Norris Dominates, Verstappen Goes From Pits to Podium in São Paulo

Published: Tuesday, November 11, 2025

by Thomas Mazurowski

SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL - Lando Norris extended his championship lead on Sunday with a statement win in Brazil, beating a hard-charging Max Verstappen and McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri.

Norris won the sprint race Saturday morning before securing pole position for the grand prix later in the day. The dominant weekend puts the Brit 24 points into the lead of the championship with three grands prix to go.

The race start was fairly clean. The top three quickly fell in line while Oscar Piastri fought hard with Isack Hadjar to hold onto fourth. Gabriel Bortoleto found the wall in turn 10, ending his home race and bringing out the safety car.

After dropping back to 17th on the start, Lewis Hamilton lost his front wing in another lap one incident, colliding with the Alpine of Franco Colapinto. Hamilton was forced to pit, later retiring from the race due to floor damage.

The safety car came in on lap six. Piastri divebombed the top three in turn one, locking up the brakes and sending Kimi Antonelli into the side of Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari. Rear suspension damage ended Leclerc’s race while Piastri was given a 10-second time penalty for the incident.

Norris led Piastri to the restart following a brief virtual safety car. Quickly, the Brit was out of DRS range, pulling away from his title rival. Further back, Yuki Tsunoda collided with Lance Stroll at the rear of the field, granting the RedBull driver a 10-second penalty of his own.

The first cycle of pitstops began on lap 18. Multiple strategies were in play from the beginning, but most drivers found their way onto medium tires by lap 25. Norris stopped on lap 30 for soft tires, as did George Russell in the Mercedes five laps later. The last to pit was Piastri, switching for softs and serving his penalty on lap 39.

The midfield put on a show in the second phase of the race. Hadjar and Pierre Gasly fought for the final points positions before taking their second pitstop. Haas’ Oliver Bearman put himself in position for a comfortable sixth place after taking it to Nico Hulkenberg.

As the laps wound down, the top five took their final stops of the day, setting up a sprint to the finish. Norris led uncontested ahead of the two Mercedes’, followed by Verstappen and Piastri. Verstappen passed Russell on lap 63 and began to hunt down Antonelli in second. Further behind, a four car battle for seventh broke out with Liam Lawson at the helm.

Norris crossed the line ten seconds ahead of the field, marking his second consecutive win and fourth consecutive podium finish. Norris’ recent performance has turned the tides of the championship battle, while teammate Piastri continues to slip behind. Both McLaren drivers now sit at seven wins on the year heading into the final rounds.

Verstappen pulled off an incredible recovery from the rear of the grid for the second consecutive year. Following a pitlane start, the Dutchman stormed through the field to a third place finish, reminiscent of his seventeenth-to-first run in last year’s race.

Antonelli finished a career-best second place despite a late challenge from RedBull. The Italian rookie managed to hold off Verstappen’s charge thanks to tire management near the end of the race. Antonelli now sits at 122 points, just 26 points off of the sixth-place Ferrari of Hamilton.

Formula 1 will return on the streets of Sin City for the Las Vegas Grand Prix on Saturday, Nov. 22 at 11 p.m.

Thomas Mazurowski can be reached at thomas.mazurowski@student.shu.edu.

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