Decisive for the outcome of the season, the São Paulo GP put Lando Norris on the path to winning his first world title. This Sunday (9), the McLaren driver increased his lead in the World Championship with a quiet victory at Interlagos.
Winner of the sprint race on Saturday, the Englishman had a perfect weekend in Brazil. In addition to starting on pole and quickly moving away from the chaos that took place right behind him, Norris saw his teammate and main title competitor, Oscar Piastri, only reach fifth place — the Australian was punished with 10 seconds after being involved in an accident with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
After arriving in the country separated by just one point, 357 to 356, the difference between the two is now 24 points (390 to 366).
Third placed, but now with reduced chances of seeking an unlikely comeback against the McLaren cars, Max Verstappen made a recovery run at Interlagos and, after starting from the pits, came third.
The Dutchman, who fought until the last lap to take second place from Kimi Antonelli, from Mercedes, has 341 points.
Despite the good performance, it was not what he expected from the week in Brazil to get even closer to Norris and Piastri and heat up the fight for the title in the last three races of the season (Las Vegas, Qatar and Abu Dhabi).
The public present in Interlagos, however, valued the Dutchman’s performance. He was the most celebrated at the podium ceremony. Norris, on the other hand, heard a significant booing when he received his trophy.
Brazilian fans, however, were left with a greater sense of frustration due to the accident that ended Gabriel Bortoleto’s race with just the first lap.
The Sauber driver crashed into the wall protection at Duckbill corner after hitting the rear wheel of Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll’s car.
It was the Brazilian’s second accident this weekend. On Saturday (8), he crashed hard on the last lap of the sprint, at the end of the main straight.
Although he emerged unharmed from the accident, his car was badly damaged, and the Sauber team was unable to make the necessary repairs for him to participate in the qualifying session. That’s why the option was to start from the pits.
It was also from there that Verstappen started his recovery run. As the Dutchman was eliminated in Q1 of qualifying and would start at the back of the field, Red Bull opted to make changes to the car and therefore he could not line up with the others on the grid.
The strategy proved to be right. Throughout the race, in addition to gaining positions on the track, he also passed rivals by choosing the right moment to make his stops to change tires. At the end of the race, he arrived close to Kimi Antonelli, from Mercedes, but was unable to take second position, nor dream of the chance to seek victory, which went to Norris.
