Davidson calls Norris a ‘formidable world champion’ after São Paulo win

Anthony Davidson called Lando Norris a “formidable world champion” after the McLaren driver won the São Paulo Grand Prix, saying the race showed why he carries the number one on his car this year.

The victory came at the end of a weekend disrupted by heavy rain, a red-flagged qualifying session and aquaplaning on Interlagos's tricky surface. Norris finished 14.602 seconds ahead of Max Verstappen, who recovered from a difficult qualifying session to take second.

Davidson said bad weather demanded quick decisions and instinct, and that Norris was among the best in the business in those conditions. He added that it was easy to credit McLaren's upgrades for Norris being near the front, but that Norris's team-mate was another point of comparison; Davidson felt Norris was “dragging that car around” fairly regularly.

Damon Hill also praised Norris on the Sky F1 podcast. He pointed to the difficulty and risk of the weekend, saying Norris kept everything clean throughout it. Hill said the race reminded people why Norris was world champion.