Blazing down the tarmac of the Interlagos, 20 F1 cars spanned the track for 71 laps for the 2025 Sao Paulo Grand Prix. On Sunday, Nov. 9, McLaren’s Lando Norris took home the trophy.
After the uneventful Free Practice Session, the Sprint Qualifying saw rookie Kimi Antonelli drag his Mercedes up to P2, just behind Lando Norris’ McLaren. Starting in third was Oscar Piastri in the second McLaren. World Driver’s Championship contender Max Verstappen sat in fifth, representing Redbull.
The Sprint held unfortunate surprises. On Lap 6, Piastri, second in the WDC, exited Turn 2 and onto the wet curb, losing his rear and spinning out into the wall. Unexpectedly, Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg and Alpine’s Franco Colapinto followed suit, crashing almost identically at the same spot. The three drivers did not finish the Sprint race.
On the final go-around of the 24-lap race, Brazilian-native Gabriel Borteleto had a horrific crash down the main straight, destroying his car for the race and for the later qualifying session. Both his front wheels broke off entirely from the high-speed impact, with Borteleto thankfully unharmed.
The three drivers on the Sprint podium were Norris, Antonelli and his teammate George Russell.
Qualifying had an upset in the Championship runnings, with Verstappen, third in the WDC, eliminated in Q1 and reduced to P16 for the race start. His team opted to start from the pit lane. Fellow contenders Norris and Piastri started in P1 and P4, respectively, both far ahead. P2 saw Antonelli once again, showcasing his consistent speed. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari’s frontface, sat at P3 on the grid.
The Sao Paulo Grand Prix started with a chaotic Lap 1. Brazilian Bortoleto crashed in Turn 10, catching his left-side wheels in the dirt and spinning out into the barriers. From the radio excerpt, via the F1 Youtube Channel, Bortoleto said Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll “pushed [him] out.” This incident ended his home country race.
Simultaneously, 7-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton had contact with William’s Carlos Sainz and then Alpine’s Colapinto, gathering a tire puncture and losing his Ferrari’s front wing. Hamilton was penalized 5 seconds for his collision with the Alpine–going on to pit 3 times–eventually retiring the car on Lap 38.
Both events signaled a safety car to come out.
After the safety car pitted on the sixth lap, the race restarted with further drama. Into Turn 1, three cars were side by side–Piastri, Antonelli and Leclerc. Piastri locked up his brakes while trying to go in on the inside line, bumping heavily into Antonelli and dominoing into Leclerc.
The collision broke Leclerc’s suspension and took off his front-left tire, bringing his race to a halt. Piastri was handed a 10-second penalty for causing the incident and ending his racemate’s session. Leclerc acknowledged the difficulty of the stewards’ job to dictate fault. “Kimi knew and was aware Oscar was on the inside,” said the Monegasque, stating the blame “is a bit more 50/50” according to his post-race interview from Sky Sports. The double Ferrari DNF was a tragedy for loyal fans.
On that same lap, Redbull driver Yuki Tsunoda went for an aggressive overtake at Turn 8. The maneuver carried too much speed, resulting in contact with Stroll and the latter spinning out. Tsunoda was penalized 10-seconds and two points on his Super License.
While pitting and attempting to serve out the penalty, the pit crew touched the car prematurely, resulting in an additional 10-second penalty. Tsunoda finished 17th in the race, behind every other driver, save for the three who did not finish.
The race concluded with Norris winning first, and Antonelli trailing in second. Unexpectedly, Verstappen, who had started P16, ran his way through the grid and finished on the podium in third. The standings are a show of Verstappen’s racecraft, as well as Norris’ consistency. Antonelli’s double second-place finish this weekend is just the start of the rookie’s promising F1 career.
The 18-point result would sustain hope for Verstappen’s fifth World Championship, though his rival Norris winning 25 points makes it very difficult. Verstappen holds 341 points in the Championship, with Norris having 390; Piastri’s fifth place finish leaves him at 366. Tensions of the WDC remain high, and with only 3 races left, the title remains up for grabs.