An unexpected dry start for the Brazilian Grand Prix saw Lando Norris get a decent start as did Kimi Antonelli and Charles Leclerc. Piastri had to defend against Bearman.
Home hero is out
Home hero Gabriel Bortoleto’s race ended in the first lap after hitting the barrier and resulting in a safety car. A quick end to a poor weekend for the hometown boy. Hamilton received a 5 second penalty for a collision with Franco Colapinto
Following a brief safety car, racing resumed and chaos ensued. Antonelli struggled on the restart, Piastri locked up and hit Antonelli who in turn hit Leclerc. Leclerc had too much damage and had to pull in to retire. Oscar received a 10 second penalty. Verstappen boxed under the virtual safety car due to a puncture.
VSC ends and racing resumed
The VSC ended on lap 9 with Oscar within DRS of Lando. The British driver had a strong lap and got out of DRS threat. Admist the chaos both Williams cars had moved into the points. Russell also fell behind Hadjar into 5th.
There were two fine moves during lap 13 with Oliver Bearman overtaking Isack Hadjar for 5th and Max Verstappen overtaking Lewis Hamilton for 13th. The Dutchman had already moved up to 9th by lap 18. The new power unit and set up working well for him in the opening stages of the race.
Lando leads comfortably
By lap 20 the race settled as Norris led Piastri by 4.1 seconds who led Antonelli by 2.4 seconds. However Piastri’s 10 second would send him well back the grid. No one has ever won a Grand Prix from the pitlane, however Max Verstappen was thinking otherwise moving up to 4th by lap 23.
Lando Norris was well ahead of the pack by lap 30 with a 6.6 second lead over the rest of the field. Antonelli and Verstappen both climbing up the order quickly with fresher tyres prompted Norris into the pitlane for a set of ssoft tyres. Norris emerged from the pits behind Verstappen.
Lando overtook Max on the home straight on lap 33. Hulkenberg overtook Albon on lap 34. By lap 35 Max pitted for fresh mediums. Oscar led but had a 10 second penalty and yet to pit by lap 37.
A busy pit lane
The pits were busy during lap 38 as Hamilton retired his car having served his penalty earlier. Both Ferraris were now out of the race. This could be crucial for the constructors championship with both Mercedes gaining major points.
Oscar completed his 10 second penalty and swapped his mediums for a set of softs. Ollie pitted from P4 for a set of softs, but a slow 3.9 pit stop moved him back to 10th by lap 45.
Top 5 after Lap 45 – Norris, Antonelli, Russell, Verstappen and Piastri
Battle for final points heats up
Meanwhile the battle for the final points was heating up as Hulkenberg overtook Ocon on lap 47 and Bearman overtook Albon. By lap 49 Bearman had overtaken Hulkenberg.
Mercedes pit
Both Mercedes pitted within 2 laps of each other. The Italian driver boxed first for mediums and returned to the track behind Lawson in 6th. The following lap saw Russel box for a set of mediums.
Race to the pitlane
Lando led the charge to the pits on lap 51 taking used mediums with a decent 2.2 second pitstop, returning to the track behind his teammate. Verstappen having started from the pitlane was now leading the race with 3.5 seconds to Piastri and 4.4 seconds to Norris.
Piastri made a dive for the pits on lap 52 for mediums with an equal stop time of 2.2 seconds to his team mate. The Australian came out behind Bearman in 7th with Stroll loosing 2 places to Hadjar and Gasly on the same lap.
Another dash to the pitlane for Max on lap 54 going for a shiny set of softs with Norris retaking the lead. Max emerged from the pits in 4th and 14.8 seconds behind the leader. However, Lando’s tyres were now 14 laps old.
Final dash to the finish line
The excitement was building as Piastri overtook Lawson on lap 55 bringing him into 5th place. Bearman overtook Lawson to take 6th on lap 57.
Lap 60 top 5 – Norris, Antonelli, Russell, Verstappen and Piastri.
All was not over yet as Verstappen and Piastri were flying on their new tyres. Verstappen stunned by swooping around the outside of Russell in turn 1 to make his way into 3rd.
Middle of the grid battle continues
Meanwhile Hulkenberg and Lawson both on 1 stop strategies battled to the end for 7th and 8th, leaving Bearman comfortably in 6th.
Lightning Lando takes the win
Tension was building for the final laps as Verstappen entered Antonelli’s DRS zone and Piastri entered Russell’s DRS zone. However, in the end Lando Norris crossed the line to win with 10.5 seconds to spare followed by Antonelli and Verstappen.
A dominent display for Lando Norris sees him 24 points ahead of Oscar Piastri in the championship. A highest ever race finish for 19 year old Kimi Antonelli and a pitlane to podium result, the first since Lewis Hamilton in 2014 for Max Verstappen. Brazil has delivered a cracker of a race once again.
Race result
- Lando Norris
- Kimi Antonelli
- Max Verstappen
- George Russell
- Oscar Piastri
- Oliver Bearman
- Liam Lawson
- Isack Hadjar
- Nico Hulkenberg
- Pierre Gasly