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Norris takes control of F1 title race with Brazil win

Norris takes control of F1 title race with Brazil win

McLaren's Lando Norris seized the initiative in the 2025 Formula 1 World Championship with a dominant win in Sunday's Brazilian Grand Prix at the Interlagos Circuit. Norris' second consecutive win came as teammate and chief title rival Oscar Piastri was hampered by a 10-second penalty for causing a collision and could only finish fifth. An inspired drive from Red Bull's Max Verstappen saw the Dutchman rise from the pit lane to finish third, just behind Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, who defended stoutly to hold off the charging Dutchman and score his best ever result. A disastrous qualifying performance on Saturday had seen Verstappen eliminated in Q1, and with little to lose, his team elected to fit a new power unit which exceeded his season's allowance, triggering a pit lane start. Yet after having struggled on Saturday, Verstappen seemed a man reborn on Sunday, shrugging off an early tyre change for a slow puncture to carve his way through the field. Returning to the scene of one of his greatest victories last year, Verstappen's pace was such that at one point it seemed as if he might become the first driver to ever win a race from the pit lane, but ultimately came up just short. Piastri's penalty came after a collision following an early Safety Car restart, when the Australian locked a wheel at Turn 1 and made contact with Antonelli. The Mercedes driver in turn hit Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, who was forced to retire with suspension damage. Leclerc's retirement capped a disastrous Sunday for Ferrari, with teammate Lewis Hamilton also failing to finish after suffering floor damage following early collisions with Carlos Sainz and Franco Colapinto. The resultant no-score saw the Scuderia slip behind Red Bull into fourth in the Constructors' standings. George Russell held off Piastri to take fourth and cap a good weekend for Mercedes, which strengthened its grip on second place in the Constructors' Championship. Behind the top five, Ollie Bearman continued his recent impressive form with a fine drive to sixth in his Haas, with Liam Lawson executing a one-stop strategy well to take seventh, just ahead of his teammate Isack Hadjar. Nico Hulkenberg took ninth for Sauber, and Pierre Gasly scored Alpine's first points in eight races with tenth. But the day belonged to Norris, whose win capped off what he called "a perfect weekend," after the Briton had also won Saturday's Sprint race before qualifying on pole for the Grand Prix proper. "I was pushing! It was an amazing race and it's nice to win here in Brazil," Norris said afterwards. "It's an amazing track, amazing fans. This one was for [former McLaren Sporting Director] Gil [de Ferran, who died in December 2023], one of my mentors growing up a couple of years ago. This one was for him - I'm sure he'd be very proud about it all." By contrast, Piastri's troubled race continued a clear downward trend in recent rounds. After leading the championship by 34 points following his victory at the Dutch Grand Prix six races ago, he has reached the podium only once since and now trails Norris by 24 points. Even if Piastri wins all remaining three grands prix and one sprint this year, Norris will still claim the championship if he finishes second each time. Verstappen sits a further 25 points behind Piastri, and despite his recent resurgence, the Dutchman now faces an uphill task to overhaul Norris in the remaining races. The 22nd round of the 2025 F1 season is the Las Vegas Grand Prix on November 22.