Lando Norris continued his remarkable run of form in Formula 1, taking pole position at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix after winning the sprint race earlier in the weekend. The McLaren driver has built a significant momentum advantage over team-mate and title rival Oscar Piastri, consolidating his lead in the 2025 F1 Drivers’ Championship.

Norris Confident After Strong Run

Reflecting on his performance, Norris highlighted his improved consistency and reduction of errors:

“Before, earlier in the season, I would just have weaknesses, and I feel like I’ve… lessened them. They’re not like 0.1 seconds now — it’s two hundredths. When I can put together the good parts and have those not-so-bad parts, things go very well.”

Since the start of September, Norris has gained 43 points on Piastri over five grand prix weekends and a sprint race, retaking the championship lead in Mexico with his biggest victory margin of the season. He now heads to the Sao Paulo Grand Prix with a nine-point lead and every chance of extending it.

Qualifying Drama and Sprint Race Incident

Norris’ qualifying session showcased his resilience. After locking up into Turn One on his first run and temporarily placing 10th, he bounced back to beat Piastri by 0.375 seconds, a significant margin on the relatively short Interlagos circuit.

Ironically, Norris also indirectly contributed to Piastri’s sprint race crash. While running across a kerb at Turn Three, he displaced water from a puddle onto the track. Piastri, following the same line, lost control and crashed out. Norris explained:

“It’s a kerb you always use in quali… when it’s wet, you kind of want to stay off all the kerbs. I ran a little bit wide, and I saw the water come on to the track. That was it.”

Mercedes driver George Russell joked about the incident:

“A little bit like Mario Kart when you throw the banana out. Smartest guy on the grid, this guy!”

Piastri, recovering from his crash, admitted the incident was unfortunate but part of racing:

“I got clearly splashed up by a lot of water… a bit unfortunate that the consequences were so big.”

Piastri Under Pressure

Piastri has struggled to match Norris’ recent form. Despite his best efforts in qualifying, he was leapfrogged by Norris, Kimi Antonelli, and Charles Leclerc, highlighting a potential pressure factor in his championship challenge.

“Things are not flowing that easily at the moment… I still have the belief that I can go out and win races and win the championship, but it’s not coming as easy as I’d like,” Piastri said.

He acknowledged the challenges ahead in the grand prix, focusing on passing opportunities and tyre strategy to minimize further damage.

Norris Eyes Tough Grand Prix Battle

Looking ahead to Sunday’s race, Norris anticipates a competitive battle with young rivals like Antonelli and Piastri:

“I learned they’re pretty quick… it’s going to be a big challenge tomorrow. We have to see what the weather’s going to do again, but so far this weekend’s been clean. So, I’m hoping they don’t ruin it.”

Antonelli, in his maiden season, expressed optimism that cooler conditions could favor Mercedes, but acknowledged the difficulty of running in dirty air.

“Hopefully, we can have a strong pace and put pressure on them and hopefully we can fight for the win.”

Norris’ dominant qualifying performance and sprint victory signal that he is in peak form heading into one of the final rounds of the 2025 F1 season, with the championship fight still wide open.