Norris takes victory in the Sao Paulo Sprint ahead of Piastri after McLaren driver switch

Lando Norris has taken victory in the Sprint at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, with McLaren opting to switch their drivers two laps from the finish which allowed the Briton to lead team mate Oscar Piastri in a one-two result.

Piastri enjoyed a strong start when the lights went out, drawing clear of Norris while Max Verstappen tried to chase Charles Leclerc for third. But as the 24-lap event headed towards its close, the squad opted to put championship hopeful Norris in front, handing him the maximum of eight points.

Verstappen initially completed the top three behind them, the Red Bull crossing the line hot on the tail of Piastri – but the Dutchman was subsequently dropped to fourth after receiving a five-second time penalty for a Virtual Safety Car infringement, having been above the minimum time at the end of the VSC.

This promoted Charles Leclerc into P3 for Ferrari, while team mate Carlos Sainz placed in fifth. Mercedes’ George Russell and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly were sixth and seventh, with Sergio Perez working his way forwards to add to Red Bull’s tally in eighth.

Following just one practice session on Friday, Sprint Qualifying took place later in the day to decide the grid for the 24-lap, 100km dash, in which points would be awarded to the top eight finishers from a maximum of eight for P1 down to one for P8.

Norris had looked on course to claim pole for the event throughout Sprint Qualifying, the McLaren driver setting the pace during SQ1 and SQ2. However, it was team mate Piastri who surged ahead in SQ3 to take P1 on the grid in the final moments, demoting Norris down to second.

Ahead of the Sprint, it was confirmed that some changes had been made to the starting order. The Aston Martin pair of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll, along with Kick Sauber’s Zhou Guanyu – all of whom failed to progress beyond SQ1 – would start from the pit lane after changes were made to their cars under parc ferme conditions.

When the tyre blankets came off prior to the formation lap, it was revealed that all 20 drivers would be starting on the medium compound, with most having bolted on tyres that were previously used in Sprint Qualifying while Pierre Gasly and Liam Lawson had opted for a fresh set.

As the lights went out in warm and dry conditions at the Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace, Piastri made a smooth launch from pole to immediately stretch out a gap from team mate Norris, while Verstappen looked to make a move on Leclerc but the Ferrari driver maintained position by holding the racing line.

Further back it was a clean start through the pack, but Ollie Bearman lost a position to fellow Haas car Nico Hulkenberg while Perez picked off the Williams of Franco Colapinto for 12th place.

The McLaren pair looked to have dropped Leclerc and Verstappen as they increased the gap in front, leaving Verstappen to try to find a way past the Monegasque. After taking a look at Turn 1, the Red Bull man couldn’t make it stick, leading race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase to warn: “Take your time, Max.”

Behind them, Sainz, Russell, Gasly and Lawson were running in the points-paying positions from fifth to eighth. But Norris was staying on the tail of Piastri at the front, the Briton closing to less than one second behind by Lap 6 as he remarked over the radio: “I’m close.”

Shortly afterwards a discussion seemed to be continuing, with Norris adding: “I'm not sure what we are doing here, I thought we spoke about this.” But after seemingly losing some ground – dropping him further behind Piastri – the #4 McLaren then looked increasingly at risk from Leclerc and Verstappen.

Elsewhere, Perez was looking racy after overtaking Bearman for P10 – the Briton having recently moved ahead of team mate Hulkenberg – while Stroll had got past Alonso for P18. Norris, meanwhile, was still holding off the chasing Leclerc and Verstappen as the Sprint reached its halfway point.

Another potential battle to keep an eye on was about to unfold between Perez and Lawson, the former hassling the latter for the final points-paying position of eighth just one week on from their tense scrap in the Mexico City Grand Prix.

As Lap 16 ticked down, it was explained to Norris that the team were happy to hold positions until the final lap – and two tours later, Piastri was warned not to make life difficult for Norris if the Briton were to attack. Meanwhile Verstappen had swept past Leclerc into Turn 4 – could the Dutchman close the gap on the McLarens?

“Chase him down,” Verstappen was encouraged over the radio, the Red Bull cutting the deficit to 1.6s with three laps to go. There was also progress for the other RB20 of Perez, who had finally snatched P8 from Lawson – before the Sprint came to an end for Hulkenberg, the Haas pulling off the track with a mechanical issue to bring out the yellow flags in Sector 2.

McLaren carried out a driver switch on Lap 22 to move Norris up into first place – but this then put Piastri in danger of losing his position to Verstappen, the world champion only around half a second back. Moments later, though, a Virtual Safety Car was called to clear the stricken Haas of Hulkenberg.

As the VSC period came to an end on the final lap, Piastri had his work cut out in fending off Verstappen. The Australian ultimately held the position, though, meaning that McLaren secured a one-two result led by Norris as the chequered flag fell.

Verstappen followed in third, but it was confirmed that the reigning champion would be investigated for a Virtual Safety Car infringement after the Sprint. Following a hearing with the stewards, he received a five-second time penalty as well as one penalty point on his licence for being above the minimum time at the VSC end, dropping him down to fourth in the results.

This promoted Leclerc up into third place, with fellow Ferrari driver Sainz in fifth, Russell in sixth and Gasly in seventh, while Perez scored the final point on offer in eighth.

The result means that Norris has closed the gap in the drivers’ championship to 44 points, while McLaren are now 34 points clear of Ferrari in the constructors’ table.

Key quote

"Not proud about it but we worked well as a team together so I thank Oscar," said Norris. "We’ve done a great job as a team. Today was the result that we wanted. Oscar deserved it but we’re doing what we have to do, so I thank him and the team. We had great pace so I’m looking forward to qualifying and the race tomorrow." 

What's next?

Following the Sprint, the drivers will next be in action during qualifying for the Grand Prix later on Saturday, with the session set to begin at 1500 local time. Head to the RACE HUB to find out how you can follow the action.