Oscar Piastri let title-chasing Lando Norris through to win the Sprint and give his McLaren team-mate a potentially crucial extra point in his championship chase against Max Verstappen at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Verstappen finished third after a late overtake on Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc but is under investigation by the stewards for an alleged Virtual Safety Car infringement on the final lap when running close behind Piastri.
Norris first-ever Sprint win means he has trimmed his Red Bull rival’s lead in the Drivers’ Championship by two to 45 points ahead of Sunday’s main race – for which the Dutchman carries a five-place grid penalty for an engine change.
Having suggested after qualifying ahead of Norris on Sprint pole that he would be willing to cede the Saturday win to his team-mate, Piastri led the race’s first 21 laps before duly letting the Briton through down Interlagos’ back straight in a choreographed switch of position overseen by the McLaren pit wall.
“Not proud about it, but we worked well as a team together, so I thank Oscar,” said Norris afterwards.
“We’ve done a great job as a team. Today was the result that we wanted. Oscar deserved it, but we did what we had to do.”
Just before that switch, Verstappen had started to look as though he could threaten Norris’ second place and McLaren’s one-two having overtaken Leclerc into Turn Four on lap 18 after a race-long pursuit of the Ferrari driver finally paid off.
With Norris soon eased through to the lead, Verstappen ultimately finished on Piastri’s tail for second place.
However, the Dutchman’s third place is at risk in a stewards’ investigation ahead of main qualifying at 6pm, live on Sky Sports F1, over an alleged Virtual Safety Car infringement from the Red Bull driver on the final lap when he drew up partially alongside Piastri before Turn Four just as the controlled-speed period was poised to end.
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Karun Chandhok was at the SkyPad to assess whether Max Verstappen’s attempted overtake on Oscar Piastri was fair after the virtual safety car ended.
Under a VSC – which was called here when Nico Hulkenberg’s Haas stopped in what was deemed a dangerous position at the side of the track – all drivers have to adhere to a mandated time on their steering wheel, designed to keep the gaps as they were before the caution period without the need for a full physical Safety Car before racing resumes.
Verstappen did not overtake the McLaren and then appeared to drop back to re-establish his previous deficit once the VSC ended, but stewards will now determine whether that still constitutes a time penalty.
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Oscar Piastri held on to the lead from McLaren team-mate Lando Norris on the opening lap of the Sprint at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
With Leclerc having to settle for fourth after Ferrari’s pace of recent races did not materialise as expected in at least the short 24-lap Sprint, Carlos Sainz was fifth in the sister car with George Russell sixth in the lead Mercedes.
Pierre Gasly held his grid position of seventh to give Alpine two crucial extra points amid their disappointing season, while Sergio Perez finally had something to smile about in the second Red Bull as he raced well from 13th to the final Sprint point in eighth.
Perez’s recovery from his Sprint Qualifying disappointment included a move on RB’s Liam Lawson into Turn One, a week after the pair had a heated battle on-track in Mexico.
Lewis Hamilton finished where he qualified – 11th – after a poor start saw him lose early ground and the Mercedes driver will now hope for better as attention turns to the main Grand Prix.
How McLaren just judged it right to prioritise Norris and secure one-two
From his impressive pole, Piastri covered Norris off at the start by cutting left to move across the front of his team-mate and, whether pre-arranged coordination or not, the McLarens successfully maintained their one-two formation through the often-dramatic opening lap at Interlagos.
The same was true for Leclerc and Verstappen in third and fourth respectively behind, although the Red Bull briefly sensed a chance for an inside move on the Ferrari into Turn One before locking up on the brakes and losing momentum through the Senna S.
Running within one-second DRS range of his team-mate on lap six, Norris told the pit wall over team radio that “I’m close” to which his race engineer replied that “we understand, just keep an eye on Leclerc behind”.
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Lando Norris said he wasn’t proud of his Sprint win, which his McLaren teammate switched for the lead, while Oscar Piastri admitted it was always in the plan.
One lap later and a confused-sounding Norris came back on the radio to say: “I’m not sure what I’m doing here mate. We spoke about this before.”
But with the McLarens unable to shake off the Ferrari and Red Bull behind, who were running in increasingly close company themselves with Verstappen appearing to have more pace, and then Norris then making a small error himself, the Briton’s race engineer Will Joseph said they would wait to make the switch on the final lap.
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Lando Norris claimed his first ever Sprint victory around Interlagos ahead of McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri, while title rival Max Verstappen finished third.
As it transpired, with Hulkenberg dropping out on lap 21 and parking in a place that could have risked a Safety Car – and therefore the prohibiting of overtaking – McLaren took their chance at the start of lap 22 to switch their drivers’ order while the now-second-placed Verstappen just out of DRS range as Piastri eased off the throttle down the backstraight and Norris swept by.
“We were monitoring the gaps to Leclerc before and Verstappen to see if we could have executed an easy overtake between Lando and Oscar, but actually the gap never materialised, so we needed to watch for a case of Safety Car or Virtual Safety Car,” explained McLaren team boss Andrea Stella to Sky Sports F1.
“It actually appeared due to the incident with the car stopping on track, so we immediately executed. It was well done by the team, but it would not be possible without both drivers working so cohesively.
“We are definitely very happy with the conversations that are happening right now, and with the support that Oscar is giving to Lando. This is the best result we could have for both championships.”
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Max Verstappen was pleased with the performance of his Red Bull after finishing third in the Sprint behind the McLaren pair of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
In addition to the small latest boost to Norris’ hopes of catching Verstappen, McLaren increased their lead over Ferrari to 35 points, and over reigning champions Red Bull to a mighty 62 points, in their quest for a first Constructors’ Championship title since 1998.
Sky Sports F1’s live Sao Paulo GP schedule
Saturday November 2
5pm: Sao Paulo Qualifying build-up
6pm: Sao Paulo GP Qualifying
8pm: Ted’s Qualifying Notebook
Sunday November 3
3.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday: Sao Paulo GP build-up
5pm: THE SAO PAULO GRAND PRIX
7pm: Chequered Flag: Sao Paulo GP reaction
8pm: Ted’s Notebook
Formula 1’s Americas triple header concludes this weekend with the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, with every session live on Sky Sports F1. Stream every F1 race and more with a NOW Sports Month Membership – No contract, cancel anytime