Lando Norris survived a chaotic, rain-disrupted Formula 1 Sao Paulo Grand Prix to take his third win of 2026, with Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar completing the podium.
Norris started on pole for the Grand Prix, with Kimi Antonelli alongside him. Many frontrunners started near the back of the field, taking engine penalties for the weekend.
The rain in qualifying scrambled the top 10, with midfield drivers lining up on the front row. Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen started dead last.
With damp conditions still prevelent, the field started on Intermediate tyres. This meant the first half of the race would be a game of when to switch onto slicks, with the team that guesses right reaping the benefits.
Antonelli takes advantage of poor Norris start
Norris was slow off the line as the lights went out, with Antonelli jumping the McLaren and taking the lead. Liam Lawson also joined the fight as Norris dropped further, with the Racing Bulls driver taking third place.
Lewis Hamilton jumped from 20th to ninth on the opening lap, while Verstappen made a similar move to 11th. The Dutchman moved to 10th and quickly closed on the Brit, overtaking him to take ninth.
Verstappen faced a penalty for being out of position at the start. Alex Albon was under the same investigation, but both were marked as no further investigation.
The Dutchman wasted no time closing on Oscar Piastri, fighting side by side with the McLaren driver before pulling ahead, then closing on Albon and taking two positions in two corners.
Norris came back at Lawson on Lap 6, diving down the inside of Turn 9, but on Turn 10, Lawson had the advantage. Unfortunately, the Racing Bulls driver just didn’t have the momentum, with Norris getting ahead.
The battle took its toll on Lawson’s tyres, and the Kiwi fell back to Isack Hadjar, who made quick work of it and moved into third, pushing Lawson into fourth.
Hamilton was investigated for leaving the track and gaining an advantage in a battle with Ollie Bearman.
That wasn’t the biggest issue for Hamilton, who was dealing with his rear tyres falling off a cliff and was dropping through the order. Hamilton slipped to 12th, with his teammate close behind.
He ran wide on Lap 10, with Leclerc getting ahead of Brit. Hamilton’s lack of pace continued, and Fernando Alonso took advantage, moving ahead of the seven-time world champion.
Hamilton begs for slicks
Hamilton was quick on the radio, asking the team if he could come in and switch to slicks, but Ferrari told him it was too early. On Lap 14, Hamilton believed it was nearly ready for slicks, but the team told him to wait again.
However, the Ferrari pit team were preparing in the pits. Leclerc was also finding himself under pressure from Alonso, who seemed to be finding more pace than the Ferraris.
On Lap 15, Hamilton came in and switched to the soft compounds, leaving the Pits in 20th. His out lap was incredibly fast, which pushed the rest of the field to come into the pits. All but Antonelli and Verstappen pitted at the front.
It was a disaster for George Russell, who spun coming out of the pits. The Brit was forced to turn himself around, but he’d lost too much ground running last.
On Lap 18, Antonelli came into the pits, leaving more carefully than his teammate. He maintained his lead, but the field was tighter. Norris had warmer tyres and, within a lap, was a second back from the World Champion.
Antonelli complained on the radio, struggling with the tyres and the suspension. But in Turn 1, the Mercedes driver spun out of the race, managed to keep the car going, and rejoined in second, with Hadjar close on his rear wing.
Verstappen charged through the field, moving up to third on Lap 24 after passing Antonelli, who ran wide again. He struggled with confidence in his Mercedes.
The Ferraris were struggling for pace in 10th and 14th, while the rest of the top teams had climbed through the field.
Russell was in eighth on Lap 29, battling Nico Hulkenberg, who used his F1 experience to keep the Mercedes behind. The duo went wheel to wheel on Turn 1, but the Brit couldn’t get ahead.
It was another race cut short for Lance Stroll, who was called into the pits on lap 32 to retire the car.
Further back in the field, Albon, Alonso and Pierre Gasly were fighting for 11th place. The three were going wheel to wheel, swapping places, but Alonso had the better run on Lap 36, moving ahead of the other two, with Albon in 12th and Gasly in 13th.
Gasly didn’t give up, though, as the Frenchman passed the Williams driver on Lap 37.
Leclerc took advantage of the battle ahead of him, closing the gap to Albon and quickly passing him. He then set his sights on the Gasly ahead.
Out front, Verstappen was sat behind Hadjar, with the Red Bull pit wall calling for the Frenchman to swap places and allow the Dutchman to chase about Norris.
On lap 40, Hamilton came into the pits trying to mitigate the tyre struggles with a new set of soft tyres. This put him a lap down, with Norris just ahead as he left the pits.
Norris told the pit wall he believed he could go to the end on the same tyres, while Verstappen in second was certain he’d need a second stop.
Verstappen dropped back towards his teammate until lap 46, then dove into the pits, hoping to gain pace in the closing stages.
McLaren chose not to pit Norris, instead waiting for the conditions to change. On lap 49, light rain began, but it wasn’t strong enough to affect the drivers. However, McLaren didn’t wait long, bringing the reigning champion into the pits, followed by Hadjar.
On Lap 54, Hulkenberg received a 10-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage, while Antonelli dove into the pits and came out third.
Meanwhile, Hadjar dove down the inside of Russell’s Mercedes.
The rain returns
However, the face of the race changed as rain began to come down on Lap 60 around the track, with the field choosing to stay out and brave the rain initially. Verstappen’s pit crew was waiting for him on Lap 62, but the Dutchman stayed out and pitted the next lap, as did Norris, Leclerc, and the rest of the front runners.
Hamilton stayed out an extra lap, but he lost time as he struggled to stay on the track. Russell came out of the pit cycle as the winner, going long on his first stint and effectively gaining a free pit stop in the process.
Charles Leclerc also benefited; he was on a one-stop strategy, which meant he hadn’t done a second stop like many of the midfield. As he went onto intermediates, he left the pits in eighth and with the pace to catch Lawson in seventh.
He sat fifth behind his teammate after everyone cycled into the pits onto intermediate tyres, but the team swapped the two, with Russell having more pace. The forecast showed that the rain would continue and potentially get heavier, leaving the field on wet tyres for the final four laps.
Norris led by 11.9 seconds, a comfortable gap with the Red Bull duo behind him.
Antonelli was to be investigated after the race for an unsafe release, while Russell was on the radio complaining about the same issues that plagued Antonelli earlier in the race.
Lawson and Leclerc went wheel to wheel, making contact as they fought for seventh place. Leclerc made a bold move down the inside of Turn 12, both drivers keeping it on the road and narrowly avoiding more damage.
On a drag race round the following corners, Leclerc came out ahead of the Racing Bulls driver but was under investigation.
Norris took the chequered flag, claiming a stunning victory by surviving the rain, with the Red Bull duo over 10 seconds behind. It was an achievement for Mercedes, who clinched the Constructors’ title.
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