Norris Wins Sao Paulo Grand Prix as Verstappen Charges to Second

Updated 19:05 UTC: Mercedes clinched the 2026 Formula 1 Constructors Championship at Interlagos, the team's first constructors title since 2021, after George Russell finished fourth and Kimi Antonelli fifth, Autosport and PlanetF1 reported. Mercedes had needed only to outscore Ferrari by three points, and Ferrari finished with Charles Leclerc seventh and Lewis Hamilton ninth. Antonelli was placed under investigation for a possible unsafe release into the path of Franco Colapinto during the late pit stops, and Leclerc faces an investigation over contact with Liam Lawson, who finished eighth. Oscar Piastri finished sixth, 56.475 seconds behind Norris.

Lando Norris won the Sao Paulo Grand Prix at Interlagos on Sunday, converting pole position into a controlled victory over 71 laps. The McLaren driver finished 14.602 seconds ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who charged through the field from the back of the grid to second. Isack Hadjar completed the podium for Red Bull in third.

Antonelli leads from the first corner

Norris started from pole after his 1:27.470 lap in Saturday's rain-delayed qualifying, but Kimi Antonelli, the newly crowned world champion, passed him at the first corner and led the opening phase of the race. Antonelli built a lead of more than eight seconds by lap 13, according to Crash.net's live coverage, while Norris fought back past Liam Lawson into second.

A restart bunched the field up again, and Norris retook the lead by passing Antonelli. Hadjar then passed Antonelli for second place on lap 21, according to AutoHebdo's live text, as the champion faded out of the podium places.

Verstappen comes from the back

Verstappen started at the tail of the grid after a penalty for power unit changes, the same penalty that sent Lewis Hamilton to the back. He climbed into the top five by lap 10 and reached the podium fight before half distance. On lap 38 Hadjar, running second, was asked to let his Red Bull teammate through and did so at the first chicane, according to AutoHebdo.

From there Norris managed the gap at the front. Light rain fell in the closing laps, but the order at the top did not change, and Norris pulled the margin out to 14.602 seconds by the flag, Autosport's live text reported. Hadjar held off George Russell, who finished fourth, to keep third place, finishing 9.883 seconds behind Verstappen.

What the result means

The win is Norris's reward for a weekend that began with pole in a scrambled, wet qualifying session, on a grid reshuffled by penalties for Russell, Leclerc, Hamilton and Verstappen. Verstappen's drive from the back to second was the recovery of the day, and Hadjar's podium continued his strong run in Red Bull colors, even if the team order swap decided the order of the two Red Bulls at the flag.