Brazil GP 2024: Lando Norris has won the F1 Sprint race in Interlagos, Brazil after teammate Oscar Piastri played the ultimate team game and allowed Norris to overtake for the victory towards the end of the race.

Max Verstappen came third in the Sprint and was very close to snatching P2 away from Oscar Piastri. 

McLaren’s team order headache

McLaren faced yet another headache regarding team orders, given Oscar Piastri started on pole while, Championship challenger, Lando Norris started in P2. Lando Norris got the better start of the two and was in the lead of the sprint before Oscar Piastri came firing back and took the lead back. 

This caused trouble in the McLaren pitlane as Lando Norris went on team radio demanding that Oscar Piastri give the place back to him. But Oscar Piastri was adamant not to give the place back till the end which frustrated Lando. 

Meanwhile, Championship leader, Max Verstappen flew from 4th place on the grid and was chasing Charles Lecler but was unable to pull off the move. Lando Norris opened up a 1.5 second gap from Charles Leclerc which allowed McLaren to wait for the team swap until the final lap of the race. 

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Things got interesting when Max Verstappen overtook Charles Leclerc in the 18th lap of the race and chased after Lando Norris to trouble McLaren. Verstappen got the go ahead on the team radio, as Red Bull set after chasing Lando Norris. 

Nico Hulkenberg’s Haas broke down in the 21st lap of the race, and McLaren were quick to realise what was coming as the two drivers swapped position in 21st lap. A virtual safety car was deployed a lap later and McLaren’s quick thinking helped Lando secure the win and take two points off Max Verstapen in the lead of the championship. 

McLaren bagged home 15 crucial points in the constructors Championship to take their tally to 581 points. Lando Norris on the other hand has cut Verstappen’s lead to 45 points ahead of qualifying on Saturday. 

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Here is the final classification of sprint race

	Driver	Team	Time
1	Lando Norris	McLaren	LAP 24
2	Oscar Piastri	McLaren	0.593
3	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	1.497
4	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	5.656
5	Carlos Sainz	Ferrari	7.224
6	George Russell	Mercedes	12.475
7	Pierre Gasly	Alpine	18.161
8	Sergio Pérez	Red Bull	18.717
9	Liam Lawson	VCARB	20.773
10	Alexander Albon	Williams	24.606
11	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	29.764
12	Franco Colapinto	Williams	33.233
13	Esteban Ocon	Alpine	34.128
14	Oliver Bearman	Haas	35.507
15	Yuki Tsunoda	VCARB	41.374
16	Valtteri Bottas	Stake	43.231
17	Guanyu Zhou	Stake	54.139
18	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	56.537
19	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	57.983
20	Nico Hulkenberg	Haas	DNF