyres superbly and fended off late pressure from Verstappen to give Mercedes its best result in months.
Behind the podium trio, Russell finished fourth ahead of Piastri, whose penalty and two-stop strategy left him stuck behind the leading pack. Oliver Bearman once again impressed for Haas, finishing sixth and reinforcing the American team’s growing reputation as the season’s surprise package.
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A one-stopping Liam Lawson took seventh for Racing Bulls, just ahead of teammate Isack Hadjar, while Nico Hülkenberg claimed ninth for Sauber and Pierre Gasly rounded out the top ten for Alpine. Alex Albon and Esteban Ocon narrowly missed out on points in a DRS train that stretched deep into the midfield.
Hamilton’s afternoon went from bad to worse — the Briton eventually retired with suspected floor damage from his earlier collisions, completing a pointless weekend for Ferrari after Leclerc’s early exit.
With three rounds remaining, Norris now leads the championship by 24 points over Piastri, while Verstappen sits 49 points adrift in third.
Ferrari’s pointless race allowed Mercedes to reclaim its grip on second in the Constructors’ standings, as McLaren edged closer to sealing the teams’ crown.
For Norris, it was another near-perfect Sunday in orange; for Antonelli, a glimpse of the future; and for Verstappen, a valiant reminder that even from the pitlane, he remains a force to be reckoned with.
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