Lando Norris spent the balance of Saturday’s (Nov. 2) Formula 1 Sprint in Brazil right behind race leader and teammate Oscar Piastri.
But on lap 22, with points leader Max Verstappen breathing down the McLaren duo’s necks, Piastri let Norris by to take the lead.
Just a few seconds later, a Virtual Safety Car came out, slowing the top three down and denying further racing until midway through the last lap. Verstappen made one final stab at Piastri almost the second the VSC came out, but couldn’t get by him and had to take third.
“It’s tough,” Norris said in the podium interviews. “It was kind of like a yo-yo, I’d catch up [to Piastri] and drop back, catch up and drop back. Dirty air just costs you a lot of lap times.
“I fought a bit quicker but couldn’t pass at the time, but it felt good. We were maybe quicker than the guys behind, it’s just difficult in a sprint race like this to manage and push and that kind of thing, but we executed it well.
Verstappen was later penalized due to speeding under the VSC as he attempted to make the lunge against Piastri. This demoted him to fourth in the official standings, one below Charles Leclerc in third.
Norris is now 44 points back of Verstappen with four races and another Sprint in Qatar left on the schedule.
The VSC in question was for Nico Hulkenberg, who had an issue with his Haas’ exhaust and had to park right off the racing surface in sector 2.
The Ferrari pair of Carlos Sainz and Leclerc challenged early but fell off, finishing fifth and third respectively and losing some ground in the constructor’s championship. George Russell finished sixth.
Pierre Gasly brought Alpine two more crucial points in their Constructors’ Championship battle for eighth by finishing in seventh. Sergio Perez made five overtakes in just 24 laps to take the last point in eighth place.
2024 F1 Brazil Sprint Results
Just four more F1 races remain in the season. Lights out for the Brazilian Grand Prix will come at 12 p.m. ET on Sunday (Nov. 3). Coverage will be on ABC.
About the author
Michael has watched NASCAR for 20 years and regularly covered the sport from 2013-2021, and also formerly covered the SRX series from 2021-2023. He now covers the FIA Formula 1 World Championship, the NASCAR Xfinity Series, and road course events in the NASCAR Cup Series.
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