Lando Norris took home the victory in the F1 Sprint race Saturday morning at Interlagos.
But the big points in São Paulo are handed out tomorrow.
Norris’ win in the F1 Sprint race at the São Paulo Grand Prix — coming as teammate and Drivers’ Championship rival Oscar Piastri crashed in the early going — extended his lead over Piastri to nine points. Norris now leads the way with 365 points, followed by Piastri in second with 356. Max Verstappen finished fourth in the F1 Sprint race to pick up five points, increasing his season tally to 326.
Norris has a bit of momentum as qualifying looms, coming off a win in both the Mexico City Grand Prix as well as the F1 Sprint race at Interlagos.
Now we will see if Piastri can respond.
The Australian driver, who led the Drivers’ Championship for 15 races until Norris regained the lead after the Mexico City Grand Prix, has endured a difficult stretch over the past month. After winning the Dutch Grand Prix, Piastri finished third at Monza. From there, he crashed out of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, crashed out of the F1 Sprint race in Austin, and as noted above, crashed out in São Paulo earlier today.
He left Zandvoort with a 34-point lead over Norris, and a 104-point lead over Verstappen. Since then, Verstappen has closed to within 30 points of him, and Norris has taken the Drivers’ Championship lead.
But the team to watch just might be Mercedes. Kimi Antonelli finished second, and George Russell finished third, in the F1 Sprint race earlier today. The Silver Arrows are locked in a three-way fight for second in the Constructors’ Championship, and might be on the front foot this weekend in Brazil.
Follow along as the grid is set for the São Paulo Grand Prix.
São Paulo Grand Prix provisional grid
Here is the provisional starting order for the São Paulo Grand Prix, which will be filled in throughout the session.
São Paulo Grand Prix qualifying
Follow along here as qualifying for the São Paulo Grand Prix unfolds.
