The São Paulo Grand Prix was absolutely everything F1 fans could’ve hoped for. Lando Norris would pick up the win from pole. Holding on to 1st for the vast majority of the race, he maintains his championship lead.
The weekend went worse for his two championship rivals, though. His teammate Oscar Piastri finished in 5th due to earning a 10-second time penalty after a collision with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen would finish 3rd after a spectacular drive that started in the pit lane, which leaves us with standings that look like this:
| Driver | Pre-weekend total | São Paulo Grand Prix | São Paulo Sprint | Weekend total | Total |
| Lando Norris | 357 | +25 | +8 | +33 | 390 |
| Oscar Piastri | 356 | +10 | DNF | +10 | 366 |
| Max Verstappen | 321 | +15 | +5 | +20 | 341 |
Time is running out
Every race gets more and more important as we approach the end of the 2025 F1 season. The 1st championship of Lando Norris’ young career may be within his grasp as his closest competitors were unable to keep up. Oscar Piastri went into the weekend only down by a point, is now down by 24 with just three races left on the calendar. Piastri now finds himself in a much more dire position than before, desperately needing three stellar performances to end the year.
As for Max Verstappen, there could certainly be an argument that his poor performance in qualifying could be the unfortunate dagger. He showed during the race that his upgraded car was by far the quickest on the grid on Sunday, but it wasn’t enough to get the win. Lando Norris said so himself, stating:
“I don’t think we were the quickest out there on track today, but glad to take home the win. It’s a great win, but to be honest, seeing how quick Max was today, I was pretty disappointed we weren’t quickest. So that’s where my mind’s at at the minute. Probably going to see the team, congratulate them, and see where we weren’t quick enough.” – Lando Norris post-race in São Paulo
Nobody can take away how impressive it was for Verstappen to go from the pit lane to the podium, but leaving São Paulo with fewer points earned than Norris is not the outcome Red Bull went into the weekend looking for. Now down by 49 points with three races left, he is going to need a miracle to pull off a comeback.
Max Verstappen isn’t mathematically eliminated yet, but he is firmly on the outside looking in. Whether or not he closes the gap or gets eliminated in Las Vegas remains to be seen, but if anyone can pull off a comeback of this magnitude, it’s Max Verstappen.
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