Interlagos rarely offers a straightforward afternoon, and Sunday was no exception. The São Paulo Grand Prix began on a soaked circuit, dried out in the middle phase and turned slippery again late on. Lando Norris handled every twist best, converting pole position into his second Brazilian win in a row.
The early laps told a different story. Kimi Antonelli, crowned world champion only a week earlier, made the better getaway in his Mercedes and opened up a gap of about eight seconds within the opening 13 laps. As the racing line dried, though, the McLaren driver began reeling him in. An early call for dry rubber, one lap ahead of his rival, wiped out the gap, and three laps on the pressure told: the Mercedes looped around at the first corner and the McLaren swept through. From there Norris was in control, leading most of the 71 laps.
The most eye-catching drive came from further back. Max Verstappen started 21st and still finished second, 14.6 seconds behind the winner, with Red Bull teammate Isack Hadjar third. George Russell threw away a likely podium by spinning on the pit exit and recovered to fourth. Antonelli, who ended up fifth, was later handed a five-second penalty for an unsafe release, as was Haas driver Oliver Bearman; neither result changed. Charles Leclerc slipped to eighth after a penalty for hitting Liam Lawson, while Lewis Hamilton charged from the back to ninth.
Mercedes still left Brazil celebrating. The team clinched the constructors’ championship, which AP counted as its ninth, rounding off a season in which Antonelli had already secured the drivers’ title.
Even the podium had a twist. With Brazilian football star Neymar having waved the chequered flag, Norris attempted his trademark move of slamming the champagne bottle onto the floor and ended up shattering it, before Verstappen and Hadjar soaked him anyway.
