Norris masters changing conditions in São Paulo as Mercedes seal constructors’ title

Lando Norris lost the lead at the start and faced a second downpour at the finish. Between them, he built the advantage that carried him to victory in São Paulo, while Mercedes secured the 2026 constructors’ championship on a difficult afternoon for its drivers.

Norris finished 14.602 seconds ahead of Max Verstappen, who climbed from 21st on the grid, with Isack Hadjar completing a Red Bull double podium. George Russell and Kimi Antonelli were fourth and fifth: enough for Mercedes to take its ninth constructors’ title and its first since 2021.

From wet to dry and back again

The weekend had already tested the field. Norris set the fastest time in Friday’s opening practice, Antonelli topped the second session and Verstappen led final practice by just 0.025 seconds. Heavy rain then interrupted qualifying; Norris took pole ahead of Russell and Antonelli, although Russell’s power-unit penalty moved him to seventh on the grid.

The track was wet again on Sunday, with every starter on intermediates. Antonelli spun on a reconnaissance lap but returned after precautionary checks and took his place on the front row. Cadillac’s Valtteri Bottas did not start: his team could not remove the right-rear wheel nut.

Antonelli made the better getaway and led into Turn 1. Liam Lawson swept around Norris through the opening corners to take second, leaving the pole-sitter third. Further back, Lewis Hamilton climbed from 20th to ninth on the opening lap and Verstappen from 21st to 13th.

As the circuit dried, the intermediates began to suffer. Norris recovered second from Lawson, while Verstappen reached eighth by lap five, passing Oscar Piastri and Alexander Albon in quick succession, before advancing further. Hamilton’s early charge faded with his tyres; he also returned a place to Oliver Bearman after an off-track pass. The stewards later found Hamilton had gained no advantage and took no further action.

Hamilton was among the first to switch to soft tyres. Norris, Russell and Hadjar stopped at the end of lap 16; Antonelli and Verstappen followed a lap later. Norris had been about seven seconds behind Antonelli before stopping, but the gap was roughly two seconds when the Mercedes rejoined. Russell spun at the pit exit and lost time while recovering, brushing the wall.

Antonelli still led, but his advantage did not last. He reported unusual behaviour from the car and spun at Turn 1 on lap 20, handing Norris first place. Hadjar passed the Mercedes after another wide moment, and Verstappen moved ahead after a further excursion. Antonelli later said the rear had felt unstable and that the spin flat-spotted his tyres.

Hadjar then ran second until Red Bull instructed him to let Verstappen through. The change was completed on lap 38, with Norris 9.2 seconds clear. Verstappen stopped for fresh softs before Norris; McLaren said its lead gave it time to watch his pace. The team considered that a fresh soft could handle light rain better than an old one, provided it was up to temperature. Norris stopped on lap 49 and regained the lead as the subsequent stops played out.

The rain returned before the end. Russell and Fernando Alonso were among the first to switch back to intermediates at the end of lap 61, with Norris stopping a lap later. The podium order survived the final wet phase, but it was not uneventful: Hamilton spun, and Mercedes asked Antonelli to let Russell back through after Russell’s earlier tyre change. Norris completed 71 laps for his third Grand Prix win of the season.

Recoveries and penalties

Norris’s victory was also his 50th career podium, according to McLaren. Team principal Andrea Stella credited the upgrades, set-up, strategy and pit work, while saying the low temperatures had favoured McLaren. Piastri recovered from tenth on the grid to sixth, passing Lawson during the dry phase; McLaren said traffic restricted his progress.

Verstappen’s 19-place net gain came after a power-unit penalty sent him near the back. He said the car had substantial oversteer on slicks but improved again on intermediates. Hadjar, who started fifth, said he struggled in the middle of the opening wet stint but felt competitive on softs. Their second and third places brought Red Bull 33 points.

Russell later said he may have taken too much risk at the pit exit. Antonelli set the fastest race lap on fresh softs but received a five-second post-race penalty for an unsafe release into Franco Colapinto’s path. It did not change his fifth place.

Lawson started third, briefly ran second and crossed the line behind Charles Leclerc. The stewards then gave Leclerc five seconds for contact at Turn 12, finding it helped him close on Lawson and subsequently pass. Lawson was restored to seventh and Leclerc classified eighth. Leclerc argued the minor contact had no obvious sporting consequence; the stewards disagreed.

Leclerc had started 14th and stayed on one set of softs before the final switch to intermediates. Ferrari team-mate Hamilton finished ninth on his 400th Grand Prix start. Team principal Fred Vasseur said both drivers had struggled to get their tyres into the right operating window.

Behind them, Nico Hülkenberg recovered to tenth after passing Arvid Lindblad. The Audi driver had served a ten-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage while passing Colapinto; Audi’s Allan McNish said Hülkenberg had been pushed wide. Lindblad rose from 18th to 11th for Racing Bulls and said wet-weather drivability problems made their late fight harder. Home driver Gabriel Bortoleto finished 16th for Audi after starting 19th.

Alonso finished 12th for Aston Martin after a battle with Albon. Team-mate Lance Stroll was the only starter not to finish; the team said a battery issue ended his race. Alpine’s Colapinto and Pierre Gasly were 13th and 14th. Gasly had to brake when Albon rejoined the track, an incident for which the Williams driver received five seconds. Albon finished 15th, while team-mate Carlos Sainz was 19th after staying out hoping for a Safety Car.

Bearman started a career-best sixth but finished 17th. A slow first stop dropped him to 18th, and Haas principal Ayao Komatsu said damage to the rear impact structure had substantially affected it. Bearman also received five seconds for an unsafe release into Leclerc’s path. Sergio Pérez finished 18th for Cadillac after a slow stop, while home debutant Rafael Câmara brought the other Haas home 20th.

Mercedes complete the double

Antonelli had already secured the drivers’ championship the previous weekend. In São Paulo, fourth and fifth earned Mercedes 22 points, taking it to 652 against Ferrari’s 510. The 142-point lead exceeded the 129 available over the final three races, making the constructors’ title secure.