Sao Paulo (AFP) – The British driver Lando Norris (McLaren) won this Sunday the Brazilian Formula 1 Grand Prix, held at the Interlagos circuit in Sao Paulo, where the Mercedes team won the 2026 constructors' title.

First modification: 11/08/2026 - 20:19 Last modification: 11/08/2026 - 21:17

Norris, Formula 1 champion in 2025 and who started in pole position, was the first to cross the finish line while Brazilian soccer star Neymar waved the black and white checkered flag.

The 26-year-old Briton was accompanied on his 50th podium by the two Red Bull drivers. The Dutchman Max Verstappen was second, after staging a memorable comeback, and the Frenchman Isack Hadjar, third.

"The most important thing today was to stay calm, not make mistakes, and I achieved what I wanted. It's fantastic to be on the top of the podium, and how great to have achieved it at Interlagos," said Norris after the 14th victory of his career.

Mercedes signs double

The fourth place of the British George Russell and the fifth of Kimi Antonelli in Interlagos were enough for Mercedes to take the constructors' title early, ahead of Ferrari.

Antonelli started second in the Grand Prix in which he debuted as the youngest Formula 1 champion. The Italian won the 2026 crown a week ago, in Mexico, at 20 years and 68 days old.

The one obtained in Brazil was the ninth title for the German brand, the first since 2021 and which ends the reign of McLaren, champion for the last two seasons.

With the nine trophies, the Silver Arrows equal Williams as the third-largest winner in motorsport's top category, behind Ferrari (16) and McLaren (10).

"I don't think that, in these times, with the level of professionalism that the teams now have, we can repeat what we did: eight championships in a row," from 2014 to 2021, said Mercedes director Toto Wolff.

"You've seen how difficult it was today. Next year there will be three or four teams competing for the championship," he added.

Rain Truce

The race in the Latin American giant, the twentieth of 23 events, began without rain.

After heavy rainfall on Saturday, which forced the qualifying session to be suspended for an hour and a half, the drivers went out with intermediate tyres, on a wet asphalt and with the risk of precipitation at any time.

Norris was overtaken on the same starting straight by Antonelli. After the first corner, the Briton was also overtaken by the New Zealander Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls), although without losing his cool, he took advantage of his rivals' mistakes to regain the lead.

The wet track caused several spins and driver exits, including one by Antonelli on lap 19. Norris took advantage of this to regain the lead, which he no longer relinquished.

For his part, Verstappen once again staged a great comeback. Starting second from last, from 21st position, the four-time world champion made a great start and climbed positions until finishing second.

Verstappen does his thing

Two years ago, the Dutchman managed to win in Brazil after starting 17th. Verstappen is second in the current drivers' championship, with an advantage of 17 and 18 points over Russell and Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari), who finished ninth.

"It was a very demanding race! The first laps were fundamental. We did very well with the intermediate tires, but then not so much. Still, starting from P21 and finishing on the podium is a good result," said Mad Max.

The rain only made an appearance on the 50th lap. First in a very timid way, although with ten laps remaining they pushed hard again on Interlagos, without having a real impact on the final classification.

The two local drivers failed to score points. Highly acclaimed by the public, Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi) was 16th, while Rafael Câmara (Haas) finished last (20th) in his first race in the Big Top.

After the Brazilian GP and with the drivers' and constructors' world championship already decided, F1 will travel to Las Vegas and end the season with the Qatar and Abu Dhabi GPs.

© 2026 AFP

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