Brazilian GP: Norris survives Verstappen masterclass as Piastri handed penalty

Lando Norris has delivered a nervy victory in a sensational Sao Paulo Grand Prix to beat Kimi Antonelli and an incredible Max Verstappen.

Strategy came into play in a race filled with drama and intrigue, with Antonelli denying Verstappen after one of the finest drives of the Dutchman’s career.

Lando Norris wins thrilling Brazilian GP

Lando Norris held on to pole position into the first corner, fending off Kimi Antonelli from Charles Leclerc with Oscar Piastri in fourth under attack from Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson.

Lewis Hamilton had a torrid start and fell to 17th, while Gabriel Bortoleto found himself in the barrier midway around the lap.

That triggered the Safety Car as the field began Lap 2, Norris heading Antonelli, Leclerc, Piastri, Hadjar, Lawson, George Russell, Pierre Gasly, Oliver Bearman, and Fernando Alonso.

The opening exchanges had left Hamilton without a front wing. The Ferrari having banged wheels with Carlos Sainz into the first corner before, having recovered from that, brushed his wing against the rear wheel of Franco Colapinto, which plucked it off just as he passed pit entry.

Meanwhile, Bortoleto ran out of road while battling with Lance Stroll at the Turn 10 hairpin, nosing into the barrier in an impact which broke the Sauber’s steering arm to end Bortoleto’s race.

Racing resumed at the start of Lap 6, Norris accelerating away as the pack fanned out behind him.

Antonelli found himself in the middle with Piastri on the inside and Leclerc the outside. The Mercedes and McLaren made contact, pitching Antonelli sideways as Leclerc was eliminated from the race with front-left suspension damage.

That triggered a Virtual Safety Car with the stricken Ferrari stopped in a service area on the back straight.

The incident was triggered by a sluggish restart from Antonelli with Piastri pinching a brake into Turn 1 as the trio crowded into the left-hander.

Having risen to 13th, Verstappen boxed under the Virtual Safety Car with a front-right puncture to drop him to 18th and last.

The Virtual Safety Car ended as Norris headed down the front straight to begin Lap 9, Piastri tucked up behind his teammate with DRS immediately enabled.

The pair had pulled clear of Antonelli in third, with Hadjar fourth from Russell, Lawson, Bearman, Gasly, Alex Albon, and Sainz.

Norris quickly pulled clear of Piastri while Russell locked on to Hadjar to clear the Racing Bulls at the end of the back straight on Lap 12.

Lawson in the other Racing Bulls fell victim to Oliver Bearman half a lap later, the Haas diving underneath the Kiwi at Turn 1 in a strong move.

In the pack, Verstappen made short work of those around him, quickly dispatching Hamilton in a wounded Ferrari, and then Franco Colapinto.

The stewards had been kept busy in the early stages, penalising Yuki Tsunoda for nerfing Stroll into a spin before investigating the Piastri-Antonelli clash.

That resulted in a 10-second penalty for the Australian for causing the collision that ultimately eliminated Leclerc.

On Lap 18, Verstappen had risen into the top 10, taking two more places a lap later as those around him began to stop. On Lap 21, he was an incredible fifth.

After starting on soft tyres, Antonelli pitted at the end of Lap 21, dropping from third to 11th and into traffic.

Tsunoda took to the lane just as Antonelli approached the rear of the Red Bull, looking to serve his 10-second penalty as he took on a new set of tyres.

However, officials noted that his penalty was not served correctly, prompting him to take it again at his second stop.

It mattered little in the grand scheme of things given the Japanese driver was running last. One place up the road, Hamilton was struggling for pace as he had a five-second penalty for causing a collision with Colapinto.

Norris pitted after 30 laps, handing the race lead to Piastri as the pole-sitter took on a set of soft tyres, seemingly locking him on to a two-stop strategy.

He emerged behind Verstappen on track, though with much fresher tyres than the Dutchman. The grip advantage was decisive, Norris easing by into Turn 1 on Lap 33 as the Red Bull driver offered no resistance.

With a penalty looming over him, Piastri extended his opening stint, opening the door for a potential one-stop strategy.

However, doing so would mean swapping onto the less-fancied hard compound tyres – a potential 22-second saving should he be able to deliver the laptimes on the harder compound tyre.

A second stop for Verstappen on Lap 35 dropped him to 10th, rejoining behind Lawson.

He quickly cleared the Kiwi, Gasly too, while Hadjar and Hulkenberg both pitted to clear his rise to sixth.

Piastri stopped on Lap 38, taking on a set of soft tyres once his 10-second penalty had been served.

He fed out behind Lawson in a net eighth as Hamilton was pushed into the Ferrari garage and retirement.

On Lap 50, Norris led by 10.8s to Verstappen in second, Mercedes having pitted both Antonelli and Russell.

The Dutchman was closing in and becoming an increasing threat for victory, prompting McLaren to call the race leader in.

He swapped onto a set of medium tyres, rejoining behind Piastri in third on the road, some eight seconds back from Verstappen.

It was Piastri’s turn to stop next time by, falling to seventh behind Bearman.

That left Verstappen leading from Norris, Antonelli, Russell, Lawson, Bearman, Piastri, Hulkenberg, Albon, and Hadjar.

Having taken on scrubbed tyres, Norris was rapidly closing on the race lead, as was Piastri on Bearman, the Australian clearing the Haas at the start of Lap 54.

Red Bull reacted to Norris, hauling Verstappen in for a fresh set of soft tyres. It was a roll of the dice; conceding the race lead in the hope of being able to run the championship leader down in the final 16 laps.

As he fed out of the pit lane, his mirrors were filled by Lawson, who had an especially rapid Piastri in his wheel tracks.

Verstappen was flying, his first clear lap more than a second clear of Russell ahead, who became increasingly anxious over the radio.

With 10 laps remaining, Verstappen was told he was on course for second as he chased down the two Mercedes ahead as they dealt with overheating brakes.

Russell tried to defend, but was powerless against the Red Bull which soared around the outside at Turn 1 as they began Lap 63.

Having caught Antonelli, Verstappen struggled to clear the Italian, the Red Bull beginning to struggle for traction as his soft tyres cried enough.

Still the Dutchman tried, moving around in the Mercedes’ mirrors in an attempt to distract his rival. A mistake on the final lap afforded half a chance, but only half, and Antonelli held on.

Norris won by 10.4 seconds over the youngster, Verstappen charging from the pit lane to third, while Russell held on against Piastri with Bearman in sixth, followed by Lawson, Hadjar, Hulkenberg, and Gasly.

It was a result that sees Norris put one hand on the championship trophy, the Interlagos encounter a key moment in a decisive phase of the title race.

With three races and one sprint left, Piastri is 24 points back in second in the championship, while Verstappen is the only other driver still in contention at 49 points back from the McLaren driver.

Sao Paulo Grand Prix results

1. Lando Norris, McLaren, 71 Laps
2. Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes, +10.388
3. Max Verstappen, Red Bull, +10.75
4. George Russell, Mercedes, +15.267
5. Oscar Piastri, McLaren, +15.749
6. Oliver Bearman, Haas, +29.63
7. Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls, +52.642
8. Isack Hadjar, Racing Bulls, +52.873
9. Nico Hulkenberg, Sauber, +53.324
10. Pierre Gasly, Alpine, +53.914
11. Alex Albon, Williams, +54.184
12. Esteban Ocon, Haas, +54.696
13. Carlos Sainz, Williams, +55.42
14. Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin, +55.766
15. Franco Colapinto, Alpine, +57.777
16. Lance Stroll, Aston Martin, +58.247
17. Yuki Tsunoda, Red Bull, +69.176
18. Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, DNF
19. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, DNF
20. Gabriel Bortoleto, Sauber, DNF