The Formula 1 season continued this weekend in São Paulo, Brazil, and, after yesterday’s Sprint race and today’s Grand Prix around the sweeps of the legendary Interlagos circuit, it was McLaren’s Lando Norris who emerged with two victories and an extended 24-point lead in the Drivers’ Championship over teammate Oscar Piastri, with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen still third.

The official name of the track is the Autódromo José Carlos Pace, but it’s more commonly known simply as Interlagos, which means “between lakes” and refers to the two nearby reservoirs. The venue has become embedded in the history of the sport and has always delivered some fine racing action, often impacted by adverse wet weather. This time round proved to be no exception, and rain left the circuit still damp ahead of yesterday’s Sprint.

Gabriel Bortoleto, had a massive high-speed accident at the start of the final lap, from which he fortunately emerged unscathed, although his Sauber was extensively damaged.

Norris, in his seventh F1 season compared to just three for Piastri, started from pole position ahead of both Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli and his teammate and, after a perfect start, was looking to dominate the 24-lap encounter before it had to be red-flagged after Piastri, Sauber’s Nico Hülkenberg and Alpine’s Franco Colapinto had crashed out in quick succession at the Curva do Sol. This proved to be yet a further blow for Piastri’s title ambitions.

Following the rolling restart, Norris picked up where he had left off and claimed a solid victory, despite being kept honest by the chasing Antonelli. Well, to their rear, the new local home hero, Gabriel Bortoleto, had a massive high-speed accident at the start of the final lap, from which he fortunately emerged unscathed, although his Sauber was extensively damaged.

Norris’ win and Piastri’s non-finish in the Sprint extended the British driver’s lead to nine points ahead of today’s Grand Prix, which began at 2pm local time. Yesterday’s qualifying hour had set the grid, and again Norris earned pole position, followed by Antonelli, Leclerc and Piastri. Three losers, though, were Hamilton and Verstappen, who could qualify no better than 13th and 16th, and Bortoleto, whose car could not be repaired in time.

Ponchos were at the ready as today’s race start neared, and after further technical changes to his ill-handling car and the installation of a new power unit, Red Bull started Verstappen from the pit lane, together with the Haas of Esteban Ocon. In short, the Grand Prix which followed was action-packed from beginning to end, and so here’s a summary of the key moments.

The race was predominantly a two-stopper, and before long we had the tantalising prospect of Verstappen increasingly closing on Antonelli for second and Piastri on Russell for fourth.

The Safety Car was summoned into action on the very first lap after Bortoleto had crashed out and Hamilton had contact with both the Williams of Sainz and then Colapinto’s Alpine, forcing the seven-time champion to pit for a new front wing. A five-second penalty was to follow too for his errant behaviour, and floor damage was to subsequently force his retirement. Racing resumed on the sixth tour, and immediately there was more drama as Piastri hit Antonelli at Turn 1, with the latter then colliding with Leclerc and forcing the instant retirement of the other Ferrari. Piastri was to receive a ten-second penalty for triggering the mayhem.

As the Grand Prix progressed, Verstappen steadily carved his way through the field to fourth by lap 22, while Norris still looked imperious out front. The race was predominantly a two-stopper, and before long we had the tantalising prospect of Verstappen increasingly closing on Antonelli for second and Piastri on Russell for fourth. Ultimately though, it was not to be in either case, and so the podium trio consisted of Norris, Antonelli and Verstappen, with the top six finishers completed by Russell, Piastri and Bearman, the latter again performing very impressively.

McLaren may have already sealed the Constructors’ Championship title for a second year running, but the fight to become the world champion driver is still far from settled. Back in 2007 Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton were the McLaren duo fighting for the title, and such was the intensity of their often acrimonious battle that they ended up letting Ferrari’s Kimi Räikkönen sneak past them to become the new champion.

Interestingly, McLaren’s senior management has indicated that it would prefer Verstappen to win the title rather than show preference to either of its drivers, and we can but wait for the action to resume around the streets of Las Vegas in just under a fortnight’s time. Norris is really on a roll, but Piastri and, to a lesser extent, Verstappen will still look to have a say in who becomes the new world champion.



2025 Formula 1 São Paulo Grand Prix
1 Lando Norris (McLaren) 1hr32m1.596s
2 Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) +10.388s
3 Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +10.750s
4 George Russell (Mercedes) +15.267s
5 Oscar Piastri (McLaren) +15.749s
6 Oliver Bearman (Haas) +29.630s
7 Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) +52.642s
8 Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) +52.873s
9 Nico Hülkenberg (Sauber) +53.324s
10 Pierre Gasly (Alpine) +53.914s
11 Alex Albon (Williams) +54.184s
12 Esteban Ocon (Haas) +54.696s
13 Carlos Sainz (Williams) +55.420s
14 Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) +55.766s
15 Franco Colapinto (Alpine) +57.777s
16 Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) +58.247s
17 Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull) +1m9.176s
18 Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) Retired
19 Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) Retired
20 Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber) Retired

2025 Formula 1 São Paulo Sprint race
1 Lando Norris (McLaren) 53m25.928s
2 Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) +0.845s
3 George Russell (Mercedes) +2.318s
4 Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +4.423s
5 Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +16.843s
6 Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) +18.306s
7 Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) +18.603s
8 Pierre Gasly (Alpine) +19.366s
9 Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) +23.933s
10 Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) +29.548s
11 Esteban Ocon (Haas) +31.000s
12 Oliver Bearman (Haas) +31.334s
13 Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) +38.090s
14 Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull) +38.462s
15 Carlos Sainz (Williams) +38.951s
16 Nico Hülkenberg (Sauber) +42.359s
17 Alex Albon (Williams) +55.456s
18 Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber) Retired
19 Oscar Piastri (McLaren) Retired
20 Franco Colapinto (Alpine) Retired



2025 Drivers’ Championship
1 Lando Norris 390
2 Oscar Piastri 366
3 Max Verstappen 341

2025 Constructors’ Championship
1 McLaren 756
2 Mercedes 398
3 Red Bull 366