Lando Norris survived a late downpour to claim McLaren’s first victory in three months at the Brazilian Grand Prix, as Mercedes sealed the Formula 1 constructors’ title despite going their first GP without a podium of the year.
Norris lost the race lead almost immediately from the start as Kimi Antonelli’s Mercedes overtook him in the race at Turn 1, with Liam Lawson’s Racing Bulls then quickly demoting Norris to third place.
Norris quickly took second ahead of Lawson, but Antonelli escaped onto the road in the lead as the peloton waited for the right moment to switch from intermediate tires to slicks.
McLaren and Norris got it right as he stopped a lap before Antonelli and closed much of that gap.
Antonelli struggled to get his soft tires rolling and ended up spinning at Turn 1 on his second lap, allowing Norris to take the lead.
Antonelli’s slide continued as the Red Bulls’ Isack Hadjar and Max Verstappen knocked him out.
He reported that his car was steering itself and that he was having difficulty getting around left turns in particular.
Norris was unthreatened thereafter, creating such a solid gap in front that even a late downpour and the return to intermediates did nothing to disrupt his grip on the lead.
This is the first victory for Norris and McLaren since Zandvoort at the end of August.
The podium was completed by Verstappen and Hadjar, the former of whom started from 21st on the grid, gaining 10 of those positions in the first two laps.
George Russell ended up beating Antonelli for the first time since Baku in September, despite spinning in the pit lane after switching from intermediate to slick tires.
He made up some of the lost time by completing a single stint on slicks while most of the other drivers needed two sets before returning late to intermediates.
Russell then overtook Antonelli despite having balance problems in his Mercedes.
Fourth and fifth places were enough for Mercedes to clinch the constructors’ title – its first since 2021 – with three races remaining, with Ferrari having endured a tricky race.
Like Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton had a spirited first lap, moving from 20th to ninth, but he fell back due to difficulties with his intermediates, even being overtaken by the Aston Martin Honda of Fernando Alonso.
Hamilton was the first to switch to slick tires and made up positions there, but lost time with a spin just before having to pit again for intermediates at the end of the race.
This left him ninth at the checkered flag behind Lawson and teammate Charles Leclerc.
Oscar Piastri finished 56.4 seconds behind his McLaren teammate Norris in sixth place.
Nico Hulkenberg took the final point for Audi in 10th despite a 10-second penalty for going off the track at Turn 1 as he battled with the Alpine of Franco Colapinto.
Race result
1Lando Norris (McLaren)
2Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +14.602s
3Isack Hadjar (Red Bull) +24.485s
4 George Russell (Mercedes) +33.991s
5Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) +36.017s
6Oscar Piastri (McLaren) +56.475s
7Charles 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 rounds
DNF Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
DNF Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac)
Gn sports
