Lando Norris has dedicated his Brazilian Grand Prix win to Gil de Ferran, the 2003 Indy 500 winner and former McLaren consultant, who sadly passed away in late 2023.
The British racer moves to 24 points clear in the championship race following the sensational performance in Sao Paulo.
The McLaren driver can afford to finish second in all three remaining races and the Qatar sprint to be crowned world champion, with only 83 points to play for across the concluding three rounds.
Max Verstappen completed a dramatic recovery drive to finish third after starting from the pit lane, while Kimi Antonelli edged second place,10.3 seconds behind Norris.
Oscar Piastri finished only fifth after being hit with a 10-second penalty, being held off by George Russell in fourth.
The race saw several incidents, including a chaotic restart that took Charles Leclerc out of the race and Lewis Hamilton retiring after a collision on the first lap.
Addressing the media after winning the Sao Paulo GP, Lando Norris said: "Crazy race! Nice to win here in Brazil.
"It's an amazing track, amazing fans. This was for one of my mentors Gil [de Ferran]. A perfect weekend."
Lando Norris has dedicated his Brazilian Grand Prix win to Gil de Ferran
|REUTERS
Speaking on his form, he added: "Just ignore everyone that talks c*** about you! Just focus on yourself. The team are doing an amazing job, giving me a great car.
"We are pushing hard every single weekend and I'm pushing hard away from the track. Rewarding. It doesn't come easy. To be honest, I don't think we were the quickest today but I'm glad to take home the win."
"It's a great win. But seeing how quick Max was, it's disappointing we were not quicker. That's where my mind is at the minute. I will see the team, congratulate them, and see why we were not quick enough.
"There's a long way to go. It can change so quickly. I will focus on myself, keep my head down, ignore everyone and keep pushing."
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Lando Norris moves to 24 points clear in the championship race
|REUTERS
Second-place Antonelli achieved his career-best in the Sao Paulo GP.
He said: "I don't know where this guy came from, to be honest! I didn't see it coming. To be fair, I was lucky to come away from the restart with the contact. Need to check the car, it felt a bit weird afterwards, but still a good race.
"The last laps were very stressful with Max coming with fresher tyres but luckily with free air we were able to maintain a decent pace and finish P2.
"I found my rhythm. When he was closing in, I raised the pace and started to push a bit more. With these cars with dirty air it's a bit difficult to follow so I tried to use that to my advantage and it paid off."
The McLaren driver can afford to finish second in all three remaining races and the Qatar sprint to be crowned world champion
|REUTERS
Verstappen, who finished third despite starting in the pit lane at the Sao Paulo GP, said: "The race was quite full on. A lot of action. I had to overtake some cars, coming from the pit lane.
"Our pace was quite strong, overall, the stints. To be on the podium, I did not expect that at all, even with a puncture at the beginning, that's why we had to box again.
"Incredible result for us. Very happy with that. Very proud of everyone.
"Yesterday was very tough. We never give up. We always try to improve and find more lap time, and luckily, we found that again today. To finish only 10 seconds from the lead is incredible."