A double blow for Lando Norris who won the Brazilian Grand Prix on Sunday 9 November, twenty-four hours after winning the sprint race at the Interlagos Paulista circuit. The McLaren driver beat Italian Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) and Max Verstappen (Red Bull), author of a crazy comeback from the pit lane.
His teammate Oscar Piastri – his arch rival for the title – only finished fifth, today missing out on fifteen important points in the final standings. The day before, he had lost eight units during the sprint race. Two French riders managed to climb into the top 10: Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) took 8th placee while Pierre Gasly (Alpine) finished in 10th placee.
Before arriving in Brazil, Lando Norris was only one point ahead of teammate Oscar Pastri. Three races before the end of the season, which ends on December 7 in Abu Dhabi, the 25-year-old British youngster now has twenty-four races under his belt. Vice world champion in 2024, he consolidates his status as a big favorite and moves closer to his quest for his first world title.
On Sunday, Norris started from pole position for the sixth time this season. And he scored his sixth win in twenty-one races. He mastered his subjects from start to finish. He never worried. On Saturday, he already benefited from the accident – followed by the retirement – of Piastri, during the sprint race.
Starting from fourth position, Piastri was unable to compete with the world standings leaders. The second McLaren driver has not been on the podium since September 7, when he finished third at the Italian Grand Prix.
In Sao Paulo, he was involved in a collision during the race with Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes), which caused Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) to retire. Initially, the Australian’s bold maneuver earned him two places, before the stewards handed him a ten-second penalty.
“This is amazing”
Despite Lando Norris’ easy success, this weekend’s performance was thanks to Max Verstappen, who took the podium after a so-so qualifying session. In 2024, at the same Grand Prix, he started from 17th positione position before finally winning.
Yesterday, while driving a car without grip, he only took 16e put it on the shelf. He finally started on Sunday from pit Lane, 19the of 20, because his team had decided to make modifications to his car (a completely new engine) before the start, in the hope of making another crazy comeback on the track.
Mission accomplished for the defending champions. “This race is full of actionhe reacted. We got on the podium, after starting from the pitlane and despite experiencing a puncture at the start of the race. » The Red Bull driver congratulates his team: “Amazing, I’m very happy and proud of everyone in the team. Yesterday was very difficult, we didn’t give up. »
Since September, the Dutchman has regained hope of defending his title, closing the gap of around a hundred points to just around thirty. At the end of a poor qualifying session, “Super Max” seemed to have given up. “ With an appearance like this, I can forget it.”he replied to a journalist who asked about his title chances.
Despite being unable to compete with Lando Norris – now relegated by 49 points – Verstappen has not officially lost his throne. Even if he was forced to rely on a misstep from the Briton. The next Grand Prix is scheduled for November 23 in Las Vegas.
