For the second year running the Brazilian Grand Prix may prove critical to the outcome of the Formula 1 drivers' championship fight.
Lando Norris took his second successive victory while his McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri picked up a controversial penalty and Max Verstappen mounted an impressive comeback from the pitlane to third place.
Here's what our team thinks of Piastri's penalty and Verstappen's comeback...
Piastri was punished for a racing incident
Ben Anderson
Piastri's penalty I feel was a bit harsh, as there were three cars in the mix there, so you can't say it was a pure loss of control from Piastri that created the contact with Antonelli.
Antonelli's bad restart was the trigger, and he was then pinched in the middle by Leclerc's Ferrari on his outside and Piastri diving for a gap on the inside that he had every right to go for and had to go for.
I think the stewards have probably used the brake lock to blame Piastri, but I don't think that accident happens that way without Leclerc there too, because Antonelli would have been able to give the McLaren more space.
The consequences were disastrous for Leclerc, but he also took the biggest gamble by trying to come around the outside of two cars at once. Three cars into one corner rarely works out.
So I don't really see how one car is wholly or predominantly to blame there. It should have been called a racing incident.
As for Verstappen's remarkable charge from the pits to the podium. I just think it's simply amazing what a brand new engine can give you at this altitude and at this stage of the season, when everyone is managing their mileage.
It reminded me of Lewis Hamilton's charge to victory in 2021, after starting the sprint from the back of the grid and the grand prix from 10th.
It's Norris's title to lose
Scott Mitchell-Malm
There were two very different days for Lando Norris's title rivals, but they both have the same outcome: it's his championship to lose now.
Verstappen and Piastri each had recoveries to enact today and one was clearly more dramatic and successful than the other. Piastri's race was fine and the penalty was unnecessary when you see how much he was being pinched to the apex - but as has been the case for a while now, he was nothing extraordinary.
Verstappen, though, grabbed every opportunity that he was afforded. Certain circumstances went in his favour, but that just helps explain how such a result was possible, it certainly doesn't detract from it in the slightest. He'll be disappointed he couldn't get second, and will know that his championship hopes have taken a potentially fatal blow this weekend. That can wait, though.
For now, Verstappen should enjoy yet another masterful Brazil comeback, another result that for a multitude of reasons looked borderline impossible to imagine 24 hours ago.
Not all Piastri's fault
Gary Anderson
If we had more races like this, then the regulations wouldn’t need much of a change. Overall, Verstappen drove a stunning race, I just really don’t understand what the team did on Saturday in qualifying, but whatever it was, it won’t do it again.
Congratulations to Norris for a dominant weekend, two poles and two wins and a total of 33 points in one weekend is a good few days in the office.
As for Piastri’s weekend, in reality not on the same level as Norris'. Up until the summer break, he was the one who was showing the maturity; now it has just switched over.
Piastri was closer but not close enough.
Anytime you lose 23 points in the championship in one weekend to your team-mate, it simply is not good enough.
I’m not trying to defend Piastri, but going off in the sprint race wasn’t all his fault, the wet patch he lost it on was created by Norris pulling water out of the kerb.
As for his 10-second penalty in the actual Grand Prix, I’m not quite sure it was all his fault. Yes, he dived down the inside of Antonelli and was on the braking limit but still in control, then Antonelli closed the door just that little bit and when Piastri tried to brake harder, he just locked up.
So now the gap to Norris is 24 points, but there are still 83 points available before the final chequered flag of an intense 24-race championship, and for as long as Verstappen is still mathematically in contention, he will keep fighting for it.
Miracle stuff from Verstappen and Red Bull
Eden Hannigan
It was nothing short of a miracle drive for Max Verstappen, who produced the unthinkable to convert his pitlane start to a podium finish. What would normally be a weekend to write off for any other driver, the four-time world champion instead used it as an opportunity to show exactly why he’s one of the best in the business.
While Verstappen will rightly take all the plaudits, his Red Bull team also deserve some of the praise. The changes they made from Saturday allowed Verstappen to pick up the big points on Sunday, with the new engine giving him the platform to pull past his rivals into the first corner and a well-planned strategy from the pitwall also helped him deliver the goods.
While the driver of the day choices can be questionable sometimes, there's no doubt that Verstappen was a worthy recipient of the award in Brazil.
Shades of 2010
Hamish Shackleton Bailey
The first Australian to be in an F1 title fight since his manager, Mark Webber, Oscar Piastri’s recent struggles carry striking echoes of Webber’s poor end to the 2010 season.
Leading the championship by 14 points heading into round 17 in South Korea, Webber crashed out in wet conditions before later revealing a shoulder injury from a mountain bike crash hampered his final races. A second place finish in Brazil and an eighth in Abu Dhabi, Webber finished third behind both Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso.
Fast forward to Brazil 2025, the parallels are uncanny. After a crash in the sprint and a penalty in the main race that left him finishing fifth, Piastri has lost 23 points in one weekend.
Meanwhile Verstappen, arguably the Alonso of the 2025 season, now just sits 25 points behind him. Both Piastri and Webber will be sitting uncomfortably about how close it looks to history repeating itself.
