Oscar Piastri gifts Lando Norris Brazilian Grand Prix sprint victory as Max Verstappen punished

Oscar Piastri has handed Lando Norris victory in the Brazil Grand Prix Sprint as McLaren delivered a one-two result ahead of Max Verstappen to trim his F1 championship lead.

SAO PAULO, BRAZIL - NOVEMBER 02: Second placed Oscar Piastri of Australia and McLaren attends the press conference after the Sprint ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Brazil at Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace on November 02, 2024 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images)

Australia’s rising Formula One Oscar Piastri star gave up a certain victory in the sprint race at the Brazilian Grand Prix to help his teammate Lando Norris’s slim chances of overtaking Max Verstappen for the world drivers’ title.

Heavy rain in Sao Paulo later forced qualifying for the official race to be postponed until just before Monday morning’s scheduled race (Australian time), leaving the contrived result from the sprint race as the only live action that took place on Sunday.

Tipped to be a future champion himself, Piastri had the 24-lap sprint race at his mercy after leading all the way from pole position before he was given a McLaren team order to pull aside right before the end and allow his English teammate past.

Oscar Piastri (left) and Lando Norris walk after the sprint race. Picture: AFP

Unchallenged, Norris was then able to cruise to his first-ever sprint victory with Piastri left to hold off the fast-finishing Verstappen before crossing the line second and extending McLaren’s lead in the constructors’ championship to 34 points.

Piastri, who has been facing increasing pressure from parochial British F1 commentators to sacrifice himself to help Norris, was understandably disappointed at having to give up a win he had earned fair and square but said he did it to help out the team.

“It was a bit tricky to be honest,” he said.

“(The circuit was) very bumpy as we know and the racing line was incredibly narrow, you miss it by a tyre’s width then you’re in all sorts of trouble. It was a great day for the team, a lot of points and we can learn a lot for the race as well.

“The pace looked OK but the Ferrari was quick at the start and Max quicker at the end. Let’s see, we’ve got a few things we want to improve before qualifying but we’re in decent shape.”

Verstappen was later demoted to fourth for exceeding the speed limits when the race was under a late virtual safety car, cutting his championship lead over Norris to 44 points with four Grands Prix remaining.

Norris, who repeatedly complained during the sprint race that he wanted Piastri to let him through to the lead before the order came over the team radio, later thanked the Australian for gifting him the win.

“Not proud about it but we work well as a team together so I thank Oscar,” Norris said.

“We’ve done a great job as a team and it was the result that we wanted.

“Oscar deserved it, but we are doing what we have to do. I thank him and the team.”

Oscar Piastri leads Lando Norris during the sprint ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Brazil. Picture: Getty Images

Despite McLaren’s attempts to try and manufacture a title win for Norris, the jury is out on whether it’s in the best interests of the sport and whether it might make even difference in the end.

For winning the sprint race, Norris gained just one extra point under the reduced scoring system for the sprints.

Verstappen is still at short odds to win his fourth world title because he retains a big lead and continues to keep scoring points.

“I’m quite pleased with that,” he said. “It was promising, it was good, this is race pace.

“I still expect them (McLaren) to be really quick over the one lap but I hope we can limit the damage a bit with the five-place grid penalty I have.”

Originally published as Oscar Piastri gifts Lando Norris Brazilian Grand Prix sprint victory as Max Verstappen punished