Lando Norris won a rain-hit Sao Paulo Grand Prix on Sunday, leading from pole position to take his third victory of the season by 14.602 seconds from Max Verstappen, who stormed from 21st on the grid to second.
Norris, the 2025 world champion, led for 47 of the 71 laps at Interlagos, briefly losing the lead to newly crowned champion Kimi Antonelli before the Italian spun, according to the Associated Press via TSN and Sportsnet. It is Norris’s 14th career win, his 50th podium, and McLaren’s first victory since August.
Brazil football great Neymar waved the chequered flag as Norris took his second consecutive win in Brazil — and celebrated so enthusiastically that his usual champagne celebration went awry on the podium.
A race run in shifting rain
The 71-lap race started and ended in rain, with the field on intermediate tyres before a drying track opened the door to slicks from around lap 14, and the rain returning late on. Norris completed the race in 1:35:23.504, with Verstappen 14.602 seconds behind and Isack Hadjar third, 24.485 seconds back, for a Red Bull double podium.
Antonelli, in his first race as world champion, led briefly before spinning at Turn 1 on lap 20 and handing Norris the lead. The 20-year-old finished fifth, behind team-mate George Russell in fourth — a result that would prove decisive for the constructors’ championship.
Oscar Piastri finished sixth for McLaren, adding eight points to the team’s total after a race that saw him run as high as the podium places before a late pit stop.
Verstappen’s charge
Verstappen’s drive was the story of the afternoon. Starting 21st after an engine penalty, the four-time champion carved through the field in the wet-dry-wet conditions to finish second — 14.6 seconds behind Norris, but ahead of everyone else on the grid.
It was a reminder of why Verstappen remains the benchmark in Formula 1, even in a season when the drivers’ title has already been decided. His second place, combined with Hadjar’s third, gave Red Bull 33 points — the same as McLaren scored on the day.
What comes next
Formula 1 takes a week off before the Las Vegas Grand Prix on November 21, which begins the final triple-header of the season. Three races remain — Las Vegas, Qatar and Abu Dhabi — with uncertainty over the final two due to tensions in the Middle East. Norris, meanwhile, has Leclerc in his sights in the drivers’ standings, with just three points separating the pair in the fight for fifth.
Read more: Norris takes rain-hit Sao Paulo pole as rivals hit grid chaos
