Lando Norris claimed his seventh victory of the 2025 Formula 1 season at Interlagos, controlling a turbulent Brazilian Grand Prix that featured multiple collisions, penalties, and a dramatic strategic battle through the field.
While McLaren, Mercedes and Red Bull fought for the podium places, Racing Bulls delivered one of their strongest combined performances of the season, with Liam Lawson finishing seventh and teammate Isack Hadjar eighth after both qualified inside the top ten.
Qualifying: Racing Bulls Rise as Red Bull Falters
Grand Prix qualifying provided a major surprise before the race had even begun. Max Verstappen struggled severely with the balance of the RB21, reporting rear instability and understeer through the middle sector.
The reigning champion failed to escape Q1, lining up only 16th on Sunday.
While Red Bull fell backwards, Racing Bulls surged forward. Both Hadjar and Lawson advanced comfortably into Q2.
Hadjar, in particular, looked confident through the high-speed sections, while Lawson continued to build on the improved form he had shown in the Sprint.
Their progress continued into Q3, and the pair secured one of the team’s best qualifying outcomes of the season. The fight for pole came down to McLaren and Mercedes.
Oscar Piastri briefly held provisional pole, though Norris delivered a composed final lap to secure P1 with a 1:09.511.
Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli impressed with second, ahead of Charles Leclerc and Piastri.
Hadjar produced a clean lap to secure fifth, while Lawson delivered his best qualifying since returning full-time, lining up seventh for Sunday.
Grand Prix:
Norris made a strong getaway, while Lawson immediately went on the attack. The Kiwi passed George Russell on the opening lap to move into sixth.
The top five ran Norris, Antonelli, Leclerc, Piastri, and Hadjar.
Further back, Lance Stroll and Gabriel Bortoleto made contact through the opening sequence of corners.
Stroll clipped the rear of the Brazilian driver, sending Bortoleto into the barriers in front of his home crowd. The incident brought out the first safety car, and stewards noted Stroll for causing the collision.
There was more damage elsewhere. Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari suffered front wing and floor damage after contact with Carlos Sainz, forcing Hamilton to pit and rejoin at the rear of the field.
Racing resumed on lap 6, although the calm did not last. Piastri locked up into Turn 1 and clipped Antonelli, who in turn collided with Leclerc. Leclerc’s suspension broke, ending his race and bringing out a virtual safety car. Piastri was later handed a ten-second time penalty for the collision.
Max Verstappen, who had climbed to 13th after starting from the pit lane, also pitted under the virtual safety car for a puncture.
When racing resumed on lap 9, Lawson lost a position to Russell, slipping back to seventh. Moments later, Oliver Bearman made a forceful move at Turn 1, pushing Lawson down to eighth.
Both Racing Bulls committed to a traditional two-stop approach, pitting Hadjar on lap 19 and Lawson on lap 20. By the halfway point, Norris held a 5.5-second advantage over the field.
Further incidents continued to unfold. Hamilton collected another penalty after hitting Franco Colapinto and eventually retired the Ferrari on lap 38, marking a double retirement for Ferrari. Piastri served his penalty during his stop, rejoining just behind Lawson, and moved past him again on lap 41.
The race then settled into a strategic rhythm, with the focus shifting to tyre life and final pit windows. Norris and Piastri made their second stops around laps 51 and 52, leaving the final stint to the chequered flag.
Lawson and Racing Bulls attempted to hold track position through a longer run on ageing medium tyres.
In the closing laps, Lawson was tasked with defending from Nico Hulkenberg, who had fresher tyres and a DRS advantage. Lawson managed the pressure well, balancing tyre preservation with defensive positioning.
Hadjar used this battle to close in and, on the penultimate lap, overtook Hulkenberg to move into eighth. Lawson successfully held seventh to the finish, completing a disciplined and composed drive.
Norris crossed the line to win comfortably, with Antonelli recording his best Formula 1 finish in second. Verstappen recovered to third after a difficult qualifying and a pit-lane start, ahead of Russell, Piastri, Bearman, Lawson, Hadjar, Hulkenberg, and Gasly.
2025 Brazilian Grand Prix Results:
Formula 1 now heads to Las Vegas, with the Grand Prix scheduled for Sunday 23 November at 5:00 PM NZST.
Header Image: Mark Thompson/Getty Images via Red Bull Content Pool
