Brazilian Grand Prix 2025: F1 Sprint Results, Report & Standings As Nightmare Piastri Crash Triggers Red Flag

Lando Norris extended his advantage in the race for the Formula 1 drivers' title after a dramatic Sao Paulo Grand Prix sprint.

The McLaren driver led home Mercedes duo Kimi Antonelli and George Russell in tricky conditions as teammate Oscar Piastri crashed out.

It means Norris now has a nine-point lead heading into qualifying for Sunday's grand prix as Piastri's woes continued.

Major swing in the championship

Lando Norris, McLaren, Brazil 2025 — McLaren Racing

The race began under difficult conditions, with the track dry enough for slicks yet damp enough in places to provide a headache for teams.

Yet the forecasted cyclone never materialized, so the sprint could go on, and Norris got a good start on his medium tires as Antonelli looked back to fend off Piastri into Turn 1.

The Mercedes rookie managed to do that as Max Verstappen jumped ahead of Fernando Alonso's Aston Martin in a crucial move for his race, while into Descida do Lago, Liam Lawson and Oliver Bearman tangled lower down the field.

Antonelli held onto the back of Norris across the opening exchanges, but the tire differential began to tell after three laps, with the leader eking clear.

But the drama came when Piastri dipped a wheel onto the wet kerb on the exit of the Senna S, spearing his car into the barriers on the outside of the Curva do Sol.

Colapinto and Hulkenberg also found the barriers at Turn 3

Hulkenberg got going and has made his way back to the pits #F1Sprint #BrazilGP pic.twitter.com/aCJbedgXHA
— Formula 1 (@F1) November 8, 2025

In scenes reminiscent of the 2003 Brazilian Grand Prix, the Australian was followed off the road by Nico Hulkenberg and Franco Colapinto. The Sauber driver escaped back to the pits with damage, but Argentinian Colapinto suffered the worst of the trio with extensive damage to fix before qualifying.

It was a huge dent to Piastri's title hopes as his poor form continues, with McLaren facing a repair job before qualifying, with no way to test whether the car is perfectly set up before parc ferme is reimposed when the cars roll out.

An initial safety car was turned into a red flag, with a lengthy stoppage needed to repair the barriers after the incident, allowing drivers and teams to reset, repair damage in the case of Hulkenberg, and change tires if so wished.

Norris led from the rolling restart as the two Mercedes behind went at each other — Antonelli holding off Russell — while Verstappen went deep into Turn 1 to give Alonso a chance down the Reta Oposta.

The Spaniard couldn't make the move stick despite being alongside out of Descida do Lago, Alonso positioned on the outside into Ferradura.

Alonso was in the minority to be on soft tires, joined by teammate Lance Stroll, Pierre Gasly, and Alex Albon, as well as leader Norris, leaving the two-time world champion in the jaws of Ferrari duo Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton.

Soft tire switch leads to Lando tension

Lap 19 of 24 and Kimi is starting to close the gap to NOR and it’s down to 0.9s - within DRS zone pic.twitter.com/BWVyibxfwQ
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) November 8, 2025

The decision to go onto the softs for the restart began to look perilous for Norris as the sprint entered its final third. He began to complain about his rear tires on Lap 18 as Antonelli began to eat into the McLaren driver's advantage.

With three laps to go, Antonelli had latched onto the back of Norris' car, but somehow, despite the DRS advantage for the Italian, the Briton was able to hold off the charge. That was how they finished, though under double-yellow flags after a sizeable shunt for Gabriel Bortoleto into Turn 1.

That was how they finished, though under double-yellow flags after a sizable shunt for Gabriel Bortoleto into Turn 1.

So Norris added eight points to his tally to extend his championship lead to nine points over Piastri, with Antonelli second and Russell third.

Verstappen was fourth ahead of Leclerc, who pounced on Alonso late on, while Hamilton was seventh.

The final point went to Pierre Gasly with a welcome score for Alpine.

F1 Sao Paulo Grand Prix 2025: Sprint results

Position	Driver / Team
1	Lando Norris / McLaren
2	Kimi Antonelli / Mercedes
3	George Russell / Mercedes
4	Max Verstappen / Red Bull
5	Charles Leclerc / Ferrari
6	Fernando Alonso / Aston Martin
7	Lewis Hamilton / Ferrari
8	Pierre Gasly / Alpine
9	Lance Stroll / Aston Martin
10	Isack Hadjar / Racing Bulls
11	Esteban Ocon / Haas
12	Oliver Bearman / Haas
13	Liam Lawson / Racing Bulls
14	Yuki Tsunoda / Red Bull
15	Carlos Sainz / Williams
16	Nico Hulkenberg / Sauber
17	Alex Albon / Williams
DNF	Gabriel Bortoleto / Sauber
DNF	Oscar Piastri / McLaren
DNF	Franco Colapinto / Alpine

F1 Drivers' Standings after the Sao Paulo Grand Prix sprint

Position / Driver	Points
1. Lando Norris	365
2. Oscar Piastri	356
3. Max Verstappen	326
4. George Russell	264
5. Charles Leclerc	214
6. Lewis Hamilton	148
7. Kimi Antonelli	104
8. Alex Albon	73
9. Nico Hulkenberg	41
10. Fernando Alonso	40
11. Isack Hadjar	39
12. Carlos Sainz	38
13. Oliver Bearman	32
14. Lance Stroll	32
15. Liam Lawson	30
16. Esteban Ocon	30
17. Yuki Tsunoda	28
18. Pierre Gasly	21
19. Gabriel Bortoleto	19
20. Franco Colapinto	0
21. Jack Doohan	0

F1 Constructors' Standings after the Sao Paulo Grand Prix sprint

Position / Team	Points
1. McLaren	721
2. Ferrari	362
3. Mercedes	368
4. Red Bull	351
5. Williams	111
6. Racing Bulls	72
7. Aston Martin	69
8. Haas	62
9. Sauber	60
10. Alpine	21

The Latest F1 News