Lando Norris On Getaway After Successful Weekend At Interlagos, Brazilian GP

 

Max Verstappen might have just slipped from the F1 Championship title race, leaving Lando Norris in the front row, having trailed by 49 points after McLaren won the Brazilian Grand Prix. 

Conversely, the Brazilian GP final result showed the brilliance of the F1 defending champion. Verstappen started from the pit lane and improved to finish in P3 behind Kimi Antonelli. Besides, he qualified for the final in P16 after dropping out in Q1. It was his first time being eliminated in Q1 due to pace. 

In fact, McLaren's pit stop timing was their saving grace from the Dutch driver, giving Norris the advantage; otherwise, Verstappen would have surprised his rivals. On the final lap, Antonelli had to fend him off, blocking him from speeding by in the corners. The Brazilian driver did really well to claim his first podium appearance at Interlagos. 

Kimi had an impressive weekend, both at the practice session and at the Sprint race. He was a good contender, chasing down Norris in the Sprint. However, Norris kept his advantage over the Mercedes driver through the sessions. Another interesting thing is that the Brazilian outpaced his teammate, George Russell.  Kimi did that through the sessions. 

However, it was only Verstappen who lost points at Interlagos; Oscar Piastri suffered a setback after being served a 10-second penalty. He served the penalty in the pit lane, and that really impacted his fate at Interlagos, costing him points in the F1 Championship title race. He is second with 30 points behind Norris. 

The Ferrari duo had a terrible race. Both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc DNF after the former lost his front wing on Lap 1 before both were retired from the race.