Sao Paulo GP: Lando Norris wins thrilling race to extend championship lead as Oscar Piastri struggles to fifth | F1 News

Lando Norris extended his world championship lead by winning a thrilling Sao Paulo Grand Prix as Oscar Piastri struggled to fifth.

Norris superbly controlled the race from pole position to complete a perfect weekend – in which he also won Saturday’s Sprint at Interlagos – to extend his title-race lead over his McLaren team-mate Piastri to 24 points with three rounds remaining.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen produced a stunning comeback after a pit-lane start but was denied second place by Kimi Antonelli in a thrilling finale as the Mercedes driver claimed the best result of his rookie campaign.

Despite his superb performance, Verstappen dropped 49 points behind Norris to leave his hopes of claiming a fifth successive drivers’ title all but over.

Piastri, who crashed out of Saturday’s Sprint, continued the streak of errors that has resulted in his 34-point championship lead becoming a significant deficit as he made an over-ambitious attempt to pass Antonelli at the restart after an early Safety Car sending the Mercedes into Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari.

Piastri was given a 10-second time penalty for causing a collision, which left him having to fight his way back through the field. The Australian was also denied an additional place in the closing stages as George Russell held onto fourth.

Leclerc was forced to retire after losing a wheel in the collision caused by Piastri, while Lewis Hamilton also failed to finish as Ferrari suffered a major blow in their battle with Mercedes and Red Bull for second in the Constructors’ Championship behind McLaren, who have already sealed the title.

More to follow…

Formula 1’s thrilling title race continues with the Las Vegas Grand Prix on November 21-23, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime