Four races remain in the 2025 Formula One season and after one of the most eventful Mexican Grands Prix in recent memory, the championship fight resumes this weekend at the São Paolo Grand Prix.
Lando Norris is the new leader following a remarkable return to form since the summer break, while Oscar Piastri has faded and now finds himself trailing his teammate by a single point. McLaren has tiptoed around having to prioritize one of its driver with the threat of Max Verstappen still looming large, but made perhaps its strongest statement about its stance going into the weekend at the Interlagos circuit.
The question now becomes if the 2025 constructors’ champions are willing to commit wholeheartedly to such a noncommittal strategy with Verstappen returning to the track where he had the best drive of his career just a year ago.
Here’s more on the latest from McLaren, Verstappen’s brilliance in Brazil and what else to watch at the 2025 Sao Paolo Grand Prix:
Is McLaren really ready to risk it all?
For a number of weeks, all eyes have been on McLaren and how the constructors’ champions will manage the neck-and-neck battle between Norris and Piastri—especially with Verstappen having cut what was once three-digit deficit down to 36 points. The lack of a public stance about who the No. 1 driver is has allowed speculation to run rampant and theories about favoritism have spread among fans, rumors which Piastri categorically denied Thursday in Sao Paolo.
But team principal Zak Brown made perhaps his most declarative subject on the matter this week on F1’s Beyond the Grid podcast. Referencing the 2007 world championship, in which Ferrari’s Kimi Räikkönen stunned McLaren teammates Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso in the final race to beat both by a single point, Brown said he would rather lose out on the driver’s title than back one of Norris or Piastri over the other.
“I’d rather go, ‘We did the best we can,’ and our drivers tied on points, and the other guy beat us by one, than the alternative, which is telling one of our drivers right now, when they’re one point away from each other, ‘I know you have a dream to win the world championship, but we flipped a coin and you don’t get to do it this year,’ ” Brown said. “Forget it, that’s not how we go racing.”
That should put a stop to the constant questions lobbed in the direction of Norris and Piastri, but it’s still worth wondering if McLaren can actually follow through with its plan. With four races and two sprints to go, Verstappen still has a legitimate chance to catch both drivers. Is McLaren really willing to part with a drivers’ championship, largely considered to be the more prestigious of the two titles handed out each year in F1, for the spirit of fairness between its two drivers?
Keep an eye out for any strategy difference between the two McLaren drivers this weekend, as well as how Norris and Piastri race when close to one another. We’ve seen them collide twice already this season, in Montreal and in Austin, and with the margins this thin, it’s not hard to anticipate another close call between the championship front-runners.
Fallout from a frightening scene at Mexican Grand Prix
There’s no doubt that the racing in Mexico City was among the most thrilling it’s been at a circuit that typically doesn’t deliver as much action or intrigue. However, the most lasting image from the weekend wasn’t one of the many instances of the world’s best duking it out on track, but rather one of a driver narrowly avoiding what could have been a catastrophic moment.
Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson rounded the opening corner on the fourth lap of the Grand Prix only to find two marshalls sprinting across the track after having picked up debris from an earlier incident. Thankfully, the 23-year-old had the wherewithal to slam the brakes and prevent the worst, but he was rattled by the scene (“I could have f---ing killed them, mate,” he said to his race engineer)—and for good reason.
😮🇲🇽 Un peligro la situación que se dio en el GP de México
— Diario Olé (@DiarioOle) October 26, 2025
Dos marshalls cruzaron la pista muy cerca de Liam Lawson pic.twitter.com/rUEnZ6CRvW
Thus kicked off the blame game. Mexico’s racing federation jumped first and deflected any responsibility, placing fault instead on Lawson and suggesting the driver clearly saw that there were personnel still on track. The FIA, F1’s international governing body, countered with a statement of its own earlier this week, absolving Lawson of any blame and making clear that it was still investigating the matter.
The whole situation has been ugly and obviously could’ve turned tragic. But having any sort of scare seemed to cause the rest of the race two weeks ago to be governed with hesitation, which included what appeared to be a rather cautious call for a safety car late in the Grand Prix while pivotal battles were still happening out on track.
There’s no denying that the incident has placed the FIA and the stewards squarely in the spotlight this weekend at Interlagos and it’s worth watching how they go about their business.
One year since Verstappen’s epic win at Interlagos
A mere 369 days ago, Verstappen pulled up to the starting line in 17th position, having finished a disappointing 12th in qualifying and taking a five-place grid penalty for yet another power unit change.
What ensued was the greatest drive of the Red Bull’s career, one that will be remembered for solidifying his run to a fourth straight drivers’ championship in one of his most challenging seasons in F1.
Verstappen diced up the field in the rainy conditions, making up six spots after the opening lap and finding himself in the top three after the first set of pit stops. By the time the checkered flag waved, he crossed nearly 20 seconds ahead of the next driver, becoming just the sixth driver ever to win a Grand Prix after starting 17th or lower on the grid. He began the race 16 spots behind Norris, at the time his biggest threat in the standings, and ended up beating his McLaren opponent by 31 seconds.
From P17 on the grid, the win in Brazil should've been impossible...
— Formula 1 (@F1) December 21, 2024
NEVER tell @Max33Verstappen what's impossible! With the championship in the balance, he delivered one of his all-time greatest drives 😮💨#F1 pic.twitter.com/8CUqSD4dHd
What transpired at the start of 2025, with turmoil hovering within and around the Red Bull team, made last year’s performance in Brazil seem like an entirely different era for Verstappen, but since the summer break, there’s been no better driver than the Red Bull No. 1 car. To arrive in São Paolo, which forecasts to have at least some rain over the next few days, with a real chance to make up more ground on Norris and Piastri, almost seems like fate.
Should Verstappen be able to pull off what seemed like the impossible once again in Brazil, we may truly be headed for a three-race sprint to the finish between three drivers.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Brazilian Grand Prix Preview: Is McLaren Really Ready to Risk Everything?.
