Sao Paulo GP conclusions: Perfect Lando Norris silences F1 critics

Lando Norris’s red-hot form continued with a decisive performance at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix as he made a clear F1 title statement.

Here are five big things we learned from a pulsating weekend in Brazil.

F1 title is Norris’s to lose

Norris made it two consecutive victories to silence his critics with a performance worthy of a world champion in Brazil.

The Briton took two pole positions and won both the sprint and Sunday’s main grand prix to collect a maximum 33 points on offer at Interlagos and further extend his grip at the summit of the world championship.

It was pretty much the perfect weekend from Norris, who has now pulled 24 points - nearly a full victory - clear of Oscar Piastri with three races remaining, leaving him seemingly in control of the title race.

Norris has cemented his position as the 2025 title favourite and batted away his doubters in style in recent weeks with displays that have underlined his championship calibre and the hype that surrounded him at the start of the season.

Piastri’s championship dream in tatters

In contrast, everything that could go wrong for Piastri has gone wrong. Piastri’s stuttering form in recent months has seen his championship hopes fade. Things went from bad to worse in Brazil as he squandered 23 points to Norris over the course of the weekend.

Piastri was once again behind Norris in Sao Paulo and made critical errors at key moments. First, by crashing out in damp conditions in the sprint, before an arguably desperate lunge on Kimi Antonelli saw him pick up a costly penalty that ruined his race and left him only fifth.

The Australian has offered little to suggest that he can turnaround his current struggles, and he is fast running out of time to do so. Barring a monumental collapse from Norris, Piastri looks destined for runner-up spot.

Verstappen concedes title defeat

Max Verstappen produced one of the performances of his career with another exemplary comeback drive in Brazil. The four-time world champion charged from the pit lane to the final spot on the podium with one of the great drives, despite picking up a puncture in the early stages.

Verstappen’s headline-grabbing display was deserving of the plaudits but it probably isn’t enough to keep alive his championship hopes in reality. Even with his seventh consecutive podium, Verstappen’s deficit has grown to 49 points with just three rounds remaining this season.

And the Dutchman has effectively ruled himself out of the title race, aware that he needs a huge slice of luck to go his way.

”We lost already way too many points in the beginning of the season to the middle of the season,” Verstappen told Sky Sports F1. “That we were in that up until now already was quite a surprise, but we have to be realistic, over the whole season we haven't been good enough.

“But we will still try everything we can until the end of the season to score some highlights and try to win races - that's what we are here for.”

Antonelli’s coming of age

After a challenging summer and brutal European leg of his rookie F1 season, Antonelli has enjoyed much improved form of late. 

Brazil was a coming of age performance from Antonelli, who claimed front-row starts for both the sprint and main race in Interlagos, before converting those into P2 finishes in each event.

This was by far Antonelli’s strongest performance of his maiden campaign with Mercedes. The 19-year-old Italian was faster than teammate George Russell all weekend and impressively fended off Verstappen in the closing stages on Sunday to seal his best result in F1 so far. 

Mercedes always knew this would be a learning year for Antonelli, but this weekend was the latest encouraging sign that their prodigy has dug himself out of a tough spot and is on the right trajectory.

No end to Hamilton’s Ferrari ‘nightmare’

It was another rotten weekend for Ferrari and Lewis Hamilton, who retired from the Sao Paulo Grand Prix after sustaining significant floor damage to his SF25.

The seven-time world champion struggled for pace in qualifying, which left him out of position and 13th on the grid. Hamilton’s race was ruined on the first lap, having been hit by Carlos Sainz’s Williams before he clipped the Alpine of Franco Colapinto while trying to overtake.

Hamilton broke his front wing, damaged his floor, and picked up a five-second penalty in a race he will want to forget in a hurry. Ferrari ended his misery on Lap 39, by calling him in to retire from last place.

This was meant to be a dream move for the 40-year-old Briton, but it has descended into a nightmare. With the rest of 2025 effectively a write off, Hamilton is pinning all of his hopes of a Ferrari resurgence on 2026.