Lando Norris extended his advantage in the F1 drivers’ championship by winning the São Paulo sprint despite his teammate and title rival Oscar Piastri crashing out.
Norris, who started from pole position, took a comfortable lead from the start as second-place starter Kimi Antonelli thwarted Piastri’s early attempts.
Antonelli remained within DRS range of Norris from the start, and Piastri continued to use DRS to communicate with the Mercedes driver, but on lap six he dropped a wheel on the wet inside curb of Turn 2 and spun into the outside wall of Turn 3, ending his sprint early.
Nico Hulkenberg and Franco Colapinto mirrored Piastri’s accident, causing red flags for the stricken McLaren and Alpine, but Hulkenberg was able to recover and return to the pits.
When the race resumed on lap nine under rolling start conditions, Norris changed from his race-starting medium tires to soft tires, while Antonelli and his Mercedes teammates George Russell and Max Verstappen did the opposite.
This change increased Norris’ pace, but his rear tire began to come off, allowing Antonelli to close the gap. By the 20th lap of the 24-lap race, he was back within six-tenths of a point from Norris, setting himself up for victory. Norris managed the gap by increasing his pace in the middle sector, while Antonelli utilized DRS to maintain his pace in the first and final sectors.
However, he was unable to find a way out and the race ended with two yellow flags following a huge first-corner crash by home hero Gabriel Bortleto, but he ended up finishing 0.845 seconds ahead of Antonelli, becoming the first driver to win the sprint from pole in Sao Paulo. Russell was third and Verstappen fourth, while Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was fifth, but spent much of the race behind Fernando Alonso. Fernando Alonso was asked to lift and coast “for performance”, an odd request given the short nature of the sprint.
Alonso held on to sixth place, scoring his first sprint point since 2023 in Qatar, while Hamilton finished seventh. Gasly took the final points-scoring position in eighth place, scoring Alpine’s first points in eight weekends. Lance Stroll and Isaac Hajjar rounded out the top 10.
Hajar moved forward after Bortleto’s crash, which occurred when the Sauber driver tried to pass Alex Albon’s Williams on a late charge into the first corner. Bortleto ended up hitting the wall and Albon slowed down after retrieving loose bodywork from the Sauber’s crash, which allowed the Racing Bulls rookie to slip through.
Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman’s Haas cars were next followed by Liam Lawson.
Ocon passed the Racing Bulls rider at Turn 4 on lap 17, and after making his move in the first set of corners, took advantage of the DRS advantage in his run there. Bearman finished ahead of the New Zealander despite both making contact and spinning at Turn 5 on the opening lap.
Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda finished 14th, ahead of Williams’ Carlos Sainz, while Hulkenberg recovered from an early accident to finish 16th ahead of Albon, who limped.
result
