Lando Norris comes through Brazilian Grand Prix thriller amid epic Max Verstappen drive

Lando Norris has prevailed from a thrilling Brazilian Grand Prix to extend his lead in the Formula 1 title race.

Despite starting on pole and getting off the line cleanly, the McLaren driver did not benefit from an early safety car that brought Max Verstappen into the equation.

Verstappen's pit-lane start was rendered meaningless due to being able to pit early and the Dutchman put himself into contention to become the first driver in Formula 1 history to win a Grand Prix after starting from the pits.

However, he ultimately had to settle for third after his soft tyres lost grip during the closing stages and rookie Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli impressively defended his advances to earn second, his best-ever finish in the sport.

Fellow Championship contender Oscar Piastri eventually had to make do with fifth, not helped by a 10-second penalty after it was deemed that he caused an accident when making contact with Antonelli who in turned crashed into Charles Leclerc and caused the Ferrari man to retire from the race.

While Piastri was pushing George Russell during the final five laps, Russell echoed the efforts of teammate Antonelli to retain hold of fourth.

RACE CLASSIFICATION

A superb drive completes a perfect weekend for Lando Norris #F1 #BrazilGP pic.twitter.com/g0yMt4stbU

— Formula 1 (@F1) November 9, 2025

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Norris now holds a potentially-pivotal 24-point lead over Piastri in the Drivers Championship, despite his seventh victory of the season putting him on par with the Australian.

Although Verstappen has once again written off his title hopes, he remains within 49 points of Norris and just 25 points of Piastri.

Further down the drivers' standings, Antonelli's second-placed finish has moved him to within 26 points of Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton, who was involved in two early incidents and eventually had to park his car in the pits.

Ferrari's double retirement has led to Red Bull moving four points ahead of them into third position in the Constructors Championship.