San Francisco Frontiers - Three things we learned from the Sao Paulo Grand Prix

AFP Sport looks at three things we learned from an action-packed weekend in Brazil.

Norris coming of age

After his relatively muddled and self-effacing spell in combat with Max Verstappen 25-year-old Briton has emerged in a re-invented persona.

After watching team-mate Oscar Piastri build a 30-point lead with cool assurance, he has changed, taking the 24-year-old Australian's role as McLaren's Mr Cool.

The light-humoured boy-next-door, who was so upset by his loss of the title in Brazil last year that he did not sleep for 40 hours, is not indulging his feelings anymore or over-stressing on details. He does not engage in the public self-analysis that was part of his charm.

"Just ignore everyone that talks crap about you and just focus on yourself," he said to explain his new winning mode.

"I cared a lot about people's perspective and how I am portrayed and things in the media – probably too much."

His shift has not reduced his appeal, but has added steel. The humour remains, if mostly ironic and there is a more serious streak, too. The boy from Glastonbury, who turns 26 on Thursday, is ready to be a champion.

Piastri, without a podium in five Grands Prix since Monza in early September, has lost his personal momentum. His confidence is diminished and his results, more than Norris's resurgence, have lost him the initiative.

Both have seven wins this year, but Norris, crucially, has 10 podiums to Piastri's eight and of those, eight are second places to Piastri's three.

Verstappen realistic but unready to concede

"We never give up," said the four-time champion on Sunday at Interlagos after finishing third, from a pit-lane start, behind Norris and a spirited Kimi Antonelli in his Mercedes.

Later, he added a 49-point deficit was "too many points to really have a proper chance".

But, he said, he will try; starting, most probably, with a gamble in Las Vegas, where he won in 2023 and was fifth last year.

"If you look at the whole season, we gave away too many points from the beginning until mid-season. For us, now it's about trying to just have these highlights, have good race weekends and see what we can do."

Norris certainly sees him as a title rival.

"I'm sure Max is going to be a threat in terms of races and you never know with the championship. So, it's pointless trying to guess… Max is always a threat, always there, always fighting to the end."

Ferrari disarray compounds Hamilton misery

Another double DNF for Ferrari compounded the misery and misfortune for seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton as he retired following two collisions and a penalty after crash-victim Charles Leclerc also retired.

Without a podium in a record 21 races for Ferrari, Hamilton pledged to fight on, but Ferrari dropped to fourth, with 362 points, in the constructors’ championship in which Mercedes, on 398, are now second (behind champions McLaren), ahead of Red Bull, on 366.

Recent results suggest Ferrari are struggling with a dysfunctional race team as they rebuild for 2026 and a new rule-book.

Hamilton's last podium was in Las Vegas a year ago.

The prospects are dim.

McLaren are winning, Mercedes look strong with Antonelli belying his teenage years and Verstappen is chomping at Red Bull's bit.

Ferrari cannot wait for this season to end.

M.Powell--SFF