Oscar Piastri handed Lando Norris a crucial championship advantage in Brazil after crashing out of a Sao Paulo sprint race that was won by his McLaren team-mate.

Norris continued his title charge, taking the full eight points from the sprint, having seen Piastri run over a wet kerb and spin out into the barriers. Then came a surreal few seconds where Nico Hülkenberg and Franco Colapinto made exactly the same error and also spun at the same place.

The race was stopped as a downcast Piastri trudged back towards the pits, and Norris didn’t slip up at the restart, with a lights-to-flag win.

He was followed by Kimi Antonelli, George Russell, and Max Verstappen.

After a rainy morning, the track was still damp at the start of the sprint, but dry enough for slicks: Norris on pole, Piastri in third and Fernando Alonso in fifth, on the gripper side of the track, all opted for mediums, while Kimi Antonelli, George Russell and Max Verstappen, starting second and fourth and sixth, chose the softs.

The softer tyres worked for Verstappen who passed Alonso, but Norris was off to a flying start, well out of reach of the Antonelli, who was followed into Turn 1 by Piastri.

Further back, Lewis Hamilton gained three places from 11th on the grid and Liam Lawson pitched Ollie Bearman into a spin as he tried to pass the Haas.

The race looked to be settling down until Piastri was the first of three cars to crash at exactly the same point during a surreal few seconds on lap 7.

Running on to the kerb at the exit of Turn 2, Piastri’s McLaren caught a patch of water and the car snapped from underneath him, spinning into the barrier with race-ending rear damage.

Moments later, Nico Hülkenberg hit the kerb at the same point and he too pirouetted into the barrier, damaging both front and rear wings, but managing to get going again.

As he did so, Colapinto, was the third driver to touch the very same kerb and careered off track.

The race was rapidly red-flagged.

Incredibly, Sauber managed to repair Hülkenberg’s car by the time the race restarted, and he took the rolling start at the back of the grid.

At the front, Russell tried to pass Antonelli — now with both Mercedes on medium tyres , but the Italian held on, while Norris was unchallenged in the lead.

A soft-tyres Alonso aimed to get Verstappen — now on mediums — back at the restart, and the Red Bull battled with Aston Martin for most of the lap, with Verstappen managed to stay ahead.

Alonso would later drop behind Leclerc, as his soft tyres faded, and he wasn’t the only one. Norris started struggling towards the end, giving Antonelli a chance to close up, but the win eluded him and a delighted Norris crossed the line first.

There were double-waved yellow flags at the finish line after Gabriel Bortoleto lost control at high speed at the end of the main straight, in a bid to overtake Alex Albon for 12th. As he dived to the inside, his car swung round, hit the barrier and then flew through the air towards a second colossal hit.

The Brazilian walked away, but his team faces a major task to repair the car for qualifying later in the day.

2025 Sao Paulo Grand Prix sprint race results