Max Verstappen jaw-dropping as Lewis Hamilton suffers - Sao Paulo GP Winners and Losers

Lando Norris converted pole position into victory at Interlagos, while a sensational recovery drive from Max Verstappen and a brief flash of brilliance from Liam Lawson lit up a chaotic, rain-affected São Paulo Grand Prix. 

Mercedes, meanwhile, secured the constructors' championship without either driver reaching the podium, a quietly remarkable way to confirm the title.

It was a weekend that swung wildly in both directions, with Ferrari's race unravelling through mechanical misfortune and driver error, Cadillac suffering a mechanical failure before the race had even begun, and Gabriel Bortoleto's home race turning into a weekend to forget.

Check out RacingNews365's São Paulo Winners and Losers below!

Winner: Lando Norris

Norris did exactly what he needed to do, turning pole position into a comfortable, points-maximising victory. 

The McLaren driver set the fastest time in qualifying and was never seriously troubled at the front, crossing the line well clear of Verstappen. 

A poor start saw him slip to third going into the first corner but he eased back past Lawson, before a rare Kimi Antonelli spin saw him reclaim the lead. From then on, it was an easy afternoon.

It marks a truly positive result for the Briton and McLaren, who will aim to end the season on a high after what has been a challenging campaign.

Loser: Lewis Hamilton

Hamilton produced one of the laps of the season on the opening lap, surging from 20th to ninth in his 400th grand prix start, before it all fell apart. 

Ferrari had set his intermediate tyre pressures too aggressively, according to team principal Fred Vasseur, generating instant heat but triggering ballooning and rapid degradation within five laps. 

A communication error from the pit wall then left him out on slicks as rain returned, resulting in a spin and a barrier brush at the final corner.

He eventually crossed the line a lap down in ninth, a result that flattered a genuinely torrid afternoon.

Winner: Max Verstappen

Verstappen's charge from 21st to second was arguably the single most eye-catching achievement of the weekend. 

The Red Bull driver gained nine positions on the opening lap alone in treacherous wet conditions, then timed his move to slick tyres cleanly as the track dried. 

Isack Hadjar was instructed to hand back second place to his teammate on lap 38, after early leader Antonelli suffered multiple spins, clearing Verstappen's path to the podium. 

He later admitted the car's balance felt completely different once on slicks, which stopped him from threatening Norris, but a podium from 21st on the grid was still a result few saw coming.

Loser: Valtteri Bottas

Bottas's weekend ended before it began. A cross-threaded, jammed right-rear wheel nut was discovered during pre-grid tyre changes, and Cadillac mechanics were unable to free it in time for the start. 

The Finn, who had been cleared to race after a heavy suspension failure the previous week in Mexico, was forced to withdraw without turning a competitive lap. 

For a team still searching for its first points of the season, a mechanical failure of this kind on the grid is about as deflating as it gets.

Winner: Liam Lawson

Lawson delivered one of his strongest weekends of the season, qualifying a superb fifth before a penalty elsewhere promoted him to third on the grid. 

He briefly ran in second place around Norris at the start, a remarkable sight for the Racing Bulls driver, before tyre degradation on his intermediates dropped him back through the order. 

He recovered to finish sixth, later elevated from seventh after a five-second penalty for Charles Leclerc for a collision between the pair.

It capped a weekend in which Lawson looked genuinely competitive with the cars ahead of him, and further demonstrated his case for a fresh contract.

Loser: Gabriel Bortoleto

Bortoleto's home race could hardly have gone worse. The Audi driver spun into the barriers during a wet Q1, taking the blame himself for the error, and compounded that with a 10-place grid penalty for fitting an additional energy store and control electronics unit. 

He lost further ground at the start after being overtaken by Sergio Pérez, then struggled through mixed wet-dry conditions all afternoon. 

He eventually finished 16th, a lap down, in front of his own fans at Interlagos, a result that will sting far more given the occasion.

Bonus Winner: Mercedes

Mercedes clinched the constructors' championship at Interlagos, ending a drought stretching back to 2021, and did so in understated fashion. 

George Russell finished fourth and Antonelli fifth, marking the first race all season in which neither Mercedes driver reached the podium yet the team still walked away with the title. 

The result underlined the consistency of the Mercedes-AMG F1 W17 E Performance package across a full campaign under the sport's 2026 technical regulations, rather than relying on a single standout weekend. 

Clinching a championship without a podium finish is a rare feat, and it speaks to the depth of performance Mercedes has built across the grid this year.