2025 F1 Round 21, Brazilian Grand Prix Race: Norris Extends Lead with Victory as Verstappen Stages Stunning Pit-Lane Comeback

In the early hours of November 10, China Standard Time (UTC+8), the Brazilian Grand Prix, Round 21 of the 2025 F1 season, took place at Interlagos. Norris (McLaren) led throughout from pole position to claim his seventh victory of the season, while Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull) received two 10-second penalties and finished last among the 17 cars that completed the race.

Amid a chaotic mix of strategies and tyre choices, compounded by a double retirement for Ferrari, Norris completed a winning double following his Sprint victory and took a major step towards his first Drivers’ Championship. Yet the star of this race was Verstappen (Red Bull).

After suffering the first Q1 exit of his career caused purely by a lack of pace the previous day, Verstappen changed his setup under parc fermé conditions and replaced his entire power unit, starting from the pit lane. Despite an additional pit stop caused by a tyre blowout, he mounted a relentless charge to secure an extraordinary third-place podium finish.

Antonelli (Mercedes) held off Verstappen’s fierce pursuit by 0.362 seconds to claim a career-best second place, further enhancing his reputation as a rising star.

Piastri (McLaren), second in the championship, received a 10-second penalty for a collision with Antonelli and ultimately could not get past Russell (Mercedes), finishing fifth. The result gave Norris a lead over Piastri of roughly one race win (24 points), and over Verstappen of roughly two race wins (49 points), putting him firmly in control of the title fight.

The race was fraught from the start. Bortoleto (Sauber), under the eager gaze of his home Brazilian fans, crashed again on the opening lap of the Grand Prix after his Sprint accident. He complained over the radio that he had been “squeezed out by Stroll,” but the incident was not investigated, and his home race ended prematurely.

Moments later, Hamilton (Ferrari) ran into the rear of Colapinto (Alpine) on the main straight, damaging his front wing. He pitted for a replacement and dropped to the back of the field. The safety car was deployed early.

At Turn 1 immediately after the restart, Piastri attacked on the inside, his left-front wheel striking Antonelli’s right-rear. Antonelli was launched by the impact and then collected Leclerc (Ferrari) on the outside. The virtual safety car was deployed immediately, and Piastri was handed a 10-second penalty.

It was a nightmare day for Ferrari: Leclerc retired on the spot with damage to the left-front of his car from the incident, while Hamilton also suffered wing and floor damage and was forced to retire after the halfway point. Red Bull consequently overtook Ferrari in the Constructors’ Championship, dropping the team to third.

Starting 17th, Tsunoda climbed to 14th on the opening lap but fell to 18th after switching to medium tyres during the safety car period. He later received a 10-second penalty for contact with the rear of Stroll’s Aston Martin that sent the other driver into a spin.

He briefly broke into the top 10 on lap 19. On lap 24, he pitted to serve his penalty and fit another set of medium tyres, rejoining at the back in 18th. However, he received another 10-second penalty for “failing to serve the penalty correctly” and ultimately finished last. Without the combined 20 seconds in penalties, a seventh-place points finish would have been within reach.

Bearman (Haas) finished sixth, leading the midfield for the second consecutive race. Racing Bulls also delivered a strong performance: Lawson finished seventh, while Hadjar overtook Hülkenberg (Sauber) on the final lap to take eighth.

Hülkenberg stretched a set of soft tyres to a full 33 laps and finished ninth, while Gasly (Alpine) took 10th and the final point.