2025 Sao Paulo Grand Prix Sprint Review

Linus O'Howell
5 days ago
3 min read

Norris Holds off Antonelli as Piastri Spins Out

Lando Norris did everything right to further extend his Championship lead after McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri suffered another setback in his Title challenge with a crash in tricky conditions! Mercedes had a very good day, with Andrea Kimi Antonelli pushing for the win late on, whilst George Russell rounded out the Sao Paulo Sprint Podium!

A Disaster!

It was pretty tricky conditions to start this Sprint Race, with it being dry enough for slicks, but still slippery enough for drivers to have to take care! Lando Norris managed to remain in the lead from the start, with Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Oscar Piastri, and George Russell behind, whilst Max Verstappen was able to dispatch Fernando Alonso for P5! Just when things looked to be going quite calmly, disaster struck for a number of drivers as Oscar, Nico Hulkenberg, and Franco Colapinto all crashed off at the Senna S’, bringing out a Red Flag in the process! Whilst all three drivers were unlucky, they still lost the car, and considering 17 other drivers survived, you have to say that they made a mistake! Once the Sprint restarted, George Russell tried his best to clear Kimi Antonelli for second, whilst Max Verstappen barely held off Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin! The Sprint then became a little bit of a procession, with it being very clear that it’s incredibly difficult to overtake, but that doesn’t mean that there weren’t some moves! Charles Leclerc did eventually pass Alonso for 5th; not a horrendous day in the end for Ferrari, whilst Pierre Gasly passed Lance Stroll to get his Alpine into the points (for the first time since Belgium)! Antonelli pushed Norris at the end for the win, but he just wasn’t close enough, whilst the Race ended under double-waved yellows after Gabriel Bortoleto suffered a pretty scary accident (thankfully, he’s okay)!

The Highs and Lows of the Sprint

I’ve actually given out four 10’s for today’s Sprint, and the first one is obviously for Lando Norris! Lando did everything right today; he didn’t put a foot wrong, and the momentum is fully with him heading into Qualifying later this evening! The second driver I’ve given out maximum points to is Andrea Kimi Antonelli, and that’s mainly because I don’t think Kimi could’ve done anything more today; his pace was strong in comparison to his teammate! The third driver I’ve given a Perfect 10 to is Fernando Alonso, and well done Fernando, because his defensive driving today was really good! And the final driver I’ve given a 10 to is Pierre Gasly, because wow, points in a Sprint in an Alpine has to be one of the midfield drives of the season, like seriously!

On the other end of the spectrum, I’ve also given out four 1’s, and the first one is sadly for Oscar Piastri! Oscar’s form has completely dipped since Monza, and what happened today simply isn’t good enough anymore; he needs to bounce back in a few hours’ time! The second driver I’ve given a 1 to is Franco Colapinto, and I can probably mention Nico Hulkenberg in here too, because both drivers suffered the same crash (even though Nico was somehow able to continue)! And the final driver I’ve given the lowest possible grade to is Gabriel Bortoleto, because he didn’t need to risk going for that move; I totally understand why he did, but it’s probably cost him a spot in Qualifying! Also, Yuki Tsunoda and Carlos Sainz showed no signs o improvement despite starting from the pitlane!