Norris Sparkles in Sao Paulo Despite Champagne Mishap and Firework Scare

On the podium at Interlagos, Lando Norris jumped off the top step and tried his usual trick of uncorking a champagne bottle by bashing it against the ground. As has happened before, he jumped too hard and smashed the bottle. He held the broken top up to the crowd, stepped backwards, and put the side of his head into the sparks from the fireworks at the front of the platform. Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar, the two Red Bull drivers beside him, showed no mercy and soaked him with their own bottles.

Norris was fine. McLaren team principal Andrea Stella confirmed it shortly afterwards, and the Briton showed no ill effects in his post-race interviews. It was the only real slip in a Sao Paulo Grand Prix that pushed the drivers to their limits. The race began on a wet track that dried progressively, and more rain came at the end. Norris called it one of the hardest races of the year in terms of focus, and therefore one of the best.

He started from pole but was slow away compared with Kimi Antonelli, who took the lead in his Mercedes and built an eight-second advantage in the first 13 laps. Then the track dried and Norris began to close. McLaren pitted him for slick tyres a lap before Antonelli, and he cut a seven-second deficit to nothing. Three laps later Antonelli, the new world champion, spun at Turn One under pressure from the old one, and Norris took a lead he never looked like losing. Antonelli said he did not know why he lost the rear so quickly, with no warning.

Norris said the team's execution and pit stops were among its best. Boxing a lap early put him right behind Antonelli and forced the Italian to push harder, and the mistake followed. He added that avoiding errors on a day like this is easy to get wrong, and that it was up there with the best performances he had ever had.

It marked a return to form for McLaren. They began the year slowly, having fallen behind in development of their 2026 car while they put resources into securing last year's title double. By mid-summer they had caught up, and Norris won two consecutive races either side of the summer break and was unlucky not to win in Madrid in September. Other teams then overtook them again, especially in qualifying. In Sao Paulo, some new parts, a circuit that suited the car and Norris's skill in the wet brought them back. Stella said Norris is among the best on the grid when conditions are mixed, sensitive to how much grip is available, and adaptable to a car that is never perfect.

Verstappen's drive was overshadowed by the win. An engine-use penalty sent him to the back, and he climbed from 21st on the grid to finish second. He was fifth and less than 15 seconds behind Antonelli when the stops for dry tyres loomed on lap 15, with 56 laps still to go. But on slicks he suffered extreme oversteer in high-speed corners and was no threat to Norris, even when heavy rain returned late. He wondered whether something had broken or the car had lost aerodynamic performance, and said there was more to come in a healthy car.

George Russell had moved from seventh to third, right behind Norris, and looked the likeliest threat on pace. Then he spun leaving the pits, and a 1.2-second gap to the McLaren became 20 seconds. Still, Russell's fourth and Antonelli's fifth clinched the constructors' championship for Mercedes, their ninth title but first since 2021.

Team boss Toto Wolff was cautious. Mercedes dominated the first half of the season but have not won recently, and upgrades a few races ago did not work as expected. He said Ferrari, McLaren, Red Bull and Mercedes can all win races, and that next year will be very difficult. He does not expect a return to the dominant era he enjoyed with Lewis Hamilton, and sees an era of tighter competition ahead.