Norris leads McLaren 1-2 after late swap at Brazil GP Sprint
2nd November 2024Lando Norris led home a 1-2 finish for McLaren after the team completed a late swap with Oscar Piastri at the Brazilian Grand Prix sprint race.
Feature image credit: Red Bull Content Pool
Norris has taken his maiden sprint victory at the Sao Paulo circuit, Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace, after McLaren completed a late swap between their two drivers when Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg retired due to mechanical problems.
This means the British driver has taken another two points out of his championship rival, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, in the driver’s standings after the Dutchman finished third overall.
The two McLarens started the race on the front row, having locked it out after Friday’s sprint qualifying session, with Piastri on pole ahead of Norris. When the lights went out, the two McLarens held position.
Despite holding position for the majority of the race, when Hulkenberg pulled off to the side of the circuit on lap 23, McLaren was forced to act to help aid Norris’ championship hopes.
Another look at that CLOSE CALL between Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen 👀 pic.twitter.com/Boj7n8jXxe
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) November 2, 2024
As such, the team swapped their drivers at turn four making the top three; Norris, Piastri and Verstappen. The race resumed on the final lap but the top three remained unchanged.
However, third-placed Verstappen is under investigation for a virtual safety car infringement which could pose a threat to the Dutchman’s top-three finish, and his championship standings.
The Dutchman’s investigation came at the end of the VSC where he was lining up a move on Piastri into turn four at the restart. Verstappen has been summoned to the stewards
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc completed the session down in fourth after denying Verstappen a chance to pass by for 18 laps of the 24-lap race. Leclerc’s teammate Carlos Sainz completed the top five, in fifth.
This left Mercedes’ George Russell, Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and Red Bull’s Sergio Perez to complete the final point-scoring positions in sixth, seventh and eighth respectively.
Read more Formula 1 here:
- Leclerc avoids Verstappen punishment with fine for Mexico GP language
- Piastri leads McLaren front-row lock-out for Brazil GP Sprint
- Norris tops sole practice in Brazil GP ahead of Russell and Bearman
- Weather Report: the latest forecast for the Brazil Grand Prix
- Kick Sauber make personnel changes ahead of Audi arrival
- ‘He just went for the incident’ states Perez on Lawson incident at Mexico GP
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Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.
I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
Kamron Kent
Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
