Lando Norris reduced Max Verstappen’s advantage in the Formula One championship to 44 points following a strategic move by his McLaren teammate, Oscar Piastri, who graciously surrendered the lead to Norris during the sprint race in Sao Paulo on Saturday. Piastri, starting from pole position, maintained his position until relinquishing it in the final two laps when Verstappen, driving for Red Bull, overtook Charles Leclerc of Ferrari and posed a threat to Piastri’s lead.
This decision coincided with a virtual safety car period, resulting in a nail-biting final lap that saw Piastri finish just 0.593 seconds behind Norris, securing a one-two finish for McLaren. Verstappen, coming in third, received a five-second penalty for a VSC violation, pushing him back behind Leclerc. Furthermore, Verstappen was also issued a penalty point. Reflecting on the race, Norris expressed gratitude towards Piastri and the team for their support, acknowledging that while winning under these circumstances may not be ideal, it aligns with their objective of maximizing points for both the constructors’ and drivers’ championships.
Piastri’s race engineer expressed gratitude to the Australian driver, who is no longer in contention for the title, for his tremendous support to the team through the radio communication. McLaren has extended their lead over Ferrari in the constructors’ standings by 34 points following a gain of five. Verstappen and Leclerc engaged in an exciting battle for third position, with Red Bull ultimately overtaking on the 18th lap out of 24. The virtual safety car was deployed on lap 21 when Nico Hulkenberg’s smouldering Haas came to a stop by the side of the track. This season marked the first time Verstappen has been defeated in a sprint, and he will also incur a five-place grid penalty for exceeding his engine allocation in Sunday’s race. Carlos Sainz from Ferrari secured fifth place, while George Russell finished sixth for Mercedes and Pierre Gasly claimed seventh for Renault-owned Alpine.
Sergio Perez from Red Bull clinched the final point in eighth place, ahead of RB’s Liam Lawson. The race began with all drivers starting on medium tyres, with Piastri leading Norris and Leclerc maintaining third place. Despite Norris expressing his proximity to Piastri over the radio and sounding impatient, Piastri showed no intention of yielding his position.
“I’m not entirely sure what our purpose is here, my friend,” he remarked, having slipped out of the detection range system. “I thought we had discussed this previously.”
On the tenth lap, Piastri received instructions to provide Norris, who was being threatened by Leclerc, with a reduction in drag by towing. Later, on the sixteenth lap, McLaren informed both drivers that they were content to maintain their positions until the final lap.
However, the possibility of a virtual safety car bringing Verstappen dangerously close changed the team’s stance.
“In an ideal situation, we would have done it earlier, but the circumstances never allowed for a safe opportunity,” explained team manager Andrea Stella.
“Because as soon as you make the switch, the driver in third place would have the chance to overtake a McLaren, and this goes against our principle of prioritizing the team’s overall result.”
