November 10, (THEWILL) — Lando Norris claimed victory at the São Paulo Grand Prix from pole position, extending his Formula One drivers’ championship lead over McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri to 24 points with three races remaining in the 2025 season.
The Briton finished seven seconds ahead of Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli, who took his second podium after holding off Max Verstappen in a tense final-lap battle.
Piastri’s afternoon unravelled at the first restart when he collided with Antonelli whilst attempting an overtake at Turn 1, sending the Mercedes into Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari.
The contact forced Leclerc into retirement with a broken suspension, whilst stewards handed Piastri a 10-second penalty that dropped him to fifth place after service during his pit stop.
Verstappen mounted a remarkable recovery drive from the pit lane after power unit penalties relegated him to a last-row start following Q1 elimination on Saturday.
The Dutchman carved through the field on fresher soft tyres, overtaking George Russell with nine laps remaining before closing within DRS range of Antonelli.
Despite the aerodynamic advantage, Verstappen could not find a way past the 19-year-old Italian before the chequered flag.
Ferrari’s constructors’ championship ambitions suffered a major blow when both Lewis Hamilton and Leclerc retired early from the Brazilian race.
Hamilton collected floor damage after first-lap contact with Alpine’s Franco Colapinto, receiving a five-second penalty before eventually withdrawing. The double retirement left Ferrari four points behind Red Bull and 36 adrift of Mercedes in the battle for second place.
Antonelli’s performance marked his best F1 weekend to date, bouncing back from a difficult mid-season spell that had drawn criticism from Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff.
The teenager qualified within two-tenths of Norris’s pole time and defended brilliantly against a four-time world champion during the closing laps.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
