The sprint race in Brazil began under much better conditions than expected. Despite forecasts predicting heavy rain, the track at Interlagos started to dry up nicely just before the start.

From the top ten, Norris, Piastri, Alonso, Stroll, and Hullkenberg opted for medium tyres, while the rest chose the softs to gain an advantage off the line. When the lights went out, Lando Norris made a brilliant start and comfortably held the lead into the first corner. Both Ferrari drivers also got away well, keeping close behind.

Yellow flags were quickly shown in the first sector after a small contact between Liam Lawson and Oliver Bearman, with Bearman spinning around and losing several places.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli immediately began to put pressure on Norris, showing impressive pace in his Mercedes. By the third lap, DRS was enabled, which helped Antonelli stay within a second of the McLaren ahead. The stewards soon announced they were investigating the earlier incident between Lawson and Bearman.

On lap six, the race took a dramatic turn. Oscar Piastri lost control in turn three and hit the barriers after running over the inside kerb. At almost the same moment, Franco Colapinto and Nico Hulkenberg crashed at the same spot. The Argentine and the Australian were both out on the spot, while Hulkenberg managed to get going again with visible damage. The safety car was deployed to neutralise the race.

A few moments later, the situation worsened, and the red flags were shown as the marshals needed time to clear the debris and repair the barriers. The drivers returned to the pit lane, where the mechanics began checking for any damage. The Sauber crew focused especially on Hulkenberg’s car, working to fix his rear wing before the race could resume.

The sprint restarted with a rolling start, and Hulkenberg rejoined from the back after his car was repaired. Norris, Alonso, Stroll, and Gasly were on soft tyres while the rest of the field chose mediums.

Norris timed his restart perfectly and kept the lead, with Antonelli holding second ahead of Russell. Alonso stayed in fifth, but the Ferrari drivers were closing in, and Verstappen was slowly catching Russell in third. Alonso was told to lift and coast to save tyres and fuel.

Antonelli started then closing on Norris as his soft tyres began to fade. By lap 21e, the Italian was less than a second behind, sticking to the McLaren’s rear wing and putting real pressure on the leader. One lap later Charles Leclerc finally passed Fernando Alonso at turn four, moving up to fifth place.

The final lap brought more drama. Double yellow flags appeared in the first sector as Gabriel Bortoleto crashed at Turn 1. The Sauber driver had tried to pass Alex Albon but lost control, hitting the inside barrier before bouncing across the track into another barrier. Thankfully, Bortoleto was unharmed and Albon was not involved in the crash.

At the finish, Lando Norris took the win, holding off the charging Mercedes drivers. Antonelli and Russell completed the podium, while Leclerc finished fifth after his late move on Alonso, who finished sixth. Lewis Hamilton and Pierre Gasly completed the points.