Norris Wins Rainy Sao Paulo Grand Prix as Mercedes Clinch Constructors’ Title
Lando Norris won a wet Sao Paulo Grand Prix from pole position on Sunday, while Mercedes sealed their ninth constructors' championship with George Russell fourth and Kimi Antonelli fifth.
McLaren driver Lando Norris won the Sao Paulo Grand Prix on Sunday, beating Max Verstappen by 14.6 seconds in a rain-hit race at Interlagos, while Mercedes clinched the Formula One constructors’ championship.
Norris started from pole and led 47 of the race’s 71 laps for his third win of the season. He lost the lead at the start to Kimi Antonelli and dropped behind Liam Lawson, then pitted a lap earlier than Antonelli for slick tires and passed him when the Mercedes driver spun at Turn 1. “The main thing today was I just kept it cool and I didn’t make any mistakes,” Norris said.
It was Norris’s second win in a row at Interlagos, his first since the Dutch Grand Prix in August, and the 50th podium finish of his career.
Mercedes seal the title double
Mercedes needed only three more points than Ferrari, and George Russell’s fourth place and Antonelli’s fifth were enough. It is Mercedes’ ninth constructors’ championship and their first since 2021, completing a title double a week after Kimi Antonelli became the youngest drivers’ champion in Mexico City.
Antonelli kept fifth even after a five-second penalty for an unsafe pit release. Mercedes now have 652 points to Ferrari’s 510 and cannot be caught with three races left.
Verstappen charges from the back
Verstappen finished second after starting at the back of the grid following power unit penalties, and teammate Isack Hadjar took third for a Red Bull double podium. Ferrari had a poor day: Charles Leclerc crossed the line seventh and Lewis Hamilton ninth on his 400th Formula One start, but Leclerc dropped to eighth after a five-second penalty for contact with Lawson.
Reporting based on coverage by Reuters and Formula 1.
