Lando Norris took pole position and won the Brazilian Grand Prix Sprint event ahead of Kimi Antonelli and George Russell while Oscar Piastri crashed.
Is it momentum? Pressure? Just bad luck? Not sure what’s causing the dip in performance for Oscar but certainly the tide is changing at McLaren with Lando Norris having momentum and race-to-race performance while Oscar is struggling in both the race and qualifying.
Some argue that the infamous “Papaya Rules” may be favoring Lando but I’m not in that camp. I think Oscar is certainly feeling the pressure, you wouldn’t be human if you didn’t, and the car’s overall pace and development have changed since the team claimed the constructor’s title.
That doesn’t mean the team aren’t working hard, it’s just that perhaps the development direction is more 2026 focused allowing other teams to close the gap and put pressure on the duo. Pressure sometimes produces cracks or fractures.
A terrific result for young rookie Kim Anotnelli who kept his veteran teammate, George Russell, behind him as the Mercedes duel locked out the rest of the podium.
Oscar Piastri’s crash was unfortunate but he’s not the only one to go off in that corner, in fact, three cars went off in succession so there was certainly something on the line they all three took that caused the incidents.
Gabriel Bortoleto was soaking up the home crowd but had a very bad crash on the final lap. Thankfully he is ok. A little concerned about the entire steering column coming off and flying around in the cockpit if I am honest. Thankfully nothing bad happened to him but that could have been very dangerous. I am sure the team and FIA will take a close look at that one.
Brazilian Sprint Results:
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Laps | Time / Retired | Pts. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 24 | 53:25.928 | 8 |
| 2 | 12 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 24 | +0.845s | 7 |
| 3 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 24 | +2.318s | 6 |
| 4 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing | 24 | +4.423s | 5 |
| 5 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 24 | +16.483s | 4 |
| 6 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 24 | +18.306s | 3 |
| 7 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 24 | +18.603s | 2 |
| 8 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | 24 | +19.366s | 1 |
| 9 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 24 | +23.933s | 0 |
| 10 | 6 | Isack Hadjar | Racing Bulls | 24 | +29.548s | 0 |
| 11 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Haas F1 Team | 24 | +31.000s | 0 |
| 12 | 87 | Oliver Bearman | Haas F1 Team | 24 | +31.334s | 0 |
| 13 | 30 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls | 24 | +38.090s | 0 |
| 14 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | Red Bull Racing | 24 | +38.462s | 0 |
| 15 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Williams | 24 | +38.951s | 0 |
| 16 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Kick Sauber | 24 | +42.349s | 0 |
| 17 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams | 24 | +55.456s | 0 |
| 18 | 5 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Kick Sauber | 23 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 5 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 43 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine | 5 | DNF | 0 |
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