Lando Norris won a rain-hit São Paulo Grand Prix on Sunday 8 November, while fourth and fifth places for George Russell and Kimi Antonelli were enough to hand Mercedes the 2026 Constructors’ Championship.
Norris crossed the line at Interlagos 14.602 seconds clear of Max Verstappen for his third win of the season. Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar completed the podium, with Russell fourth, Antonelli fifth and Oscar Piastri sixth in the second McLaren.
Verstappen’s charge
The drive of the day belonged to Verstappen, who started 21st and carved his way through the field to second. The Dutchman was not celebrating, though: he said afterwards that Red Bull must investigate what “went wrong” with a car that suffered “extreme” oversteer at Interlagos.
Antonelli leads early, Norris controls the rest
New world champion Kimi Antonelli, crowned in Mexico a week earlier, beat Norris off the line and led until the first round of pit stops. From there Norris managed the gap through the second half of the race and survived a late rain shower to take a dominant win.
A double for Mercedes
With Ferrari finishing eighth (Charles Leclerc) and ninth (Lewis Hamilton), Russell and Antonelli’s points sealed the teams’ title. Mercedes now holds both 2026 championships with three rounds still to run.
Hamilton’s 400th, a home debut for Câmara
Hamilton started his 400th Formula 1 race from 20th on the grid and recovered to ninth despite a spin. Audi’s Nico Hülkenberg completed the top ten. For the home crowd, Gabriel Bortoleto finished 16th for Audi, and Rafael Câmara made his F1 debut for Haas, finishing 20th.
São Paulo GP top ten:
- 1. Lando Norris (McLaren)
- 2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull), +14.602s
- 3. Isack Hadjar (Red Bull), +24.485s
- 4. George Russell (Mercedes), +33.991s
- 5. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)
- 6. Oscar Piastri (McLaren), +56.475s
- 7. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)
- 8. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
- 9. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)
- 10. Nico Hülkenberg (Audi)
Next up is the Las Vegas Grand Prix on 22 November, before the season ends in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.
Sources: Formula1.com, GPblog, RacingNews365.