Five Takeaways: São Paulo Grand Prix
Just a few days ago, it was announced that Interlagos will remain on the Formula One calendar until at least 2035. Want proof that the circuit deserves to stick around? Look no further than the headlines and action of this year’s São Paulo Grand Prix.
A back-to-back winner, charges from the back of the grid, and a new team crowned champions of the sport. Here are DIVEBOMB’s five takeaways from the 2026 São Paulo Grand Prix in Brazil.
Norris weathers the storm; claims back-to-back wins in São Paulo
The 2025 world champion extended his back-to-back wins in Brazil as Lando Norris took his second São Paulo Grand Prix win in a row on Sunday. Along with the building win streak at the venue, Norris now holds the longest streak for qualifying on pole position in Brazil. After his stunning, rain-soaked pole lap on Saturday, his number of consecutive times on the front row has risen to three.
Although Norris crossed the line first at the conclusion of the Grand Prix, he had a rather rocky start during the opening stages of Sunday’s race. The Briton was initially quicker off the line, but Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli was able to make a quick overtake on Norris into Turn 1. Before he could recover from the sudden loss of place, Norris was overtaken by Liam Lawson, who had lined up third on the grid.
As the track began to dry out, radio chatter suggested that drivers were going to consider pitting for slicks. Lewis Hamilton was the first to pull the trigger on the slick tyres, but McLaren responded quickly after, bringing Norris in for the fresher softs.
Antonelli pitted a lap after, cutting the gap between the two drivers down dramatically. Much closer now, Norris was able to heap the pressure onto the new world champion, with Antonelli spinning out at Turn 1 due to a suspected balance issue. Norris went on to storm through the rest of the race, enjoying both the conditions and his newly upgraded McLaren. He wound up finishing 14 seconds clear of Max Verstappen, who finished second.
“It was a very tough race – very, very tough,” Norris concluded after the race. “Obviously, not the best of launches off the line, but a lot of challenges today, obviously, with the conditions.
“The main thing today was I just kept it cool, and I didn't make any mistakes. I had the pace when I needed to, so it was good. Nice to be back on the top step, and what a place to do it at as well.”
Mercedes clinches Constructor’s Championship despite “frustrating” Grand Prix
After a dominant season, all eyes were on the Silver Arrows to finally be crowned the 2026 Constructor’s Champions. Long story short, that feat was certainly accomplished. The twist? It was a rather strange race day for the Mercedes duo in Brazil.
The problems started with George Russell, who’s already been having a generally unlucky season. The Briton was set to qualify on pole for Sunday’s Grand Prix, but his lap was called off halfway through, in combination with a pre-determined grid penalty of five places. Starting in seventh place, Russell made up ground quickly, but disaster struck when he went in for a tyre switch. After successfully changing to slick tyres, Russell was making his way back out of the pits when he suddenly spun in the pit exit due to the wet track. While his car remained undamaged, Russell had subsequently lost several positions with the mishap.
He was able to recover up to fourth, but the Mercedes driver still stated after the race that he had “no idea what happened on that pit exit.”
On the other side of the garage, it was Antonelli’s first race as a world champion. The Italian started second on the grid, and held the race lead for a time after passing Norris early. Things didn’t start going awry until after the first pit window, when Antonelli, like most others, made the change onto the slick tyres.
Admittedly, Mercedes had opted for the tyre change a lap after McLaren had pitted Norris, so Antonelli came out of the pits with the papaya car of Norris right on his tail. The pressure was already intense, but things only went from bad to worse as Antonelli spun dramatically at Turn 1, allowing Norris to fly straight by. The struggles continued, with Antonelli reporting that his car felt like it was “steering by itself.”
With no clear issue on the car showing up on the Mercedes data, Antonelli’s pace forced him to settle for fifth behind his teammate. Following the race, he was hit with a five-second time penalty for an unsafe release, but due to the gap he had built, Antonelli retained fifth place.
“I’m extremely disappointed with the race, but I’m going to put it aside, because today is a great day for the team,” Antonelli said after the race. “They all deserve it, an incredible group of people.
So yes, it was a bit of a bumpy race, but no matter, as the two drivers took their places for the team celebrations. This year’s constructor’s title marks Mercedes’ first since 2021.
Verstappen roars from the back of the grid, finishes P2
When it was initially announced that Red Bull’s Verstappen would be starting from the back of the grid for Sunday’s Grand Prix, many already knew they would be in for a treat. After all, starting from the back has never stopped the Dutchman from reaching the top step once the flag has fallen.
Verstappen did not take part in the final stages of Saturday’s qualifying in Brazil, already knowing that he would be serving a grid drop. The penalty was dealt for receiving several new power unit components. Still, recovering from such a deficit proved little difficulty for Verstappen, who finished second. During the opening laps of the race, he was able to climb into the points quickly as others struggled, and had just made it into podium contention when the first pit window opened up. After moving into second place, Verstappen was unable to make any further gains, with potential damage to his Red Bull cancelling any plan of taking on Norris for the win.
"Yeah, it was a challenging race," Verstappen said when asked about the result. "I think the first few laps, of course, were very important.
"Unfortunately, once I got into P2, I couldn't really make any inroads. So we have to understand what went wrong there. But, I mean, starting P21 and being on the podium in second, I think, is a very good result."
Starting twenty-first and winding up one step off the race win? We’d say that is a very, very good result.
Ferrari: Missing in action
In a weekend where they could offer a final attack against Mercedes for the Constructors’ title, the Ferrari duo scored only six points total.
After the drama of last week in Mexico City, it was imperative that the duo of Charles Leclerc and Hamilton produce a cohesive, positive result this week in Brazil. Unfortunately, a good result was hard to come by this time around, as both drivers started with power unit grid penalties that they never quite recovered from.
Hamilton did have a promising start, moving up 11 places from twentieth place on the opening lap of his 400th F1 start. As the intermediate tyre started to quickly fall away, Hamilton expressed repeatedly on the radio that the team should pull the trigger early and opt for slicks. Eventually, Ferrari obliged, giving Hamilton the fresher rubber and a clear advantage as he powered through the field.
Hamilton had been under investigation earlier for leaving the track and gaining an advantage, causing the team to have him give back the position to Haas’ Ollie Bearman. Although rapid, that setback combined with a spin later in the race contributed to a ninth-place finish at the end of the race.
For Leclerc, things were generally uneventful, with the Monegasque gaining positions through pit stops, but not making it very far up the order. Leclerc did eventually pass Lawson for seventh position, but he was hit with a five-second penalty post-race for making contact with the Racing Bulls driver ahead of his overtake.
Talking to media after the race, Leclerc referred to the day as a “complete disaster”, marking it the second race in a row that left Ferrari scratching its head.
Hadjar finishes third, cements second double podium for Red Bull
Red Bull had a “simply lovely” weekend, not only because of Verstappen’s second-place finish, but also because that podium was shared with their other driver as well. Isack Hadjar came home in third, marking the team’s second double podium of the season.
The Frenchman started in fifth place, moving up to second position during the middle phase of the Grand Prix. Although he had to swap positions with Verstappen behind, following orders from the team, Hadjar continued to have strong pace for the remainder of the race. Aside from that, the main task at hand was keeping all four wheels within the lines, something that many other drivers struggled to do throughout the Grand Prix. Thankfully for Hadjar, he was able to keep it clean and clinch the final spot on the podium.
"It was so, so difficult, so challenging, especially switching from the intermediate to the soft tyre, avoiding the traps," he explained post-race. "It was so, so difficult, so challenging, especially switching from the intermediate to the soft tyre, avoiding the traps.”
Referencing a bit of a sticky pit stop towards the end, Hadjar joked that he “nearly shunted” his pit crew when boxing.
“They kept their calm, and the pit stop was fast. So big thanks to the boys!” he commented.
Looking Ahead
That wraps up the F1 triple header, with Brazil giving us plenty to reflect on. As the teams head into their week off, more upgrades await us in the next round at Las Vegas.
With both the driver’s championship and constructor’s decided, who finishes second? Verstappen continues his strong second half of the season, and Russell has moved up a place on Hamilton in the standings. Surely, Las Vegas will bring even more implications in that tight-knit battle.
Edited by Marit Everett
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