Jacques Villeneuve makes ‘above the rest’ claim after watching Lando Norris at Brazilian Grand Prix

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Lando Norris took a huge step closer to winning the 2025 Formula 1 championship with a dominant weekend at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

The McLaren driver claimed his second win in a row in commanding fashion. Norris topped every competitive session, taking pole position and the win for the Sprint and main race.

He came into the Brazilian Grand Prix with just a one-point lead over teammate Oscar Piastri. However, that has now extended to 24 points after Piastri crashed out in the Sprint and finished fifth on Sunday.

The Aussie was hit with a 10-second time penalty for a collision with Kimi Antonelli and Charles Leclerc after the safety car restart. Meanwhile, Norris went mostly unchallenged and beat the young Mercedes driver by 10 seconds, with Max Verstappen finishing third.

Jacques Villeneuve says Lando Norris was ‘above the rest’ at the Brazilian Grand Prix

Norris’ performance garnered huge praise from 1997 F1 champion Jacques Villeneuve. Posting on his Instagram story after the race, the Canadian felt he was ‘above the rest’ in Sao Paulo as he controlled the weekend.

“No rain in Sao Paulo, but still an exciting start of the race, exciting until the end actually. Some chaos, like is always the case here,” he said.

“Lando, really above the rest. He drove for his championship this weekend, scored all the points he could, not a wrong foot put, really, really good.”

Villeneuve also praised Antonelli and Verstappen’s races: “Antonelli, super impressive as well. Didn’t crack under pressure, ahead of his teammate. And what about Verstappen?

“Coming back, starting from the pits, an early puncture, and on the podium, and almost getting P2 as well. Very impressive, keeping his hope of a championship alive, super impressive.”

READ MORE: McLaren driver Lando Norris’ life outside F1 from parents to celebration

Lando Norris disappointed by McLaren’s pace to Max Verstappen in Sao Paulo

Overall, it was a dominant weekend from Norris, and a crucial one heading into the next race in Las Vegas. He has almost a race win’s worth of points advantage over his teammate, who offered little competition in Sao Paulo.

Piastri did not have the pace of Norris, who went out of sight of the Australian throughout the weekend. But despite his dominance, the Brit did not feel that he was the quickest on track.

Norris was ‘pretty disappointed’ about his race pace, saying that Verstappen was the fastest on Sunday. The Dutchman produced a herculean drive to finish P3 after starting from the pit lane.

With three races to go, the 25-year-old is in a strong position for the title. But Norris has rubbished claims that he has ‘nothing to lose’, citing that his upturn in form is down to his hard work on and off the track.