Lando Norris was waved through by team-mate Oscar Piastri to win Formula 1’s 2024 Brazil sprint race, with the second McLaren saved from a Max Verstappen attack by a late virtual safety car.
However, the Red Bull driver faces a post-race investigation for his actions as the VSC was ending on the final lap.
At the start, polesitter Piastri moved across to cut off Norris’s run to the inside at Turn 1, where the McLarens held their positions and Verstappen locked up unsuccessfully attacking Charles Leclerc’s third place.
The McLaren pair moved slightly clear in the early laps, before Leclerc – who was unmoved by an early look from Verstappen into Turn 4 at the end of the track’s second straight – and the world champion closed back up.
Norris suggested he thought Piastri should have let him by in the opening quarter of the 24-lap contest, but the only order in the first half was for the leader to give his team-mate DRS after the second McLaren had fallen slightly away as the first 10 laps ended.
Leclerc perused the McLarens closely through the next phase before a moment at the Senna S on lap 13 meant he had to defend against Verstappen to Turn 4 and the McLarens finally snapped the DRS threat from behind.
But, just as McLaren was telling Norris it expected to swap positions late in the race, Leclerc’s pace dipping meant Verstappen was finally able to fight by at Turn 4 with DRS on the outside line on lap 18.
Verstappen quickly tore a chunk from Norris’s lead ahead, as he continued to lap regularly within a second of his team-mate.
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
The McLaren pair in the pulled a two-second gap to Verstappen as lap 20 kicked off, before the Red Bull then closed in by a few tenths.
Then when Nico Hulkenberg pulled off at Turn 8 in his Haas, McLaren suddenly had to urgently swap the lead in fear of the VSC that eventually came.
On lap 22, Piastri obeyed the instruction to let Norris by, with Verstappen suddenly all over the now second McLaren and threatening massively in third.
But just before the penultimate lap kicked off, the VSC was activated and the race neutralised.
There was to be one last moment of action when the VSC ended as Norris made it to Turn 4 on the final lap, with Verstappen pulling out from behind Piastri’s slipstream as if to attack with the neutralisation still active.
When it went green, Norris powered clear easily to win by 0.5s, while Verstappen did not get to make his move as by this stage he and Piastri and reached Turn 4.
Soon after the race ended, it was announced that Verstappen’s actions are being investigated for a possible infringement.
“Yeah, not proud about it,” Norris said afterwards the team orders. “But we work well as a team together. So, I thank Oscar, but we’ve done a great job as a team.
“Today was the result that we wanted. Oscar deserved it, but we’re doing what we have to do, so I thank him and the team.
“We had great pace. Looking forward to qualifying [later on Saturday] and the race tomorrow.”
Ferrari’s expected race pace advantage never materialised, as Leclerc dropped back towards team-mate Carlos Sainz by the end – the Spaniard having been dropped quickly in the early laps.
George Russell was the lead Mercedes in sixth, with Pierre Gasly an impressive seventh for Alpine, while Sergio Perez fought his way up from SQ2 exit to finish eighth and claim the final point.
Lewis Hamilton recovered a few spots from losing badly at the start, while in the other Haas Oliver Bearman also dropped back from running at the end of the top 10 early on.
