Lando Norris wins Brazilian Grand Prix Sprint as Oscar Piastri and Franco Colapinto crash

Follow us on Google Discover

Lando Norris has won the Brazilian Grand Prix Sprint race after Oscar Piastri crashed in the early stages of the event.

The Interlagos Circuit saw some rainfall earlier in the day, with some of the track still damp in places at the start of the Sprint race. Although some drivers ran inters during the reconnaissance laps, all cars opted for a mix of medium and soft slick tyres.

Carlos Sainz and Yuki Tsunoda started from the pit lane after both Williams and Red Bull opted to make set-up changes overnight. Sainz qualified plum last during Sprint qualifying, with championship leader Lando Norris putting his McLaren on pole.

Norris got a strong start off the line, with Kimi Antonelli in second being squeezed by Oscar Piastri and George Russell, but managing to keep his position. Fernando Alonso lost out to Max Verstappen in the first few corners, despite the Red Bull starting on the wetter side of the track.

Liam Lawson and Oliver Bearman came together in the opening stages, spinning the Haas and dropping him down to 18th, an incident which will be investigated after the race. Both drivers have been handed a five-second penalty for the Lap 1 tangle, as well as being given a single penalty point on their superlicences.

Drivers struggled with the damp track in the early stages of the race, including Piastri who took slightly too much kerb, which saw him lose the rear of his McLaren. Piastri went spinning into the barriers at Turn 3 on Lap 6, with Franco Colapinto and Nico Hulkenberg also crashing out behind the Aussie, triggering a red flag.

Hulkenberg was able to bring his Sauber back to the pit lane, but both Piastri and Colapinto were out of the Sprint. This could be crucial for Piastri’s championship fight, having also crashed out of the last Sprint race in Austin.

The almost 20-minute red flag allowed Sauber to repair Hulkenberg’s car, so he was able to continue from the back of the grid during the rolling start.

Alonso and Verstappen battled tightly during the restart, racing side by side down the main straight. The Aston Martin locked their tyres in the first corner, having to drop back behind the Red Bull, before trying an overtake again down the second straight.

Just three laps later, Alonso had dropped back from Verstappen but was forced to defend from Charles Leclerc behind. 10 laps later, Alonso locked his front tyres heading into Turn 1, giving Leclerc P5 with two laps remaining.

Antonelli put pressure on Norris in the closing laps, moving within DRS of the McLaren, although he was unable to get past.

The race ended under yellow flag conditions in sector one after Gabriel Bortoleto crashed into the barriers at Turn 1 after a close fight with Alex Albon on the final lap. It was a nasty shunt for the Sauber driver, who was airborne as he hit the wall.

It will be a difficult turnaround for the team to repair Bortoleto’s car for qualifying, with his chances to compete later today left in doubt.

Norris’ victory around Interlagos on Saturday has extended his championship lead to nine points, while Verstappen has reduced his gap to Piastri to 30 points.