Lando Norris extends F1 championship lead after Sao Paulo Grand Prix win
9th November 2025McLaren’s Lando Norris has claimed the race win to extend his championship advantage at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, as Red Bull’s Max Verstappen puts in an incredible recovery drive.
Feature image credit: McLaren Racing
Norris has taken his seventh win of the season with a commanding drive around the old-school, iconic, Interlagos circuit and takes the double in Brazil after the British driver took the Sprint race win on Saturday.
The Briton was accompanied by Mercedes’ young Italian driver, Kimi Antonelli, who converted his best qualifying result, of second place, into his current-best race result (P2).
The Italian had some trouble in the early stages of the race after he was hit by McLaren’s championship contender, Oscar Piastri, on lap six, who ultimately finished fifth behind Mercedes’ George Russell, at the safety car restart.
There were two safety car interventions, with one full safety car and a virtual. The first came after the opening laps as the Marshals worked to remove the Kick Sauber of Gabriel Bortoleto, who crashed on the opening lap.
The VSC was quickly deployed after the Safety Car withdrew from the circuit to allow the Marshals to extract Charles Leclerc’s broken Ferrari, following the contact between Piastri and Antonelli.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen put in a champion’s drive to recover from a pit lane start as the four-time world champion made suspension and power unit changes under Parc Ferme.
The Dutchman drove splendidly to finish on the podium in third place, behind both Norris and Antonelli.
Following Piastri’s fifth-place finish, Norris’ win now means the Briton holds a 24-point advantage over his Australian teammate ahead of the upcoming triple header, which includes the Las Vegas, Qatar and Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Additionally, he now holds a 49-point advantage over the reigning world champion, Verstappen.
In the fight for second place in the constructors, Mercedes’ double top-four finish, and Verstappen’s third place, combined with Ferrari’s double DNF, mean the Italian Prancing Horse drops to fourth place in the already-decided constructors’ championship as the Silver Arrows solidify their position.
Read more Formula 1 here:
- Ferrari suffer double DNF at Sao Paulo Grand Prix after collisions
- Max Verstappen to start from pit lane at Sao Paulo Grand Prix
- Lando Norris takes pole for Sao Paulo Grand Prix as Max Verstappen exits Q1
- Lando Norris wins Sao Paulo Grand Prix sprint as Oscar Piastri crashes
- Norris seals Sao Paulo GP sprint pole as Antonelli starts second
- Norris pips Piastri in solo practice at Sao Paulo Grand Prix
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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.
