Liam Lawson has hustled his way to his second sprint points finish of the season, getting his elbows out to fend off former teammate Isack Hadjar in the final laps.
Pole sitter Lewis Hamilton got away well off the start, but was immediately under pressure from Kimi Antonelli at the end of the Wellington straight. Meanwhile, Lawson went around the outside of Arvid Lindblad before Copse, promoting the Kiwi back to ninth.
It was a shocking first lap for Oscar Piastri, who fell back to seventh but was soon able to start working his way forward. Ahead of Lawson was Pierre Gasly, who sat half a second ahead of the Kiwi.
Hamilton had soon pulled a second gap over Antonelli, with Norris taking third from Verstappen.
By lap six both Lawson and Lindblad had both worked their way past Gasly, meaning Lawson held the last sprint point. He sat just under five seconds behind Piastri, while holding over a second lead over his teammate.
Out front, Antonelli soon passed Hamilton for the lead. Hamilton still held the fastest lap, but sat almost two seconds behind.
With five laps to go, Antonelli led over Hamilton, Norris, George Russell, Charles Leclerc, Verstappen, Piastri, and Lawson. Hadjar sat a second behind the Kiwi, closing quickly in the final few laps.
The gap had closed down to a few tenths on the second-to-last lap, and Hadjar attempted a late dive-bomb on the Kiwi, to which Lawson moved towards the apex. Hadjar was quick to jump on the radio and voice his dismay, with tensions boiling over for the last points place of the season.
Antonelli was able to control his own race in the last few laps to bring home his first sprint victory of his career, with home-town hero Hamilton coming home second, with Norris making it a double British podium.
Lawson and Hadjar both battled it out to the final corner, but it was the Kiwi who was able to take the final point, coming home six tenths ahead of the Red Bull driver.
Lawson was investigated after the race for his late move under braking, but was only handed a warning, meaning his eighth place was secure – bringing his total points this season to thirty-one.
The Formula 1 grid takes to the green flag at 2:00 am NZST for the Grand Prix.
