Lando Norris extended his lead in the drivers’ world championship to nine points on Saturday when, after his McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri crashed out, he won the sprint race at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Norris later also qualified pole for Monday’s (AEST) race, with Piastri’s day getting even worse with a fourth-place result behind Charles Leclerc and Kimi Antonelli.
His victory by eight-tenths of a second ahead of Mercedes’ teenage Italian rookie Kimi Antonelli earned him eight points to lift him to 365 points in the title race ahead of Piastri on 356 and four-time champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull, who finished fourth, on 326.
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Norris was 0.845 seconds ahead of a feisty Antonelli at the chequered flag with George Russell third in the second Mercedes ahead of Verstappen, Charles Leclerc of Ferrari and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso.
Piastri lost control and hit the barriers on lap six of the 24-lap race at a slippery Interlagos circuit, damaging his car and his title hopes after losing his leadership of the championship two weeks ago in Mexico.
The race in mixed conditions ended with another spectacular accident when local hero Gabriel Bortoleto hit the barriers heavily twice in his Sauber at the Senna Esses on the final lap, losing both front and rear wings. He was unhurt.
“It was tough,” said Norris.
“So it is more rewarding to win like this, especially with Kimi there not making my life easy. I had to push and it was a bit sketchy and a struggle at the end on the soft tyres. We have some homework to do before qualifying.”
Antonelli said: “It was a fun race in very trick conditions and we tried to keep the pressure on Lando, but just came up short.”
After heavy rain earlier, the race began in drying air with temperatures of 23 (air) and 26 (track) and a keen gusty wind, causing a mixture of soft and medium tyres to be selected in the treacherous conditions.
Norris made a clean start but then Piastri, running third, took the kerb at turn three and went spinning off at the Curva do Sol, his trajectory taking Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg and Alpine’s Franco Colapinto with him as they followed his line five laps later.
A safety car was deployed immediately, quickly followed by a red flag on lap eight.
– ‘Put that behind me’ –
Hulkenberg succeeded in guiding his damaged car back to the pits for repairs – a new front and rear wing – and was permitted to rejoin the fray once the barriers were repaired.
But for Piastri it was not only a second consecutive pointless sprint race, but also a costly setback to his title challenge on a day when he hoped to restrict Norris’s advantage.
After a 24-minute hiatus, during which several drivers including Norris, on softs, changed tyres, the race resumed with a rolling start for lap nine. Norris, again, advanced with aplomb.
For Piastri, whose early-season consistency has crumbled in recent weeks, it was another session to forget.
“I just dipped a wheel on the white line of the kerb and around I went,” he said.
“A silly mistake really, an unfortunate mistake, so that’s it.
“I am trying to put that behind me.
“Let’s see what sort of weather we are going to have this afternoon – and of course there are a lot more points tomorrow.
“I will try to do a better job in qualifying and get a better starting sport for the race.”
MORE TO COME
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