Lando Norris stepped off the Interlagos podium with his third win of the 2026 season already in the bag, and immediately spelled out that it did not change McLaren’s place in the title picture.
The Briton controlled Sunday’s wet Sao Paulo Grand Prix to beat Max Verstappen by 14.6 seconds, with Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar completing the podium at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace. It was his first victory since the Dutch Grand Prix in August.
“We still have work to do, and we’re not at the level we need to be to fight for a World Championship just yet,” Norris told reporters, according to Motorsport Week.
Norris credited McLaren’s new front wing, an early concept of parts bound for the team’s 2027 car, for the step forward in pace, but said a one-off dominant run in the wet did not mean the car was suddenly the quickest on a regular basis.
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Mercedes seal constructors with three races to spare
The warning landed on a weekend that made the point for him. Mercedes clinched the 2026 constructors’ championship in Sao Paulo after George Russell’s fourth place and Kimi Antonelli’s fifth gave Toto Wolff’s side the points it needed, with three rounds still on the calendar.
It is Mercedes’ ninth constructors’ title and their first since 2021, coming after an eight-year run of titles from 2014 to 2021.
“We have taken a few years to be back at the top spot,” Wolff said. “Not many teams have been able to come back from such a situation.”
McLaren fourth, Norris sixth, Piastri seventh
McLaren ended the Brazilian weekend fourth in the constructors’ standings, behind Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull. Oscar Piastri crossed the line sixth in Sao Paulo.
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The drivers’ table tells the same story. Antonelli leads the championship on 390 points, 111 clear of Verstappen on 279, with Russell on 262, Lewis Hamilton on 261 and Charles Leclerc on 249. Norris sits sixth on 246, Piastri seventh on 152.
Three races remain: the Las Vegas Grand Prix on 21 November, the Qatar Grand Prix on 29 November and the Abu Dhabi season finale on 6 December.
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