Kimi Antonelli made a huge claim about Lando Norris after his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri crashed out and caused a red flag in the sprint race at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The sprint race took place at 2pm in Sao Paulo on Saturday afternoon, with Norris starting the race from pole position after his victory in sprint qualifying the day before.
He beat Antonelli by 0.097 seconds and was also 0.185 seconds in front of his teammate and championship rival Piastri.
Norris made a strong start in slippery conditions in the 24-lap sprint but disaster struck for Piastri, who crashed out in the sixth lap.
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The Australian clipped a wet kerb and spun into the barriers on Turn Two, with Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg and Franco Colapinto of Alphine following suit and making the same mistake.
The incident caused a red flag to be issued on the eighth lap, ultimately prompting a restart which included Hulkenberg after his mechanics managed to get his car ready quickly.
However, on his team radio, Antonelli weighed in with his thoughts on what happened and claimed that the incident was a follow-on from Norris going wide and hitting the kerb to bring water.
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"Norris hit the kerb and a lot of water went on line," he said, speaking to his team.
Piastri and Norris both crashed out at the sprint race in Austin but after the latter went on to win the Sao Paulo sprint and collect eight points, his McLaren pal's retirement means he has lost further ground at the top of the rankings as he is now nine points adrift.
The 24-year-old has raced incredibly throughout the 2025 season but mistakes have crept in at the worst possible time in the final stretch.
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Fortunately for him, Max Verstappen was not able to fully capitalise on Piastri's struggles as he finished fourth behind Mercedes pair Antonelli and George Russell and took five points.
Piastri is now quickly moving on by turning attentions to qualifying and the main event race on Sunday at the Interlagos Circuit.
Speaking to Sky Sports afterwards, he said: "I'm just trying to put this behind, I guess. See what weather we have for this afternoon. Obviously, there is a lot more points on offer tomorrow. "The better job I can do this afternoon of trying to get myself a good starting spot, the better it'll be."
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The most concerning moment of the crash involved Gabriel Bortoleto, who suffered a terrifying crash late on.
Fortunately the Sauber driver confirmed to his team over radio that he was fine but after he was taken to the medical centre, it remains to be seen whether his car will be ready for qualifying given the damage caused.
Topics: Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri, Formula 1
Josh Lawless