What an absolute madness of an afternoon in São Paulo. Lando Norris took his third win of the season and his second in a row at Interlagos, delivering a masterclass through treacherous, changing weather that saw the field bounce between intermediate and slick tyres. It was not an easy start for the McLaren driver, who bogged down off the line with wheelspin and slipped to third. But once his rubber got up to temperature, he simply started to motor. He caught a break when Kimi Antonelli spun off from the lead, but from that moment on, Norris did not put a single foot wrong. When the dust settled, he crossed the line with a comfortable margin.
Behind him, the recovery drives were nothing short of sensational. Max Verstappen turned a P21 grid slot into a stunning second-place finish, carving through the field on the inters with the kind of untouchable wet-weather brilliance only he can produce. His Red Bull teammate, Isack Hadjar, put in a brilliant shift of his own to claim the final step of the podium in third, capping off a double podium for the team after a great scrap with Antonelli late in the race. Meanwhile, McLaren's Oscar Piastri dragged himself home in sixth after a slow start left him fighting through traffic, unable to match his teammate's ultimate pace but still showing strong speed on the softs.
Starting P21 and making our way up to P2 is a crazy result! We had a lot of fun in the first stint, with great pace and quite a few overtakes, so I was really happy with that,
Over at Mercedes, the afternoon swung wildly between dream and disaster before ultimately delivering the ultimate prize. Antonelli launched brilliantly from the lights and vanished into the distance, looking every bit the race winner before it all unravelled. A strange rear-end instability on the soft tyres sent him spinning off at Turn 1, handing the lead away and triggering a slide that left him fighting just to hold on. His teammate George Russell suffered his own drama, spinning in the pit lane exit while chasing glory and tumbling down the order. A late-race swap saw Russell finish fourth and Antonelli fifth—with Antonelli also picking up a five-second penalty for an unsafe release that thankfully left his position untouched. Fourth and fifth places were more than enough to secure a ninth Constructors' Championship for Mercedes.
Lando Norris was understandably thrilled with the execution, pointing out the flawless communication from the pit wall that helped him hunt down an eight-second deficit. "Through flawless communication from the pit wall and keeping the car completely error-free on slicks in the wet, we managed to close down an eight-second deficit, apply pressure on the leaders, and capitalise to take the win," Norris said. He also made sure to tip his hat to the champions, offering his congratulations to Mercedes for a phenomenal campaign across both titles.
Max Verstappen was left shaking his head at a wild afternoon that brought him all the way from the very back of the grid. "Starting P21 and making our way up to P2 is a crazy result! We had a lot of fun in the first stint, with great pace and quite a few overtakes, so I was really happy with that," Verstappen reflected. The oversteer on the dry tyres proved a handful, but the intermediate tyre brought the Red Bull beast right back to life.
For Mercedes, the relief and joy of locking down the team title outweighed the chaotic moments on track. George Russell admitted he pushed too hard in the pit lane while smelling victory, but walked away encouraged by his pace. Kimi Antonelli, despite his frustration over the mysterious rear stability issues that ruined his shot at the win, beamed with pride for the factory back in Brackley and Brixworth. "Today is a great day for the team. Everyone deserves this Constructors' Championship," Antonelli said, celebrating a journey that brought the Silver Arrows back to the summit.
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