Lando Norris has pinpointed his ability to "keep it cool" and not make "mistakes" as the key reasons behind his return to winning ways at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix for McLaren.
From pole position, Norris was jumped off the line by Kimi Antonelli and followed the Mercedes throughout the intermediate tyre stint until the crossover.
Norris pitted one lap prior to Antonelli and was able to use his hotter tyres to eat into the lead of the Mercedes driver and mount an attack into Turn 1.
Antonelli then spun, allowing Norris through for a lead he would not yield.
Norris then survived the second stop to another set of soft tyres, and then the late rain shower and change to intermediate rubber, as he won his 14th grand prix and third of the season by 14.602s from Max Verstappen.
"It was a very tough race, very very tough," Norris reflected.
"Obviously, it was not the best of launches off the line, but there were a lot of challenges with the conditions and going on slicks in the wet is always tough, especially when you're pushing for the lead and trying to catch up a little bit.
"So, the main thing today was that I kept it cool, didn't make any mistakes, and had the pace when I needed to. So, it was good.
"It is nice to be back on the top step."
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Return to winning ways
After the third win of the season following McLaren's recent lean spell, Norris spoke of taking his chances when it was possible.
"This weekend we had an opportunity to get a pole, and we had an opportunity to win, and I feel like most times this year, when it's been an opportunity, I went for it, and we've been able to achieve it," he said.
"So I have to say a big thanks to the team because they're still working very hard, and it's annoying when you can't give them a good result back like in the last few weeks.
"But certainly this weekend, I feel like we've been able to give something back to them and give them a little bit of reward for their hard work. So, always a big thanks to them, and we have to keep pushing till the end of the year."
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