News Summary
- Lando Norris fell from pole to third at the start and recovered second from Liam Lawson on lap six.
- Norris took the lead when Andrea Kimi Antonelli spun on lap 20 and stayed in front through the final switch to intermediates.
- The São Paulo GP victory was Norris’s third of 2026 and his 50th Formula 1 podium.
Lando Norris had spent Saturday finding grip in the rain at Interlagos. On Sunday he had to do it while chasing two cars. Andrea Kimi Antonelli beat him away from the line and Liam Lawson took second through the Senna S, leaving the pole-sitter third before he could settle into the opening stint. By the finish, Norris was 14.602s clear of Max Verstappen.
“The main thing today was I kept it cool and didn’t make any mistakes and had the pace when I needed to,” Norris said after the race. On Saturday, he had already described how quickly he had to adapt to his first wet running in the 2026 McLaren. Sunday asked him to make those adjustments across three different phases of the race.
The switch to slicks brings Norris back into the lead fight
Norris got back ahead of Lawson on lap six, with Antonelli already more than five seconds clear. The track was drying and the drivers had to judge when slicks would offer enough grip. Lewis Hamilton was among the first to make the switch, and the leaders soon followed. Antonelli stayed ahead through the stops, then spun at the Senna S on lap 20 as he tried to get the tyres working. Norris took the lead.
The last test came when the rain returned. Norris had already built enough of a cushion to stop for intermediates and rejoin ahead of Verstappen. The victory was his first since the Dutch Grand Prix in August, his 14th in F1 and worth 25 points in a tight fight with Charles Leclerc for fifth in the standings.
GRANDE PRÊMIO is following every session of the São Paulo Grand Prix in Formula 1 live from Interlagos.
