Norris wins as Mercedes clinches title with a scrappy race
Lando Norris survived a late downpour to take McLaren’s first race win in three months at the Brazilian Grand Prix, as Mercedes sealed the Formula 1 constructors’ title despite its first podium-less GP of the year.
Norris lost the race lead almost immediately off the line as Kimi Antonelli’s Mercedes rocketed past him on the run to Turn 1, with Liam Lawson’s Racing Bulls then quickly demoting Norris to third.
Norris soon wrestled second back from Lawson, but Antonelli escaped down the road in the lead as the field waited for the right moment to switch from intermediate to slick tyres.
McLaren and Norris got that call right as he pitted a lap before Antonelli and closed a lot of that gap.
Antonelli struggled to fire up his soft tyres and ended up spinning at Turn 1 on his second lap, allowing Norris into the race lead.
Antonelli’s slide continued as the Red Bulls, Isack Hadjar and Max Verstappen, picked him off.
He reported his car was steering by itself, and he was struggling to get around the left-hand corners in particular.
Norris went unthreatened thereafter, building such a solid gap out front that even a late-rain shower and switch back to intermediates didn’t do anything to unsettle his grip on the lead.
It marks Norris and McLaren’s first victory since Zandvoort in late August.
The podium was completed by Verstappen and Hadjar, the former of whom charged from 21st on the grid, making 10 of those positions up in the first couple of laps.
George Russell ended up beating Antonelli for the first time since Baku in September, despite spinning in the pitlane after changing from intermediates to slick tyres.
He regained some of the lost time by doing just one stint on slicks while most other drivers needed two sets before the late switch back to intermediates.
Russell then passed Antonelli despite also reporting balance issues aboard his Mercedes.
Fourth and fifth is enough for Mercedes to clinch the constructors’ title - its first since 2021 - with three races to spare, as Ferrari suffered a tricky race.
Like Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton made a spirited opening lap charge, going from 20th to ninth, but he fell back as he struggled on his intermediates, even being passed by Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin Honda.
Hamilton was the first to switch to slick tyres and regained positions there, but he lost time to a spin just before he needed to pit for intermediates again at the end of the race.
That left him ninth at the chequered flag behind Lawson and team-mate Charles Leclerc.
Oscar Piastri finished 56.4s behind McLaren team-mate Norris in sixth place.
Nico Hulkenberg took the final point for Audi in 10th place despite having to serve a 10-second time penalty for going off the track at Turn 1 while fighting with Franco Colapinto’s Alpine.
Race result
1 Lando Norris (McLaren)
2 Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +14.602s
3 Isack Hadjar (Red Bull) +24.485s
4 George Russell (Mercedes) +33.991s
5 Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) +36.017s
6 Oscar Piastri (McLaren) +56.475s
7 Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +1m13.586s
8 Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) +1m15.402s
9 Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) +1 lap
10 Nico Hulkenberg (Audi) +1 lap
11 Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls) +1 lap
12 Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) +1 lap
13 Franco Colapinto (Alpine) +1 lap
14 Pierre Gasly (Alpine) +1 lap
15 Alex Albon (Williams) +1 lap
16 Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi) +1 lap
17 Ollie Bearman (Haas) +1 lap
18 Sergio Perez (Cadillac) +2 laps
19 Carlos Sainz (Williams) +2 laps
20 Rafa Camara (Haas) +2 laps
DNF Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
DNF Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac)
