Lando Norris ends 13-year McLaren wait for F1 Brazil GP victory. Lando Norris delivers McLaren’s first Brazil GP win since 2012.

The last race weekend took on special significance for one driver and a team, united in a way by a specific Grand Prix fifteen years apart. It was in 2012, at Interlagos, that McLaren last won a Brazil GP before returning to the top step of the podium with Lando Norris. That milestone, before a nine-year wait without a win, was achieved by Jenson Button, who claimed his final F1 victory. Curiously, Jenson Button had retired from competitive racing in the same weekend that Norris celebrated his triumph in São Paulo.

A historic victory

The 2012 race is still remembered for other reasons, but Norris’s recent win has brought McLaren’s achievement back into the spotlight. Lando Norris dominated the entire weekend, from the Sprint qualifying to Sunday’s race. Similarly, back in 2012, McLaren dominated the weekend, but then with two drivers. Lewis Hamilton secured pole position just ahead of Button — his last pole for McLaren before moving to Mercedes in 2013 — while Button crossed the finish line first in a race full of dramatic twists.

Drama and championship implications

The 2012 Brazil GP was crucial for the Drivers’ Championship, with Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso battling for the title. The race started poorly for the Red Bull driver, who had to pit in the early stages after contact with Bruno Senna. The wet conditions initially seemed to favor the Ferrari driver Alonso, at least until Vettel mounted a spectacular comeback, helped by the Safety Car deployment to clear debris from multiple incidents on track.

The decisive moment for the championship came in the final laps: after pitting for medium tires, Vettel made another stop shortly afterward due to rain, switching to intermediates earlier than all other drivers. This strategic move allowed him to climb from 15th to 6th place, enough to secure his third consecutive World Championship, edging out Fernando Alonso by just three points, with the Spaniard finishing second behind Button. The Interlagos race was also marked by the final career appearance of Michael Schumacher.