It was an action-packed weekend at the 2025 São Paulo Grand Prix! Lando Norris had a dominant performance, ultimately winning both the Sprint Race and the Grand Prix from pole position in both events. This was a crucial weekend for his championship bid. His clean, dominant run was in stark contrast to the chaos around him, especially from his main rival and teammate, Oscar Piastri. He kept his McLaren out of trouble and managed the varying track conditions and intense pressure from Kimi Antonelli and Max Verstappen.
Even yet, why no Grand Slam for the Championship leader? A Grand Slam requires a driver to take Pole Position, win the Race, set the Fastest Lap of the race and lead Every Lap. While Norris took pole and won the race, he did not set the fastest lap of the Grand Prix, which is the missing piece that prevented the Grand Slam.
Lando's teammate and title rival, Oscar Piastri, had a weekend that ultimately cost him points and momentum. He crashed out of the Sprint race early on. He lost control after hitting a damp kerb at Turn 3, leading to a red flag and allowing Lando to extend his championship lead. In the main race, after an early Safety Car restart, Piastri locked up his brakes trying to overtake Kimi Antonelli into Turn 1. Piastri was deemed "wholly responsible" by the stewards and given a 10-second time penalty for causing the collision.
On Lap 2, Brazilian home hero Gabriel Bortoleto (Kick Sauber) crashed out heavily after contact with Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) as they battled for position. Bortoleto's car was significantly damaged after hitting the barrier at Turn 1. This brought out the Safety Car. All cars bunched up, and the race was restarted on Lap 5 with a rolling start. This was the restart that immediately led to the chaos involving Piastri, Antonelli and Leclerc.
Charles Leclerc was forced out of the race early after being hit by Kimi Antonelli, in the Turn 1 incident. The impact caused significant damage to the Ferrari. His teammate, Lewis Hamilton sustained damage early on (after contact with Carlos Sainz and later Franco Colapinto, which required a new front wing and earned him a 5-second penalty) and was forced to retire his car mid-race due to sustained floor damage.
The real hero!
Max Verstappen delivered an outstanding drive to secure a podium finish. Due to setup issues and modifications made under parc fermé conditions after a poor qualifying (where he was only P16), Red Bull opted to take a penalty and start Verstappen from the pit lane.
The current champion then delivered an incredible performance, fighting through the field with exceptional pace, to climb all the way to a remarkable 3rd place podium finish. This charge kept his championship hopes alive despite the challenging start to the weekend. Let's not forget, this isn't the first time max has stunned us! Last year in this very circuit, he went from 17th on the grid to Race Winner in an extreme wet weather chaos with multiple Safety Cars and a Red Flag stoppage.
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