Oscar Piastri allowed title-contending teammate Lando Norris to pass him for the Sprint win, securing a valuable extra point for Norris in his championship pursuit against Max Verstappen at the 2024 São Paulo Grand Prix.
Verstappen initially finished third after a late move on Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc but was later demoted to fourth following a five-second penalty imposed by the stewards for exceeding the speed limit behind Piastri under a Virtual Safety Car on the final lap.
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2024 Sao Paulo GP FP1: Lando Norris goes top before Sprint Quali
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2024 Sao Paulo GP Sprint Qualifying: Oscar Piastri secures pole
With Norris claiming his first Sprint win and Verstappen losing a position due to the penalty, Norris narrowed the gap in the 2024 Drivers’ Championship by three points to trail Verstappen by 44 points heading into Sunday’s main race, where Verstappen faced a five-place grid penalty due to an engine change.
After securing Sprint pole and hinting he’d be open to handing the Saturday victory to teammate Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri led the first 21 laps before allowing Norris through on Interlagos’ back straight in a well-coordinated position swap managed by the McLaren pit wall.
Moments before the switch, Verstappen seemed poised to challenge Norris for second and disrupt McLaren’s one-two finish, having overtaken Charles Leclerc into Turn Four on lap 18 after a persistent chase of the Ferrari finally paid off.
With Norris soon assuming the lead, Verstappen ultimately settled behind Piastri in third. However, a stewards’ investigation later stripped him of that position due to a Virtual Safety Car (VSC) infringement. During the controlled-speed period on the final lap, Verstappen failed to observe the minimum lap time while positioned close to Piastri, briefly drawing alongside him before Turn Four as the VSC was set to end.
Although Verstappen backed off without overtaking after the VSC concluded, the stewards deemed this a violation, stating, “this is a breach, and the standard penalty is applied for the advantage gained at that time.”
During a Virtual Safety Car (VSC) period, called here after Nico Hulkenberg’s Haas stopped in a hazardous position along the track, drivers must avoid overtaking and adhere to a set time displayed on their steering wheels. This rule aims to preserve gaps between cars as they were before the caution without deploying a full Safety Car before resuming the race.
With Leclerc finishing within five seconds of Verstappen, he was promoted to third after Verstappen’s penalty was applied.
Ferrari’s recent strong form didn’t fully materialise in the shorter 24-lap Sprint, with Carlos Sainz taking fifth and George Russell finishing sixth as the lead Mercedes.
Pierre Gasly held his starting position in seventh, earning Alpine two vital points amid a challenging season, while Sergio Perez managed a strong drive in the second Red Bull, advancing from 13th to claim the final Sprint point in eighth. Perez’s recovery included a decisive pass on RB’s Liam Lawson at Turn One, following their tense on-track encounter the previous week in Mexico.
Lewis Hamilton, who started and finished 11th, lost ground at the start and would be hoping for an improved performance in Sunday’s main race.
Sao Paulo GP Sprint Race Results
2024 Sao Paulo Grand Prix Sprint Race, 2 November 2024
| Pos | No | Driver | Car | Laps | Time/retired | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren Mercedes | 24 | 29:46.045 | 8 |
| 2 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren Mercedes | 24 | +0.593s | 7 |
| 3 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 24 | +5.656s | 6 |
| 4 | 1 | Max Verstappen1 | Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT | 24 | +6.497s | 5 |
| 5 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | 24 | +7.224s | 4 |
| 6 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 24 | +12.475s | 3 |
| 7 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine Renault | 24 | +18.161s | 2 |
| 8 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT | 24 | +18.717s | 1 |
| 9 | 30 | Liam Lawson | RB Honda RBPT | 24 | +20.773s | 0 |
| 10 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams Mercedes | 24 | +24.606s | 0 |
| 11 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 24 | +29.764s | 0 |
| 12 | 43 | Franco Colapinto | Williams Mercedes | 24 | +33.233s | 0 |
| 13 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine Renault | 24 | +34.128s | 0 |
| 14 | 50 | Oliver Bearman | Haas Ferrari | 24 | +35.507s | 0 |
| 15 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB Honda RBPT | 24 | +41.374s | 0 |
| 16 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Kick Sauber Ferrari | 24 | +43.231s | 0 |
| 17 | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | Kick Sauber Ferrari | 24 | +54.139s | 0 |
| 18 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes | 24 | +56.537s | 0 |
| 19 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes | 24 | +57.983s | 0 |
| NC | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas Ferrari | 19 | DNF | 0 |
How McLaren Prioritised Norris to Secure a One-Two Finish
Starting from pole, Oscar Piastri covered Norris at the outset by veering left, closing off any potential challenge from his teammate. Whether pre-planned or not, the McLarens held their one-two formation through the often chaotic opening lap at Interlagos.
Behind them, Leclerc and Verstappen mirrored this in third and fourth, with Verstappen briefly eyeing an inside move on Leclerc into Turn One before locking his brakes, losing momentum through the Senna S.
By lap six, Norris was within DRS range of Piastri and radioed to say, “I’m close.” His race engineer advised him to “keep an eye on Leclerc behind.” One lap later, Norris, sounding uncertain, added, “I’m not sure what I’m doing here, mate. We spoke about this before.”
However, with Ferrari’s Leclerc and Red Bull’s Verstappen close behind and Verstappen showing strong pace, McLaren delayed the swap. When Norris made a minor error, his engineer, Will Joseph, informed him that they would hold off on switching positions until the final lap.
When Hulkenberg dropped out on lap 21, parking his car in a position that risked triggering a Safety Car—which would have frozen overtaking—McLaren seized the opportunity at the start of lap 22 to switch their drivers. With Verstappen in second but just outside DRS range, Piastri eased off on the back straight, allowing Norris to sweep past smoothly.
This tactical move not only gave Norris a small but valuable boost in his pursuit of Verstappen with four Grands Prix and one Sprint remaining in 2024, but it also extended McLaren’s lead over Ferrari to 34 points and over reigning champions Red Bull to 63 points in the Constructors’ Championship. McLaren remains focused on its quest for a first Constructors’ title since 1998.
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