Norris wins Sao Paulo Grand Prix as Mercedes seal title

Norris wins Sao Paulo Grand Prix glory for McLaren after a wet-dry race at Interlagos on Sunday, 8 November, beating Max Verstappen, who climbed from 21st on the grid to second, BBC Sport reported. Mercedes clinched the constructors' championship despite errors from both of its drivers.

Lando Norris started from pole but was passed at the start by Kimi Antonelli, who had sealed the drivers' title for Mercedes a week earlier. A well-timed switch to dry tyres and a spin by the new champion handed the lead back to Norris, who then controlled the race through a late rain shower. It was his first victory since the Dutch Grand Prix at the end of August.

How Norris wins Sao Paulo from second place

Antonelli made the better launch from the front row and pulled clear in the early wet laps, building a lead of more than eight seconds by lap 13. As the track dried, Norris pitted for slick tyres on lap 16. Antonelli came in a lap later, but rejoined with the McLaren right behind him.

The Italian reported over team radio that his car felt strange under acceleration. On lap 20 he lost control on the way into Turn One and spun, gifting Norris the lead. Four laps later Antonelli ran wide at the same corner again and fell behind Verstappen.

From there, BBC Sport's F1 correspondent Andrew Benson wrote that Norris simply had too much pace for Verstappen, whether the track was wet or dry. When rain returned more heavily in the final ten laps, forcing drivers onto intermediate tyres, the McLaren driver kept his advantage. Norris said afterwards that the key had been staying calm and avoiding mistakes in very difficult conditions.

Verstappen's charge and Red Bull team orders

Verstappen started at the back after the engine penalties covered in our Sao Paulo Grand Prix penalties report. Lewis Hamilton, alongside him on the grid, made the faster start and was ninth by lap two, but Verstappen soon passed the Ferrari and was sixth by lap 10.

Team-mate Isack Hadjar matched Verstappen's pace for spells but made more mistakes. On lap 39 Red Bull told Hadjar to let the four-time champion through so he could chase Norris. Verstappen could not close the gap, and Hadjar completed a Red Bull double podium in third.

Mercedes seal the constructors' title

George Russell, who started seventh, had worked his way up to third when he spun at the pit-lane exit on lap 16, ending up sideways in the lane as rivals squeezed past. He rejoined tenth and recovered strongly. In the closing laps Mercedes swapped its drivers, putting Russell fourth and Antonelli fifth, and that was enough to secure the team's ninth constructors' championship and its first since 2021.

Stewards issued two five-second penalties after the race. Antonelli's, for an unsafe release, did not change his position. Charles Leclerc's, for a late collision with Liam Lawson, dropped the Ferrari driver to eighth and promoted Lawson to seventh.

Sao Paulo Grand Prix top 10

• 1. Lando Norris (McLaren)
• 2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
• 3. Isack Hadjar (Red Bull)
• 4. George Russell (Mercedes)
• 5. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)
• 6. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
• 7. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)
• 8. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
• 9. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)
• 10. Nico Hulkenberg (Audi)

Oscar Piastri finished a distant sixth in the second McLaren. Hamilton faded to ninth after his early burst, losing out to Leclerc at his second stop, while Nico Hulkenberg took the last point for Audi.

The result follows a qualifying session that was delayed and shaped by rain, as set out in our earlier look at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix grid. Thai League fans can also catch up on our report on how Buriram United won late at Ratchaburi.

What comes next

With both titles now decided, the season finishes with a triple-header. The first of those races is the Las Vegas Grand Prix, a night race due to start at 04:00 GMT on Sunday, 22 November, which is 11:00 Bangkok time the same day. After this display, McLaren will hope its revived form carries into the final three rounds.

The race report and classification are from BBC Sport.

Photo: Lando Norris in his McLaren at the 2025 Japanese Grand Prix, used here to illustrate how Norris wins Sao Paulo (Liauzh via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).