Lando Norris wins São Paulo Grand Prix as Max Verstappen charges from 21st

Lando Norris won the São Paulo Grand Prix at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace in an incident-filled race on 8 November 2026, outpacing the field to take the victory. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen recovered from a 21st-place start to finish second.

Kimi Antonelli led the early phase after beating Norris off the line but suffered tyre-temperature problems after his first pit stop, going off track twice and slipping to fifth. His teammate George Russell finished fourth, and those placings were sufficient for Mercedes to secure the Formula One constructors’ world championship. The race featured mixed wet and dry conditions and several key strategic calls.

Norris controlled the race once he inherited the lead, maintaining a commanding gap in changing conditions and finishing 14 seconds clear of the chasing pack. The McLaren displayed strong pace in clean air, and Norris converted pole position into race advantage, benefitting from the final upgrade package brought to the round.

Verstappen’s recovery came after he took a full set of new engine components and was required to start from 21st on the grid; he had climbed to second by just past the halfway point. The Dutch driver’s drive added to a series of notable comebacks at Interlagos cited in the race report, including previous recoveries to podium finishes and a win from deep on the grid.

Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar completed the podium in third, with Oscar Piastri taking sixth and Charles Leclerc seventh. Lewis Hamilton, who began 20th after a grid penalty for an engine change and was competing in his 400th Grand Prix, advanced to ninth place for Ferrari.

Mercedes’ championship is their ninth constructors’ title and, according to the report, the team’s first drivers’ and constructors’ double since 2020. The season overview in the report credits Mercedes with a dominant opening half, six victories to start the year and 12 wins from 20 meetings, with Antonelli credited with nine wins and Russell three, while rivals McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull closed the gap later in the campaign.

For McLaren and Norris the win is described as a significant on-track result: it is Norris’s third victory of the season, his second consecutive win in Brazil and the 14th of his career, and the team will be buoyed by the result as they look to 2027.