McLaren’s Lando Norris secured his third win of the season on Sunday by beating Max Verstappen to victory at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

Norris started on pole position but lost the lead of the wet-dry-wet race to new world champion Kimi Antonelli on the opening lap. But after an early pit stop for dry tyres, he regained control when Mercedes’ Antonelli spun at the first corner.

Verstappen, meanwhile, claimed his eighth consecutive podium with another eye-catching drive in tricky conditions at Interlagos, while his Red Bull team-mate Isack Hadjar finished third.

Here are my ratings for how the drivers performed across the whole weekend in Brazil.

Lando Norris – 10/10

Pretty difficult to ask for much more for the McLaren driver. Fastest in first practice on Friday, brilliant in the wet to take pole and then kept his head through constantly changing conditions to win comfortably. Losing the lead at the start was only a minor blemish.

Max Verstappen – 9.5/10

Another extraordinary recovery drive in the Red Bull. Fastest in final practice and then charged from 21st to second, making up 10 places almost immediately, and once again looking completely at home in difficult conditions.

Isack Hadjar – 9/10

One of his strongest weekends all season. Qualified well, ran with team-mate Verstappen for much of the race and delivered another podium despite a few mistakes along the way. Had the pace to make Red Bull think before eventually letting Verstappen through.

George Russell – 7.5/10

The pace was excellent all weekend and second in qualifying showed what was possible, even if his engine penalty dropped him to seventh. Spinning his Mercedes on the pit exit was a huge error and probably cost him a podium, but recovering to fourth was a very strong response.

Kimi Antonelli – 6.5/10

For the opening stint this looked like the perfect first race as world champion. A brilliant start and built a healthy lead, but spinning it away after switching to the slick tyres unlocked a messy afternoon.

Oscar Piastri – 6/10

Another weekend where things never really clicked. His qualifying result was compromised by the timing of the red flag, but he was a long way from Norris’ pace in the race and finished almost a minute behind his McLaren team-mate.

Liam Lawson – 8.5/10

An excellent weekend in the Racing Bulls. Qualified fifth, started third and even ran second during the opening stages before eventually slipping backwards as the race developed.

Charles Leclerc – 6.5/10

A very good recovery from 14th on the grid after his power-unit penalty. Qualified fourth on pure pace and worked his way through to eighth. He passed Lawson towards the end but was given a five-second penalty for hitting the New Zealander, which means he finishes behind him.

Lewis Hamilton – 6.5/10

The opening few laps were vintage Hamilton as he charged from 20th to ninth, but the progress then stalled. He struggled for pace in the Ferrari on the intermediate tyres, and a late spin capped a race where more looked possible after such a promising start.

Nico Hulkenberg – 7.5/10

Outstanding in the wet qualifying session to put Audi sixth before penalties promoted him to fourth. A 10-second time penalty for going off track in his battle with Franco Colapinto hurt his Sunday, but he still came away with the final point.



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