Lando Norris secured a decisive win at the Sao Paulo GP Sprint, pushing his lead in the Formula 1 season‑long title race to nine points. The British driver took the checkered flag from pole, while his McLaren teammate, Oscar Piastri, crashed in damp conditions and fell out of the race. Max Verstappen finished fourth, meaning the Dutchman’s championship advantage shrinks to 39 points.
The sprint started when Norris left the grid cleanly, beating Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli who had the advantage of more durable medium tyres. As the race went on, Antonelli kept up the pressure, but Norris’s careful tyre management and calm driving let him hold onto the lead to the finish.
Piastri’s day ended when, on lap six, he spun at the wet third corner. The Australian clipped the inside kerb, splashed through standing water, and ended up in the barriers. His crash occurred just as Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg and Alpine’s Franco Colapinto also hit the same corner. Colapinto’s impact was the hardest, and the three cars totalled a 22‑minute red flag while the barriers were repaired and the wreckage cleared.
Hulkenberg limped his car back to the pit lane, but Piastri and Colapinto had to retire. After the restart, the lapped cars had to re‑join, and the race resumed under a rolling start. Norris, with his soft tyres, stayed on top as the leaders fought, and he collected eight valuable points for the win.
George Russell finished third, giving McLaren a double‑digit points haul, while Vale‑Table winner Lewis Hamilton moved from 11th to seventh. Charles Leclerc bested Fernando Alonso in the closing laps to secure fifth place, and Pierre Gasly rounded out the points in eighth for Alpine.
The sprint results tighten the battle at the top and put Norris in a strong position heading into Sunday’s Grand Prix.
Source: ianslive
Stay informed on all the latest news, real-time breaking news updates, and follow all the important headlines in world News on Latest NewsX. Follow us on social media Facebook, Twitter(X), Gettr and subscribe our Youtube Channel.
