Norris wins rain-hit Brazilian GP as Verstappen delivers comeback masterclass

The newly crowned F1 champion made a sensational start to the Brazilian Grand Prix, taking the lead from pole-sitter Lando Norris, who endured a disastrous getaway at Interlagos and also lost second place to Liam Lawson at Turn 1.

While Antonelli led the field ahead of the Racing Bulls driver, Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen were making impressive progress from the back of the grid. The Ferrari driver climbed to tenth place, just behind Oscar Piastri, with Verstappen following closely in 11th.

The Dutchman soon stepped up his charge through the field, overtaking Hamilton before pulling off a remarkable move to pass both Piastri and Alex Albon in one go. By lap five, Verstappen was already running seventh, rapidly closing in on the battle for the podium positions.

Meanwhile, Norris began recovering from his poor start, reclaiming second place from Lawson on lap six as the Racing Bulls driver struggled for grip. The McLaren driver then set his sights on race leader Antonelli, while Lawson continued to slip down the order, losing further positions to Isack Hadjar and George Russell shortly afterwards.

After his impressive start, Hamilton suffered a seemingly inexplicable drop down the order, losing positions to several drivers, including his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc. The seven-time world champion then gambled on a switch to slick tyres on lap 15, despite the track still being damp.

The gamble paid off for Hamilton, who gained several seconds on those who remained on intermediate tyres and climbed from 14th to 11th place.

Meanwhile, George Russell made a costly mistake at the pit lane exit, spinning his Mercedes before scraping it against the barrier while attempting to straighten the car. Fortunately for the Briton, the incident did not result in any significant damage.

Drama then struck race leader Antonelli on lap 22, who spun at Turn 1 shortly after reporting a suspension issue to his race engineer. Norris took full advantage to reclaim the lead, while the Italian managed to get going again without sustaining any damage. However, he soon lost another position to Isack Hadjar, dropping to third place.

Antonelli's concerns were far from over, as he returned to the radio shortly afterwards to report that his Mercedes was pulling more strongly to one side than the other, suggesting that the suspension issue was continuing to affect the car.

On lap 39, Red Bull instructed Isack Hadjar to swap positions with his teammate, allowing the Dutchman to move up to second place. Verstappen then set his sights on race leader Lando Norris in the battle for victory ten seconds ahead.

Rain returned once again on lap 61, catching out Hamilton, who spun but managed to avoid the barriers. With conditions deteriorating, the entire field switched to intermediate tyres for the final dash to the chequered flag.

On lap 64, Mercedes instructed Antonelli to give up his position to teammate George Russell, with the Italian complying without any resistance. Despite the tricky conditions, every driver managed to reach the chequered flag, with Norris taking victory ahead of the two Red Bull drivers.