INTERLAGOS RESHAPES THE TITLE FIGHT

After the Mexico City Grand Prix, Lando Norris extended his hot streak by taking victory at the São Paulo GP in Interlagos. It was total domination: the Brit made the difference in every session, leaving no room for his rivals. In FP1, Piastri seemed to have rediscovered his sharpness after the struggles in Austin, but from Sprint qualifying onward, the dynamic shifted. Norris found another gear, while the Australian got caught up battling the Mercedes.

Oscar’s incident at Turn 2 during the Sprint was quickly labeled a mistake, but the circumstances tell a different story. Shortly afterward, at the same damp curb, Hulkenberg and Colapinto suffered the same fate. Even Verstappen nearly spun at that very spot, saved more by the soft tire — which helped considerably in those conditions — than by any miracle. And yet, after a Sprint shaped by a track very different from what teams had anticipated, Norris shrugged it all off and claimed the win, stretching his lead over his teammate to +9.

When official qualifying rolled around, teams trimmed downforce and aimed for a more race-focused setup. The outcome, however, didn’t change — in fact, the gap widened. Just as in Mexico, Norris delivered a perfect final lap to secure pole position. Piastri ended up fourth, nearly four tenths behind. If anyone else had inflicted such a margin, it would be replayed everywhere as overwhelming proof of superiority. But when it comes to Lando, many dismiss it as “the spaceship’s advantage.” The reality? In Q3, only half a second separated Norris from Hulkenberg in tenth, and Antonelli — outstanding once again — slotted in just three tenths back. Clear signs that the added value came from Lando, not the MCL39.

The race itself was intense and chaotic, thanks in part to a circuit that naturally encourages overtaking and a Pirelli tire allocation that, once again after Austin and Mexico, included hard compounds that were practically unusable. That shuffled strategies and played into Verstappen’s hands, especially after a difficult qualifying session partly influenced by the pit wall not calling him in for a fresh set of softs. With a Virtual Safety Car, a “free” pit stop, and a new power unit, Max was able to push hard in the second stint, clawing back over ten seconds on the medium tires while McLaren and Mercedes tried to manage soft-tire degradation. At that point — combined with Piastri’s penalty, correct by the rulebook but far from clear-cut — the top three order fell into place.

The win puts Norris +24 over Piastri with just three races remaining — a margin that sets him up for what could be a decisive season finale.

Ferrari endured a very unfortunate weekend, compounded by a preventable mistake from Hamilton in his contact with Colapinto. Strong race management from VCARB, who effectively brought back the reciprocal DRS strategy to keep the pack at bay. Bearman impressed again, confirming what he showed in Mexico — though that doesn’t automatically make him a future superstar. And finally, a well-deserved mention for Hulkenberg: he’s putting together an exceptional championship campaign, yet continues to fly under the radar, perfectly in line with the rest of his career.

Post scriptum: after a positive weekend, expectations around Antonelli are already starting to spiral out of control. Hopefully they won’t end up weighing down Kimi’s path as well — because right now, more than labels, what he truly needs is time and calm.

© Simone Marchetti Cavalieri