Archive November 8, 2025

Lando Norris said he was “driving well” and had “lessened his weaknesses” as he began to build on his championship advantage at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

The McLaren driver took pole for Sunday’s grand prix to follow his victory in the sprint earlier on Saturday, while his team-mate and title rival Oscar Piastri qualified fourth after crashing out of the sprint.

Norris’ performance at Interlagos confirmed a strong run of form since the start of September.

He has gained 43 points on Piastri in five grand prix weekends and a sprint – and retook the championship lead at the last race in Mexico with a victory achieved with the biggest margin over second place this season.

Norris, who heads into the grand prix with a nine-point championship lead over Piastri and every prospect of extending it, said: “I just feel like I’m doing a good job. I’m driving well.

“Before, earlier in the season, I would just have weaknesses, and I feel like I’ve, let’s say, I’ve maybe still got some here and there, but I’ve lessened them.

Norris’ reference was to his first part of the season, when a series of small errors contributed to Piastri building a substantial lead.

The Australian left the Dutch Grand Prix at the end of August, which he won while Norris retired with a fuel-line failure, with a 34-point lead in the championship. He has not finished ahead of Norris since.

His error in crashing out of the sprint was his sixth mistake in that period, following three crashes and a jumped start in Azerbaijan, and being a major contributor to a first-corner crash in the sprint in Austin which took out both McLarens.

Norris’ new solidity was reflected in qualifying in Sao Paulo. He made a mistake, locking up into Turn One, on his first run in qualifying and was 10th going into the final laps with Piastri fastest.

But he bounced back to beat the Australian by 0.375secs, a significant margin on one of the shorter laps of the season.

Ironically, Norris also inadvertently contributed to Piastri’s crash in the sprint.

The Briton ran across the kerb at Turn Three on lap six and pulled some water from a puddle on to the track.

The incident was noticed by Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli in second place behind him. Piastri than also ran over the kerb, but the car snapped into a slide and he crashed out of the race.

Norris said: “It’s a kerb you always use in quali. We use it a lot. Obviously, when it’s wet conditions, you kind of want to stay off all the kerbs. So I ran a little bit wide, and I saw the water come on to the track. But, yeah, that was it.”

Mercedes driver George Russell, who finished third in the sprint, was sitting alongside Norris in the post-race news conference and joked: “A little bit like Mario Kart when you throw the banana out. Smartest guy on the grid, this guy!”

Piastri said: “I was a little bit wide but nothing major and I took the same line as the cars ahead, certainly one of the cars ahead and, unfortunately, the consequences were a lot bigger.

Piastri recovered to put in a strong performance in qualifying – but failed to improve on his final run, and was leapfrogged not only by Norris but also by Antonelli and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.

His form in recent races is in stark contrast to earlier in the season, when he seemed unflappable, and there is a growing belief that the pressure of going for the championship may be getting to Piastri, who is in only his third season in F1.

“Just feels like things are not flowing that easily at the moment, you know?” the 24-year-old said.

“I had pretty good confidence in the car yesterday. Today felt like it was a bit trickier for everybody and just struggled to get the most out of the car.

“I’ve still got the belief that I can go out and win races and win the championship but, you know, obviously things are not coming as easy as I’d like them to.”

Asked about how he can limit further damage to his title hopes in the race, Piastri said: “Just try and pass a few cars for you, that’s all I can try and do, just try and capitalise on any opportunities that come up.

“There’s also a bit of a question on what tyres to use because, you know, the soft has not looked great, it’s not been good in qualifying and it’s not looked great in the sprint either.

“So I think there’s a bit of a question mark on that too and maybe that’ll give me some opportunities.”

Norris, who was challenged hard for the sprint victory by Antonelli, expects a similarly tough battle with the 19-year-old Italian in the grand prix.

Norris said: “I learned (in the sprint) that they’re pretty quick. And I learned that Kimi pushes all the way to the very end.

“So, in some ways looking forward to it, some ways I’m not. I think it’s going to be a big challenge tomorrow. We have to see what the weather’s going to do again, but so far this weekend’s been clean. So, I’m hoping they don’t ruin it.”

Antonelli, who is in his maiden season and has a best result so far of third place, said he hoped the expected cooler conditions would play into the hands of Mercedes.

“The pace this morning was really strong,” he said. “It was also quite cold and tomorrow should be kind of the same. So maybe that can help us a little bit more.

Tottenham eye a move for Everton winger Iliman Ndiaye, Chelsea are set to rival Spurs for Juventus striker Jonathan David, and Liverpool linked with £88m move for Inter’s Alessandro Bastoni.

Tottenham Hotspur have made Everton’s Senegalese winger Iliman Ndiaye, 25, a prime target, but Newcastle United, Juventus, AC Milan and Atletico Madrid are also keeping tabs on the player. (TeamTalk)

Chelsea and Tottenham are weighing up a January move for Juventus and Canada striker Jonathan David, 25 (TuttoMercatoWeb)

Everton could move for Midtjylland striker Franculino Dju, 21, in January but face competition from Bologna for the Guinea-Bissau international. (Sun)

Liverpool are ready to offer 100m euros (£88m) to sign Italy international Alessandro Bastoni, 26, from Inter. (Il Giorno – in Italian)

Real Madrid would be prepared to spend 250m euros (£220m) on Arsenal and England midfielder Declan Rice, 26, and Paris St-Germain’s France winger Bradley Barcola, 23. (Fichajes – in Spanish)

Barcelona are interested in Crystal Palace and Colombia full-back Daniel Munoz, 29 (Mundo Deportivo – in Spanish)

Levante striker Etta Eyong, 22, is being tracked by Real Madrid and Barcelona, but the Cameroon international says it would be “a dream” to one day play for Chelsea in the Premier League as he watched the team growing up. (Givemesport)

Atletico Madrid have identified Real Madrid defender Ferland Mendy, 30, as a leading transfer target, with the Frenchman out of favour at the Bernabeu. (El Nacional.cat via GetFootballNewsSpain)

For a month and more, as they celebrated a century at Murrayfield, Scottish Rugby has been canvassing opinion on the greatest moment the old place has seen. Views are split.

In the business of the worst moment, there may be unanimity, just as soon as the effects of the smelling salts and the large brandies kick in. The most painful, the one that left fans feeling light-headed, jelly-legged and nauseous – look no further than this.

This was New Zealand being New Zealand with knobs on. It was Scotland being Scotland, too. Frail and brilliant, exhilarating and infuriating.

So many opportunities wasted, so many moments where they let New Zealand off the hook, so many All Black yellow cards (three) with Scottish points coming off only one of them.

The visitors played with 14 for 30 minutes and the score across the span of that half-hour was 7-7. One stat in a million to torment Gregor Townsend and his players.

In 2014, 2017 and 2022 the All Blacks beat Scotland late in the day, but this was different. Different and yet the same.

Sione Tuipulotu said that in clawing it back from 17-0 to make it 17-17 his team played their best rugby in his time in the country. The captain said that such was the noise and chaos inside Murrayfield it felt like the stadium was “hovering”. And you knew where he was coming from.

Belief swirled like the skirl of the bagpipes. Scotland’s soft touch beginning had been cast to the winds.

In the aftermath, Scott Robertson, the All Blacks coach, was asked what the endgame was all about and he mentioned the word “clutch”. He was right. With New Zealand, it’s always clutch.

Cowering on the ropes for much of a second half dominated by Jack Dempsey’s carries, Gregor Brown’s power, Rory Hutchinson’s unrelenting attacking and Kyle Steyn’s constant influence, the visitors found something when it looked like they had nothing.

Composure won the day. Again. Scotland must have given away five penalties in the final 10 minutes. New Zealand turned the screw, just like the last time and the time before that and the time before that.

Damian McKenzie’s 70th minute 50-22 was like a fireball falling from the sky, winning all-important field position – a “gut punch” as Tuipulotu called it. His finish moments later was outstanding, but Scottish regret was writ large over it. Shouldn’t Blair Kinghorn have made his tackle and dealt with the danger?

McKenzie’s booming kick seconds from the end put it beyond reach. Scotland done in the final minutes once more. White is the new black.

In the pantheon of losses, this was arguably the most excruciating. Lack of concentration cost Scotland a score after three minutes and lack of organisation cost them again before the break. Amid all of this, Scotland put in some almighty defensive sets, repelling the All Blacks with a demonic intent.

But what good is all that resilience if it’s accompanied by all that softness and wastefulness?

At 17-0 the obituaries were being written. How bad was it going to get? How brutal was the analysis going to be? Scotland – all style, no substance. Not a serious team. Not a side to be respected when facing the biggest guns. Whither Townsend?

When things started to turn, it was electrifying. It was like you walked into some kind of parallel universe, a place where Scotland were now ruthless and full of running and where New Zealand were hanging on for grim death.

It all changed when Ewan Ashman scored and when Ardie Savea got binned in the aftermath. 17-7 against 14 men? You’re telling me there’s a chance.

Three minutes later, Scotland scored again. Tuipulotu went blasting and Kinghorn flung it wide to Steyn. A three-point game. Murrayfield on its feet, pulses racing. It was some of the best stuff we’ve seen from Scotland in an age – and some of the most maddening.

Around the 53-minute mark they went hunting again, should have scored but knocked on instead. In the 56th minute they piled on, Darcy Graham almost getting over in the corner, but dropping the ball under pressure.

It was a thrill-fest but it was worrying, too. Through their frenetic search for scores, Scotland were only liberating New Zealand instead of locking them up and throwing away the key, as clinical teams would do.

Still, not long after Savea returned to the battle, Finn Russell banged over a penalty to level it. Then, the death-wish in the All Black camp returned when Wallace Sititi deliberately knocked on. A third New Zealand yellow.

It was as if they were goading Scotland now. “Come on lads, we’re doing our best to help you here. How many cards do we need to get for you to beat us?”

The Sititi minutes came and went and the scoreboard didn’t budge. That was the cringe-factor right there. That was the red flag on Scottish hopes. These are not vintage All Blacks and they were there for the taking. Maybe they just got fed up waiting for Scotland to win the day?

We entered the final 10 minutes and the sense of foreboding began to grow. Anybody who knows the recent history of this fixture is aware of the darkness that descends on Scotland in the closing stages against the All Blacks.

In your head you could hear the distant sound of thunder. Or jungle drums. Or a funeral march. Whatever it was, it wasn’t good. McKenzie hit them with that game-changing 50-22. From Damian, an omen.

Penalties were given away, ground was conceded, hope faded. McKenzie scored and there was no coming back. In days gone by you would call this a moral victory, you would feast on the positives and talk about the things that suggest Scotland can live with the best.

We’re past that and good riddance to the mentality. There was no solace in performance and no pride in failure. It was a compelling day but also dispiriting almost beyond words.

Scotland could and should have won. They looked immortality in the eye and said “not today”, as if 120 years isn’t long enough to wait.

Max Verstappen said he could “forget about” winning the world championship after a chastening Saturday at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

The Red Bull driver qualified 16th for Sunday’s main race after finishing fourth in the sprint earlier on Saturday while McLaren’s Lando Norris won.

The sprint result extended Norris’ lead over Verstappen to 39 points with four races to go.

Asked for his feelings on the championship after qualifying, the Dutchman said: “I can forget about that. Yes, for sure.”

Verstappen had emerged as a title contender after a remarkable run of form saw him reduce then championship leader Oscar Piastri’s advantage by 64 points with three wins and a second place in four races in Italy, Azerbaijan, Singapore and the United States.

Four-time world champion Verstappen qualified sixth for the sprint, in which he gained two places by passing Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin at the start and moving up a position when Piastri crashed.

Afterwards, he complained of a lack of grip in the car, and the changes Red Bull made in an attempt to improve it made it worse. He was knocked out of qualifying after the first session.

It was the first time that had happened since the 2021 Russian Grand Prix – and that was as a result of engine problems.

Verstappen said he and the team did not know why the car was so uncompetitive.

“We need to understand what our problems are, first of all,” he said. “It’s not been good. It seems that we don’t really understand why it’s going that way.

“There was just no grip. I changed a few times the car and it didn’t work. That’s something that we need to figure out.”

Red Bull even changed the floor on their car, reverting to an older specification to the one that had been influential in their step up in performance when it was introduced at the Italian Grand Prix in early September.