Lando Norris took victory in the Formula 1 Sao Paulo Grand Prix Sprint Race in a race that was restarted after McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri crashed out.
The Brit held onto his pole position and resisted the charge of Mercedes’ Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who finished second, ahead of team-mate George Russell.
Piastri, who had been running in third, crashed at Turn 3 in the early stages of the race, which, with other cars crashing around him too, brought out the red flag.
At the start, Norris got away well, covering off Antonelli, with Piastri doing likewise to Russell. Max Verstappen managed to get himself ahead of Fernando Alonso to go fifth, with Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton starting well to work their way up to seventh and eighth.
Further back, Liam Lawson and Ollie Bearman tangled at Turn 4, the Racing Bulls pitching the Haas into a spin, the incident being placed under investigation.
With DRS enabled after two laps, Norris managed to pull out a gap of 1.5s to Antonelli into Lap 4, as the order settled into a rhythm.
That was, until Lap 6, when Piastri, taking on a bit too much kerb into Turn 3, spun on some damp and spun into the outside wall. The McLaren was out.
But before you could blink, Nico Hulkenberg and Franco Colapinto also spun at the same corner, the latter taking a hefty bump into the barrier.
The Safety Car was out, but before it could get going properly, the red flag was out with the barriers in need of repairs. Hulkenberg’s car got repairs of its own, and was done so in time to take to the track for a second bite at the cherry.
Norris controls Sprint to hold of Antonelli threat
With over 20 minutes of delay complete, the race began under a rolling start with Norris not putting his foot down until the final moment, but timed it well to go into Turn 1 ahead.
Russell was side by side with Antonelli but his young team-mate held him off, as behind, Verstappen went deep into the corner, with Alonso putting him under extreme pressure as the Red Bull’s Medium tyres struggled to get up to temperature.
Norris was ahead of Antonelli by 1.2 seconds on Lap 11, as Verstappen pulled away from Alonso, who was coming under threat from Leclerc.
The Ferrari was getting closer to the Aston Martin, which was now lifting and coasting but still managed to stay ahead.
With Norris starting to struggle on his rear tyres, Antonelli was beginning to reduce the deficit, but then lost most of his momentum on Lap 18, but by Lap 20, he brought the gap to under a second.
And by the end of the lap, it was now half a second and with just a few laps to go, the rookie could sense a first F1 win.
Further back, Leclerc finally got by Alonso for fifth, with Verstappen, about eight seconds up the road, was now picking up pace.
Going into the final lap, and Norris was ahead by enough to stay in front going into Turn 1, and was able to hold him off into Turn 4, too, to ensure his advantage.
Norris’ victory was secured when home hero Gabriel Bortoleto shunted hugely. The Sauber, sensing an opportunity to pass Alex Albon, hit the pit wall, leaving him a passenger as it speared into the outside wall, all wheels off the ground, slamming into it.
Thankfully, Bortoleto quickly communicated to the team that he was OK, and brought a premature halt to any further action.
Russell followed Norris and Antonelli home in third, with Verstappen fourth and Leclerc fifth. Alonso held off Hamilton for sixth, with Pierre Gasly taking a point for Alpine in eighth.
READ MORE – F1 2025 Brazil Grand Prix – Sprint Race Results
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