Lando Norris (McLaren F1) celebrates after winning the 2025 Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
(Photo: Zak Mauger/LAT Images)

F1 Review: Lando Norris Flawless In Sao Paulo Win; Max Verstappen P3 From Pit Lane Start

by

McLaren’s Lando Norris topped off a dominant weekend at Interlagos with a dominant victory in the MSC Cruises Sao Paulo Grand Prix on Sunday (November 9th). Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli survived first-lap contact with the McLaren of Oscar Piastri and held off Max Verstappen late to take second.

Red Bull’s Verstappen, who was out in Q1 on Saturday (November 8th), started from the pit lane and displayed the talents one would expect of a four-time champion to snatch an unlikely podium, aided by a new power unit. 

Mercedes’ George Russell finished fourth, holding off Piastri, who was deterred by a 10-second penalty for causing a collision on lap 5 that took out Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. 

Haas Racing’s Oliver Bearman carried over his fine qualifying performance and finished sixth, ahead of the Racing Bulls’ duo of Liam Lawson and Isack Hadjar, in seventh and eighth, respectively. Sauber’s Nico Hülkenberg was ninth and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly finished 10th.

“I was pushing!” Norris said after the race. “It was an amazing race, and it’s nice to win here in Brazil. It’s an amazing track, amazing fans. This one was for Gil [de Ferran], one of my mentors growing up a couple of years ago. This one was for him – I’m sure he’d be very proud about it all. I was thinking of that while driving. A perfect weekend.”

In the driver standings, Norris’ eight-point sprint race win on Saturday combined with his 25-point haul on Sunday boosted his lead over Piastri from one point to 24 points, 390 to 366, with Verstappen third with 341 points.

In the constructors standings, McLaren leads Mercedes by 358 points, 756 to 398.  Verstappen’s 15-point day pushed Red Bull ahead of Ferrari, which went scoreless in Brazil, for third. Red Bull has 366, four points ahead of Ferrari.  

The Race

Norris, on medium tires, started well and fought off the advance of Antonelli’s soft-tire-clad Mercedes into Turn 1 as the field started cleanly. Piastri maintained fourth over Hadjar, but just barely.

Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz touched, and Hamilton then bounced into Franco Colapinto’s Alpine, which damaged the Ferrari’s wing and floor.

Gabriel Bortoleto crashed into the barrier in Turn 10 after getting squeezed by the Aston Martin of Lance Stroll, ending the race for the Brazilian. Bortoleto was unable to qualify on Saturday (November 8th) after a huge shunt in the sprint race and started 18th on the grid. The safety car was deployed and Hamilton pitted for major repairs. 

The safety car period ended on lap 5, and Norris took off well, with Piastri diving underneath Antonelli and locking up, colliding with the Mercedes, which then clipped the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc, knocking Leclerc out of the race. A virtual safety car period ensued and stewards began investigating the Piastri-Antonelli incident. 

Green flag racing resumed on lap 9 as Piastri pressured Norris for the lead. Norris didn’t blink and quickly opened up a lead of over a second. Antonelli, in third, received the good news that his car was fine despite the contact with Piastri and Leclerc. 

Verstappen was in 16th on lap 12, but was the fastest car on the track and stalking Hamilton’s slightly compromised Ferrari with Verstappen making an easy pass and beginning his drive through the field.

On lap 16, Norris’ lead was nearing three seconds, while Piastri awaited the steward’s decision on his lap 1 incident. Not surprisingly, Piastri was slapped with a 10-second penalty. Bad news for Piastri, but good news for Norris, who could have cited Section 231-C, Article 12-Z in the Papaya Rules handbook, which states, “It’s okay to wish ill upon your teammate.”

Verstappen was flying and up to seventh by lap 19, working his medium tires and brand new engine to the limit. He was in fifth, two laps later. A podium finish wasn’t out of the question for the Dutchman. And who knows what could happen should the safety car make another appearance, especially a timely one for Verstappen.

Norris was cruising up front, and his team radioed with possible strategies, one of which was the rare “Plan D.” You know you’re in control of a race when your strategies utilize four letters of the alphabet.  

Norris pitted on lap 30, and a quick 2.2 stop for soft tires brought the McLaren out in fourth, right behind Verstappen. Soft tires likely meant Norris would be on a two-stop strategy.

Norris easily cleared Verstappen on lap 33, and Norris was on his way to reclaiming the lead, with Russell, who had yet to pit, and Piastri, sitting on a 10-second penalty, ahead.

Piastri pitted on lap 39, served his penalty, and left with soft tires. Norris assumed the lead with Piastri down in eighth. Barring any critical mistakes, Norris would win this race easily and extend his championship lead. By how much was up to his McLaren teammate.

Verstappen moved into second on lap 49 when Russell made his final stop, and trailed Norris by 14 seconds. 

Norris pitted on lap 51 for medium tires, and the McLaren crew was solid with a 2.2 second stop. Verstappen assumed the lead again and was looking to become the first F1 driver to win a race from a pit lane start.

Piastri pitted from third, handing second to Norris, who needed to hunt down Verstappen eight seconds ahead. While both were on medium tires, Norris’s were much newer.

Red Bull understood their disadvantage and discussed pitting Verstappen, essentially conceding the win to Norris. Verstappen indeed pitted on lap 55 for a brand new set of soft tires, and returned to the track in fourth, with the Mercedes duo of Antonelli and Russell between the Red Bull and Norris.

Verstappen easily picked off Russell for third on lap 63, and Antonelli knew he was toast in second, especially since the Mercedes was managing overheating issues. 

With four laps left, Verstappen was nearing DRS range of Antonelli, but the Italian youngster was expertly defending. Meanwhile, Russell was fending off the advances of Piastri, who was looking to squeeze a few extra points out of his finish. 

Norris took the checkered flag with a 10-second margin over Antonelli, who held off Verstappen as the Mercedes’ driver posted his best ever F1 finish. Russell held on for fourth. 

The Good

Norris, after claiming two straight poles and two consecutive victories, seems to have finally harnessed the mindset needed to not only handle the pressure of a championship battle but also overcome it.

When asked after the race what it takes to block out the noise, Norris stated that you have to ignore the people who are talking trash about you. That’s a reasonable answer, but it’s probably not as easy as Norris makes it sound. 

Now comes the harder part: ignoring the people praising you and telling you you’re on the cusp of being F1 world champion. It’s obvious the McLaren is the best car on the track, and its speed and reliability are unquestioned. It seems that the only thing that could stop Norris from closing the deal is a mental error. Two months ago, I would have said Norris is vulnerable to allowing that to happen. Now, I think he has it all under control, and he should become the 2025 world champion.

But don’t tell him I said that.  

The Bad

Verstappen’s race day was a far cry from his qualifying adventure on Saturday (November 8th).

When asked about his fading-fast title hopes after his demoralizing qualifying effort, Verstappen essentially said, “Forget about it.” I don’t think anyone would disagree with Verstappen’s assessment. Ask any F1 pundit, and most, if not all, would give the same response. Ask any Italian-American associated with the Mafia to give their opinion of Verstappen’s hopes, and all would surely answer, “Forget about it.” 

Despite his Herculean feat on Sunday, Verstappen would still rate his title hopes as “Forget about it,” maybe now with extra emphasis, and a hand gesture that makes it sound more like “Fuhgeddaboudit.”

Did Piastri really need to make such a daring move on Antonelli so early in the race? The move reeked of desperation, and though Piastri’s situation at the time was not ideal. If you’re locking up your brakes that badly so early in a race, then you’re likely being much too ambitious.

Piastri started the race nine points behind Norris in the drivers standings. Starting P4, a finish of second should have been Piastri’s target. Patience likely would have gotten him there, but on lap 5, he tried to do too much, too soon. A second-place finish would have left Piastri 16 points behind Norris; Piastri’s eventual fifth left him 24 points back. Had the Australian checked the F1 schedule, he would have known that there are three races left after Brazil. I know three races are not many, but it’s enough for Piastri to play the long game in his quest for glory.

My advice to Piastri is to sit back, take a deep breath, and don’t do anything drastic until you have to. You didn’t have to in Brazil.

Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto just wanted to give his Brazilian fans what they wanted. If what they wanted was for their hero to complete just one lap, in qualifying, or in the race, then he failed his countrymen and countrywomen.

But seriously, it was a series of unfortunate events that prevented Bortoleto from delighting his adoring fans. After a massive crash on the final lap of the sprint race, the Sauber team wasn’t able to give Bortoleto a functioning car in time for qualifying. 

That left the young Brazilian 18th on the starting grid, and in the first lap scramble, Bortoleto was pushed into the Turn 10 barrier, although it was through no fault of his own.

Grid Walk Moments

After a quick chat with former Brazilian F1 star Felipe Massa (to be clear, Massa is not a “former” Brazilian; he remains Brazilian, but is not currently an F1 driver), Brundle stumbled upon English rocker Billy Idol, who likely stumbled into the Interlagos circuit after one of his concerts in Brazil. 

Idol, in a leather jacket and sunglasses, as expected, said his farewell to Brundle and offered his signature “Idol fist” towards the camera. Brundle mistook Idol’s gesture as an invitation to fist bump, and fist bumped Idol. I’m sure Idol has seen a lot in his 69 years, most of which he doesn’t remember, but that’s probably the first time someone’s fist bumped him. Brundle should be aware that in regards to British rock and roll royalty, there are two things you should never do: 1) Ask Led Zeppelin to reunite, and 2) try to fist bump Billy Idol.

Brundle followed up his talk with Idol by interviewing Racing Bulls’ team principal Alan Tremane, and let me tell you, going from Billy Idol to Alan Tremane might be the biggest drop in celebrity status from one interview to another in Grid Walk history. And it would have been just as awkward had Brundle fist bumped Tremane.

The Driver

It’s hard to overstate the talent it takes for a driver to start from the pit lane and finish on the podium. Verstappen did that, and did it fairly easily, despite suffering a puncture early in the race. And when the Dutchman does something like that, you realize you can’t overstate his talents, because they are immeasurable. 

Of course, a safety car and a virtual safety car aided Verstappen’s cause, but it’s still an amazing feat, one that no other driver on the grid is capable of duplicating, in my humble opinion.  

The Results (MSC Cruises São Paulo Grand Prix, Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace)

Pos.No.DriverTeamLapsTime / RetiredPts.
14Lando NorrisMcLaren711:32:01.59625
212Kimi AntonelliMercedes71+10.388s18
31Max VerstappenRed Bull Racing71+10.750s15
463George RussellMercedes71+15.267s12
581Oscar PiastriMcLaren71+15.749s10
687Oliver BearmanHaas F1 Team71+29.630s8
730Liam LawsonRacing Bulls71+52.642s6
86Isack HadjarRacing Bulls71+52.873s4
927Nico HulkenbergKick Sauber71+53.324s2
1010Pierre GaslyAlpine71+53.914s1
1123Alexander AlbonWilliams71+54.184s0
1231Esteban OconHaas F1 Team71+54.696s0
1355Carlos SainzWilliams71+55.420s0
1414Fernando AlonsoAston Martin71+55.766s0
1543Franco ColapintoAlpine71+57.777s0
1618Lance StrollAston Martin71+58.247s0
1722Yuki TsunodaRed Bull Racing71+69.176s0
NC44Lewis HamiltonFerrari37DNF0
NC16Charles LeclercFerrari5DNF0
NC5Gabriel BortoletoKick Sauber0DNF0
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