McLaren’s Lando Norris won the 2026 Sao Paulo Grand Prix, whilst Mercedes clinched a ninth constructors’ title.
Having lost the lead at the start on a damp circuit, Norris regained the lead after Andrea Kimi Antonelli spun on lap 20 on soft tyres, and sprinted away to a comfortable victory.
Max Verstappen drove from second-last on the grid to finish second ahead of Isack Hadjar in a two-three finish for Red Bull, ahead of George Russell and Antonelli as Mercedes wrapped up a ninth F1 Constructors’ title
Oscar Piastri, Charles Leclerc, Liam Lawson, Lewis Hamilton and Nico Hulkenberg rounded out the top ten.
In the drivers’ standings, Verstappen opened a 18-point lead over Hamilton in the race for the vice-champion title behind champion – Antonelli.
At lights out on a damp track, Norris lost the lead to Antonelli and Lawson whilst Hadjar and Russell improved to fourth and fifth, but further back Hamilton leapt from 20th up to ninth on the opening lap.
Verstappen meanwhile recovered to 14th by the end of the first lap and eventually climbed to fifth by the end of lap 11 with a pass on Lawson, who had lost second to Norris on lap six with Hadjar and Russell following through.
The track soon dried up sufficiently for soft tyres and Hamilton plus Carlos Sainz were the first to make the switch from intermediate tyres on lap 15, which led everyone else to follow suit across the next three laps.
Antonelli however struggled for tyre temperatures upon rejoining after his stop on lap 18 – having pitted at same time as Verstappen – and spun at the Senna S on lap 20, which handed the lead to Norris, and the Brit proceeded to scurry away and extend his lead.
The Italian soon lost second then third to Hadjar and Verstappen on laps 21 and 24 respectively, and the latter pair switched positions on lap 38 into the Senna S.
Hamilton meanwhile made a second pit stop on lap 39 which triggered the second pit-stop phase, with Verstappen the first frontrunner to pit on lap 46 but Norris managed to cover him off by pitting on lap 50 followed by Hadjar a lap later than Antonelli on lap 54.
Norris consequently retook the lead until a shower hit the circuit on lap 60 and quickly worsened to force everyone to pit across laps 62-64, during which Hamilton spun at the final corner on lap 63.
Norris nevertheless capitalised on a strategic error by Verstappen to cruise to his third Grand Prix victory of the season from the Dutchman, after Red Bull weren’t ready for the latter to stop on lap 62 and he had to stop a lap later alongside Norris.
F1 now heads to Las Vegas from Thursday 19 November – Saturday 21 November in what could be the season finale if Qatar and Abu Dhabi are subsequently cancelled, with Tuesday 10 November the deadline to greenlight a race at Imola, Italy, for Sunday 6 December.
| Position | Driver | Team | Laps | Time |
| 1 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 71 | 71 Laps |
| 2 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 71 | + 14.602 |
| 3 | Isack Hadjar | Red Bull | 71 | + 24.485 |
| 4 | George Russell | Mercedes | 71 | + 33.991 |
| 5 | Andrea Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 71 | + 36.017 |
| 6 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 71 | + 56.475 |
| 7 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 71 | + 73.586 |
| 8 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls | 71 | + 75.402 |
| 9 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 70 | + 1 Lap |
| 10 | Nico Hulkenberg | Audi | 70 | + 1 Lap |
| 11 | Arvid Lindblad | Racing Bulls | 70 | + 1 Lap |
| 12 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 70 | + 1 Lap |
| 13 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine | 70 | + 1 Lap |
| 14 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | 70 | + 1 Lap |
| 15 | Alex Albon | Williams | 70 | + 1 Lap |
| 16 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Audi | 70 | + 1 Lap |
| 17 | Oliver Bearman | Haas | 70 | + 1 Lap |
| 18 | Sergio Perez | Cadillac | 69 | + 2 Laps |
| 19 | Carlos Sainz | Williams | 69 | + 2 Laps |
| 20 | Rafael Camara | Haas | 69 | + 2 Laps |
| RET | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 30 | Mechanical |
| DNS | Valtteri Bottas | Cadillac | 0 | Wheel |
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