2025 São Paulo GP Sprint Race: Full Report & Highlights

Lando Norris extended his lead in the 2025 F1 World Championship with a composed yet hard-fought victory in an incident-packed São Paulo Grand Prix Sprint, fending off an inspired Kimi Antonelli to win by just 0.845s. The McLaren driver mastered changing conditions and late-race pressure to secure the maximum eight points, while team-mate Oscar Piastri’s race unravelled early with a costly crash that brought out the red flags. Norris’ triumph—his second Sprint win of the 2025 season—strengthened his grip on the title race heading into Sunday’s Grand Prix, while Antonelli’s assured drive to second marked another mature performance in his rookie year.

The 24-lap Sprint, which began at 15:30 local time, saw the field lining up on a partly damp Interlagos circuit after earlier showers. Most drivers opted for medium tyres, but a handful—including Antonelli, Russell, Verstappen, Leclerc, Hadjar, and Albon—took a gamble on softs. As the lights went out, Norris launched cleanly from pole, with Antonelli holding off a rapid Piastri into Turn 1.

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Verstappen made early gains, jumping Alonso for fifth, while Hamilton climbed to eighth behind team-mate Leclerc. Further back, Liam Lawson and Ollie Bearman tangled at Turn 4, sending the Haas driver into a spin and down the order—an incident noted by the stewards for post-race review. Within four laps, Norris had built a 1.5-second gap over Antonelli, controlling the pace at the front, while Leclerc and Hamilton applied pressure on Alonso for fifth.

The calm didn’t last. On Lap 6, Piastri ran wide on the damp kerbs at Turn 3, losing control and crashing heavily into the barriers. Moments later, Nico Hülkenberg and Franco Colapinto also went off at the same corner, triggering a Safety Car before the race was red-flagged for barrier repairs. While Hülkenberg was able to return to the pits with a broken nose, both Piastri and Colapinto were out of the running.

The stoppage allowed teams to switch tyres, with Norris opting for softs for the restart. When the race resumed behind the Safety Car for a rolling start, Norris again managed a flawless getaway, fending off Antonelli’s early advances while George Russell attempted to challenge from third. Behind them, Fernando Alonso attacked Max Verstappen for fourth, only to fall back into the clutches of Charles Leclerc.

As the race settled into rhythm, Norris continued to lead but began struggling with rear tyre wear on the drying surface, allowing Antonelli to close the gap. By Lap 20, the Mercedes rookie was within 0.4s, setting up a tense finish.

Behind them, Leclerc finally forced his way past Alonso to claim fifth, while Hamilton hovered just behind in seventh. The closing laps were then neutralised when Gabriel Bortoleto, running inside the top ten on home soil, crashed heavily into the barriers. Fortunately, the Brazilian reported he was uninjured, but the incident brought out double yellow flags, freezing the order until the chequered flag.

Norris crossed the line to win by less than a second from Antonelli, with Russell completing the podium in third. Verstappen salvaged fourth to keep his title hopes faintly alive, followed by Leclerc, Alonso, Hamilton, and Pierre Gasly taking the final point. Stroll and Hadjar narrowly missed out in ninth and tenth, ahead of Ocon, Bearman, and Lawson. Tsunoda, Sainz, Hülkenberg, and Albon completed the finishers, while Piastri, Bortoleto, and Colapinto were classified as retirees.

With eight points added to his tally, Norris now extended his championship lead over Piastri to nine points, heading into Sunday’s Grand Prix with momentum, confidence, and control.

2025 São Paulo GP Sprint Race Results

2025 São Paulo Grand Prix Sprint Race, 8 November 2025