SAO PAULO – Lando Norris took a step towards his first Formula 1 championship with a controlled win in a chaotic Sao Paulo Grand Prix at Interlagos.
Norris won from pole, while team-mate Oscar Piastri could only manage fifth in a race that saw him receive a controversial 10-second penalty for an early collision with Kimi Antonelli that sent Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc out of the race.
Without the penalty, Piastri would have finished second, meaning it was another costly moment for the Australian driver, who also crashed out of Saturday’s sprint race.
Sunday’s result gives Norris a 15-point lead over Piastri, meaning he has a 24-point lead heading into the Las Vegas Grand Prix in two weeks.
Norris also put more distance between himself and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, despite the four-time world champion’s impressive rise to third after his pit lane start.
Verstappen’s drive included an early puncture and he briefly led the race when he went off the sequence in front of Norris and the rest. The Dutchman overtook George Russell in the final stint and almost caught rookie Mercedes driver Antonelli in a drag race to the line, but the teenager hung on for second place.
It was the second podium finish of Antonelli’s rookie season and the best result of his Formula 1 career. Despite Verstappen’s impressive driving, he went into Las Vegas 49 points behind Norris, with three races remaining.
Norris’ victory capped off a near-perfect weekend, as he won the sprint from pole position, something he repeated at the Grand Prix itself.
The Englishman kept the lead off the line and managed to avoid the drama that erupted behind him in the opening laps.
On the opening lap, local hero Gabriel Bortoletto was involved in his second crash in two days when he collided with Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin, while Lewis Hamilton lost his front wing in a clumsy attempt to pass Franco Colapinto on the main straight.
Bortoletto’s collision with the wall triggered the safety car and a major championship moment occurred on the restart. With Norris managing the restart perfectly, Mercedes rookie Antonelli appeared to be in the lurch. Leclerc went to his right and Piastri cornered the move on the inside and went for it, sensing a big moment to move into second.
Piastri closed in as Antonelli drifted into the corner and they made contact – Antonelli’s Mercedes then spun into Leclerc’s Ferrari, which immediately lost a tire and retired down the road.
For a brief period it looked as if Norris and Piastri would battle it out for victory, with the move promoting the Australian to second place.
However, Piastri was dealt a hammer blow when stewards imposed a 10-second penalty on him for “causing a collision”, dropping him down the pecking order. He was unable to catch Russell in the closing laps.
Although Ferrari was optimistic about challenging for the podium, Leclerc’s retirement was the start of a miserable day for the team.
Hamilton had already pitted for a new front wing by then, but was unhappy with the way his stationary car handled when he returned to the race track. “Dude, I’m going to crash here,” he said after a few laps. “We’ll keep trying. The car is crazy unstable.”
Hamilton was called to the pit lane to retire on lap 37.
Haas rookie Oliver Biermann continued his impressive recent form in sixth place ahead of Racing Bull’s Liam Lawson, who recorded an impressive seventh place at the head of a train of cars separated by a few seconds.
Lawson overtook his Racing Bulls teammate Isak Hajar, Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, who rounded out the points positions.
There were just five seconds between seventh-placed Lawson and 16th-placed Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll when they crossed the finish line.
Yuki Tsunoda endured another miserable weekend, finishing a distant 17th in what looks to be a season ruled out by Red Bull’s main team.
