In the latter case that was just as well, because Red Bull finally unlocked the potential of the car on race day \u2013 making big changes to the set up and fitting a new power unit \u2013 to allow Verstappen to put in a barnstorming drive from the enforced pitlane start to third at the flag, via a puncture along the way.<\/p>\n
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The Sao Paolo rain did not arrive anything like as forcefully as we have seen before and so another massive variable was removed for Norris.<\/p>\n
The championship leader held his nerve and hit the bullseye. He opened up a 24-point gap on Piastri and is 49 points up on Verstappen with three grands prix, plus a sprint race, remaining.<\/p>\n
![\"Lando](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1762774211_696_lando-norris-mclaren.jpg\")
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Lando Norris, McLaren<\/p>\n
Photo by: Simon Galloway \/ LAT Images via Getty Images<\/p>\n
It\u2019s amazing to think that Piastri had a 34-point lead over his team-mate after the Dutch GP in late August, and now it has swung to 24 points the other way. Since Monza Piastri has scored an average of just 9.5 points per race, while Norris is at an average rate of just over 19 points.<\/p>\n
Next up is the gambling capital of the world, Las Vegas, so shall we make a few predictions?<\/p>\n
The cold weather plus the improvement to the Mercedes<\/a> car will put the Silver Arrows among the favourites. George Russell<\/a> won there last year and Andrea Kimi Antonelli<\/a> is now resembling a frontrunner. Red Bull will also be fast in Vegas. Of the three remaining races, it is likely the one where McLaren<\/a> will struggle the most. These factors make it hard to imagine Piastri finding a way to take a significant bite out of Norris\u2019 points lead unless the Englishman has a retirement.<\/p>\n Qatar and Abu Dhabi will then both be strong races for McLaren, while Qatar also features a sprint race. But if Norris holds his nerve in Vegas, it will require Piastri to be perfect in those final two race weekends and score the maximum 58 points to have any chance.<\/p>\n A great weekend for two rookies<\/p>\n If you were voting for \u2018Rookie of the Year\u2019 a month ago, you might say it was between Isack Hadjar<\/a> and Gabriel Bortoleto<\/a>. But in recent weeks former Formula 2 team-mates Antonelli and Oliver Bearman<\/a> have really stepped up.<\/p>\n Antonelli scored his second podium and his best F1 result in second place. More significantly it was the first weekend where he has outclassed team-mate Russell, who is clearly in his peak years now and enjoying his best season in F1. I imagine Toto Wolff will have felt quietly satisfied that his gamble in promoting Antonelli is going to pay off and it\u2019s very exciting for next year. Antonelli\u2019s form, and the collapse of Lewis Hamilton<\/a>\u2019s, make it a real prospect that the teenager who replaced Hamilton might finish ahead of the seven-time champion in the standings. He\u2019s now only 26 points behind him.<\/p>\n Lando Norris, McLaren, George Russell, Mercedes, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes<\/p>\n Photo by: Rudy Carezzevoli \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n Meanwhile Bearman gave many frontrunners a scare with his pace in qualifying at Interlagos and did a superb job in the race to finish sixth. This backed up his fourth-place result in Mexico and showed that he is now fully on top of the experienced benchmark driver Esteban Ocon<\/a> in the other car. The result put Haas right on the tail of Aston Martin in the fight for seventh in the constructors\u2019 championship.<\/p>\n Hadjar did another solid job to bring home more points for Racing Bulls in eighth, just behind his team-mate Liam Lawson<\/a>. It looks increasingly likely that Hadjar will move up to Red Bull next season while Arvid Lindblad will take one of the Racing Bulls seats. So Lawson needs to put everything he\u2019s got in the show window now.<\/p>\n Read Also:<\/p>\n We want to hear from you!<\/p>\n Let us know what you would like to see from us in the future.<\/p>\n![\"Lando](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1762774211_216_lando-norris-mclaren-george-ru.jpg\")
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