After a rainy and chaotic sprint race yesterday, the main Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos was dry and expected to be calmer. The track was in good condition, and the teams prepared for a full 71-lap race. In the top ten, Antonelli, Hadjar, Lawson, Bearman, and Gasly started on soft red tyres, while the rest of the drivers chose medium compounds.

At the start, Lando Norris made a strong getaway, staying ahead of the Kimi Antonelli. Oscar Piastri held fourth, while Lewis Hamilton dropped five positions to eighteenth after a poor start. Early in the race, Gabriel Bortoleto crashed into the barriers in sector three, which brought out yellow flags and ended his race. Lewis Hamilton also made contact with Carlos Sainz and later with an Alpine car, damaging his front wing. He went into the pits for repairs under the safety car.

The race restarted at the end of lap 5. Norris timed his acceleration perfectly to maintain the lead, while Piastri immediately applied pressure. At the first corner, a collision between Antonelli and Charles Leclerc ended Leclerc’s race when his car was damaged. Max Verstappen, starting further back, began moving up the field, overtaking several rivals in the opening laps. A virtual safety car was briefly deployed to clear debris, allowing some drivers to make early strategic adjustments.

By lap 7, Verstappen had overtaken Hamilton, who was struggling with rear downforce due to earlier contact. George Russell moved into fourth, passing Isack Hadjar, while Oliver Bearman started advancing past mid-field competitors. Yuki Tsunoda received a 10-second penalty for causing a collision earlier in the race.

Around lap 13, Bearman overtook Liam Lawson to move into sixth place. Verstappen continued his recovery through the field, overtaking several cars as he gained positions. Hamilton made a second pit stop soon after, complaining about instability in his car. On lap 16, Piastri received a 10-second penalty for causing a collision, further complicating his race strategy. By lap 17, Verstappen had climbed to 12th, and by lap 20 he was in sixth place following the pit stops of other drivers.

Lando Norris’ engineer discussed multiple strategies for managing the lead, while Antonelli pitted around lap 21, changing tyres and dropping to 11th. Verstappen gained from other drivers’ pit stops and moved up to fourth by lap 25, about 20 seconds behind the leader. Tsunoda served his penalty on lap 27, but officials later ruled it was not properly served. Hamilton also received a 5-second penalty for his early contact with Colapinto.

Antonelli steadily moved into fifth place by lap 30. At the end of that lap, Norris pitted and switched to soft tyres, returning to fourth behind Verstappen and Piastri, temporarily giving the lead to Piastri. Norris soon overtook Verstappen to regain third position. Lap 34 saw Verstappen and Russell pit for tyre changes, with Verstappen dropping to 12th and Russell to seventh. Antonelli continued to progress through the field, taking advantage of clear air to gain positions.

In the following laps, Verstappen continued recovering, moving to sixth by lap 38 and fourth by lap 43 after Bearman completed a second pit stop. Antonelli pitted at lap 48 for medium tyres and returned in sixth, while Russell also pitted, switching to yellow tyres and reclaiming sixth place. Verstappen temporarily moved up to second, with Piastri and Norris completing pit stops soon after.

By lap 53, the order was Verstappen, Norris, Antonelli, Russell, Lawson, Bearman, and Piastri. Piastri overtook Bearman to move into sixth and soon closed in on Verstappen. Verstappen pitted for soft tyres at the end of lap 55 and returned in fourth, less than 15 seconds behind Norris, who regained the lead. Piastri also moved past Lawson and began closing in on Verstappen.

In the final stages, Verstappen overtook Russell for third and reduced the gap to Antonelli to under three seconds. Antonelli held his pace and defended the position, while Norris remained in front, managing tyres and maintaining his line. Behind them, Bearman, Russell, Piastri, and Lawson battled for points positions, completing a steady shuffle of mid-field positions.

In the closing laps, the positions stabilised. Norris kept the lead, Antonelli maintained second, and Verstappen completed the podium. George Russell finished fourth, followed by Oscar Piastri, Oliver Bearman, Liam Lawson, Isack Hadjar, Nico Hülkenberg, and Pierre Gasly to round out the top ten.

2025 Brazilian Grand Prix results: