Lando Norris secured victory in the sprint race at the São Paulo Grand Prix for McLaren, with the team opting to use team orders to have his teammate Oscar Piastri relinquish the lead to maximize Norris's points advantage over world champion Max Verstappen, who finished third. Piastri placed second, while Ferrari's drivers finished fourth and fifth.
Piastri led from pole position throughout the race until lap 22 of 24, when he ceded the lead to Norris. The team had communicated early in the sprint that they intended to switch the drivers in Norris's favor, and Piastri had previously stated he had no issue with the decision. 'I've said I would when we had these discussions,' he mentioned earlier in the weekend. 'It would be nice to win, but it's a one-point difference and it's not the main race, so we'll see. Lando needs the points in the driver standings a lot more than I do.'
This win marks a significant comeback for Norris in the championship battle against Verstappen, closing the gap to 45 points with 112 points still available from one further sprint and four races. Under pressure to close the gap at every opportunity, Norris, Piastri, and McLaren collaborated to capitalize on their chance in the sprint. The pace of the McLaren gives Norris great confidence that he can further reduce Verstappen's lead in Sunday's GP, especially since Verstappen has already been penalized with a five-place grid penalty for a new engine.
Piastri maintained his lead into turn one, with Norris closely following and Leclerc just ahead of Verstappen in third. The McLarens showed strong early pace, creating a gap within the initial laps as Verstappen pushed hard against Leclerc. Norris questioned his team's tactics, indicating he had anticipated Piastri would cede the place. Concern grew when Piastri pulled out of DRS range, leaving Norris vulnerable to Leclerc and Verstappen. McLaren then instructed Piastri to keep Norris within DRS range, with the plan to hold positions until the last lap.
Verstappen and Leclerc remained closely matched, with Leclerc defending well against Verstappen's efforts until lap 18 when Verstappen finally overtook at turn four. With clean air, Verstappen set off after Norris, and when Piastri allowed Norris to pass, he found himself dangerously close to Verstappen's charge. A late VSC neutralized the racing until the final lap when Verstappen attempted to overtake Piastri as the race resumed, but the Australian held his position to the flag. Verstappen is under investigation for potentially violating the VSC rules, which could result in a penalty.
Despite this, Verstappen and Red Bull can take heart from the pace their car demonstrated. After being outpaced in qualifying, the Red Bull showed significant speed, crucial given Verstappen's grid penalty. They will now be optimistic about their chances to repeat this performance on Sunday and at least minimize the potential points loss to Norris, a result that would be a positive outcome given the expected setback of the new engine.
Source link: https://www.theguardian.com
