F1 Brazil GP: Five quick takeaways

Norris is a clear title favourite now

It wasn’t a straightforward weekend. Weather conditions affected a lot of drivers, and many struggled to perform consistently, with pace swinging from one qualifying segment to the next. But throughout all sessions Lando Norris was a rock-solid constant. The Briton continued to be as dominant as he was in Mexico.

Two months ago it was almost impossible to imagine how Norris could still challenge Oscar Piastri for the title – now it’s almost the opposite. In this form, Norris not only looks unbeatable, but his team-mate’s struggles make the points swings even bigger.

With Norris performing at this level, it’s difficult not to see him as the clear favourite in the championship battle.

– Oleg Karpov

Piastri not living up to the hype

It’s quite remarkable how the final third of this Formula 1 season has gone against everything we previously thought about the McLaren drivers. Oscar Piastri was supposedly the level-headed, horizontal character not fazed by much, while Lando Norris was a true heart-on-sleeve type of person that crumbled in the high pressure moments.

Oscar Piastri, McLaren

Photo by: Kym Illman / Getty Images

But when the crank has gone up a notch over recent rounds, Piastri is the one to have faltered. Brazil was just an example of that, because his move on Andrea Kimi Antonelli at Turn 1, which resulted in a 10s penalty for the McLaren driver, was one of desperation as he knows Norris is starting to run away with this title.

It’s not like this is a hyperbole reaction to one specific moment either, because Piastri crumbled in the sprint race by spinning out at Turn 3. If recent times have taught anything, it’s that Norris is much better in high-pressure moments than people assumed, while Piastri’s slight inexperience is showing.

– Ed Hardy

Verstappen out of contention

An updated Red Bull and a great performance by Verstappen in the last few races made him an unexpected title contender. However, the gap that McLaren had made in the first half of the season was so large that, Max had no margin for error.

On Saturday in Brazil, after being behind McLaren and Mercedes in sprint, Red Bull had changed the car for qualifying – and the gamble went wrong. Verstappen suffered his worst qualifying, and while he was able to come back in the race and at some point even led, he ended up giving up a lot of ground to Norris in the championship over the weekend – and, as he said on Saturday, he can forget about the championship.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Mark Thompson – Getty Images

It is not crazy to think that he could still win the three remaining races, but even that now would probably not be enough.

– Jose Carlos de Celis

Antonelli shows his worth

After a difficult European part of the season, Andrea Kimi Antonelli is once again showing flashes of his talent during the fly-away races. The Brazil Grand Prix has been another clear example of that. Where both the young (Gabriel Bortoleto) and the experienced (Lewis Hamilton) drivers struggled at Interlagos, Antonelli kept his cool.

The rookie appeared remarkably mature on Saturday. After the sprint race, the Mercedes driver explained he had consciously stayed off the wet kerbstones and that he had even driven with extra caution when Lando Norris sprayed water on the track. Later that day, Antonelli immediately learned from the sprint qualifying session, this time avoiding a little mistake during his last flying lap.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / LAT Images via Getty Images

The young Italian completed the job in style on Sunday by driving faultlessly to the podium, securing his second podium finish in Formula 1. Once again, it’s confirmation of why Mercedes and Toto Wolff continue to believe in their star for the future, despite the more difficult moments this year.

– Ronald Vording

Hard to see it ever getting better for Hamilton

It’s not been the year that Lewis Hamilton would have hoped for. His move to Ferrari represented a fresh start and a chance to forget his previous struggles with the ground-effect era at Mercedes – but it’s been more of the same.

He is sixth in the championship, has been regularly beaten by team-mate Charles Leclerc and Brazil was just representative of his campaign. The seven-time world champion only mustered seventh in the sprint, suffered a Q2 elimination which prompted a very upset Hamilton in the media pen and then he retired from the grand prix thanks to collisions with Carlos Sainz and Franco Colapinto.

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

Photo by: Anni Graf – Formula 1 via Getty Images

Hamilton is clearly holding out for next season when the next regulation change comes into effect, but it would be naive to assume it’ll just suddenly get better for the 40-year-old. He can’t beat his team-mate consistently, he’s not the confident, exuberant driver that he once was and it’s not a given that Ferrari will produce a top car.

– Ed Hardy