Starting from pole position Lando Norris took home the Brazil Sprint Race, but above all he extended his lead in the championship standings over teammate Oscar Piastri, who once again made a resounding mistake that put him into the barriers at Turn 3 after just 6 laps. Deceived by the wet asphalt while going over a kerb, the Australian handed yet another gift to his pit neighbor, demonstrating that he has lost lucidity after a solid start to the season and above all expectations.
His exit in the opening laps, accompanied by that of Franco Colapinto's Alpine at the very same point, among other things, first led to the entry of the Safety Car, then to a long suspension of the race for repair work and to remove the considerable amount of debris scattered on the track. Going back to the race, behind the McLaren of the Englishman, who was perfect throughout the 24 laps and in interpreting the soft tyre, the Mercedes of a solid Andrea Antonelli finished in second place, on his second podium in F1 after the one in the Canadian GP, followed by George Russell.
Fourth was the Red Bull of a less incisive than usual Max Verstappen, then the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc, who clinched the place at the end with an overtaking move on the Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso, the only one among the leaders along with the winner, to mount the softer compound, and the other SF25 of Lewis Hamilton.
Eighth place went to the Alpine of Pierre Gasly, ahead of the Aston Martin of Lance Stroll and the Racing Bulls of the steady Isack Hadjar. Worthy of note was Gabriel Bortoleto's accident on the last lap that effectively froze the positions due to the double yellow flag.
"It was tough and that's why this success is even more satisfactory. Antonelli didn't make my life easy. I lost control a couple of times and the wind was insidious as was the tyre deg. In that respect I thought it would be better, so there is homework to do for tomorrow," were the McLaren driver's words.
"I had fun with those tricky conditions at the start. I tried to put pressure on Lando, but I couldn't. Confidence is high, however, we are all close. We will see on Sunday what I can do," were the Italian's comment.
"It was a positive race for the team. We will have to replicate the qualifying. The feelings are good and the low temperatures are friendly to us, so we will see," was the analysis of the third-placed finisher of the day.
For details here is the link to Motorsport.com.