Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

Lando Norris took two points out of Max Verstappen’s championship lead with victory in the sprint race at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

Norris was allowed through by team-mate Oscar Piastri two laps before the end of the race on team orders, after a tense four-way fight for the lead from the start.

But McLaren made the swap a lot more tense than it needed to be, by delaying it until Verstappen’s Red Bull had passed the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc with six laps to go.

The result cuts Verstappen’s lead to 45 points, with the grand prix still to come on Sunday. Qualifying for that is at 18:00 UK time on Saturday.

Read the full report here

Image source, Getty Images

The haul of sprint points for McLaren has moved the team 35 points clear of second-placed Ferrari in the constructors' championship.

Just for fun, how many of you would've disobeyed team orders and kept the sprint win for yourselves? Don't worry, the thumbs are anonymous, no-one will ever know.

Right then, full attention now turns to qualifying for tomorrow's Sao Paulo Grand Prix. McLaren look strong, as does Max Verstappen in the Red Bull. However, the Dutchman has that five-place grid penalty for the main race, so a high qualifying position will be vital.

We'll park up and stretch our legs now. Come back back and join us for build up from 17:30 GMT.

See you shortly!

Red Bull's Christian Horner, speaking to Sky Sports on Max Verstappen's restart: "It looks ok, but let's see.

On Verstappen's radio message: "He was just conscious that there was no gap, Oscar wasn't dropping back from Lando. I think most encouraging thing was the race pace was good, that was encouraging. There's some things we're starting to understand."

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Max Verstappen finishes in third in the sprint, he said: “It was quite a tricky race but I think the pace was very good because we could always follow in the DRS. I’m quite pleased with that, it took a little bit too long with Charles but when everyone is in a DRS train it’s very hard to attack so I had to wait for some mistakes, luckily they came and I could use that to my advantage.

“It was promising, it was good, this is race pace, tomorrow it might rain as well so there’s a lot of unknowns but today was good.”

On the pace of the car, he added: “I still expect them [McLaren] to be really quick over the one lap but I hope we can limit the damage a bit with the five-place grid penalty I have.”

Image source, Getty Images

McLaren's Oscar Piastri who finished second from pole position: "It was a bit tricky to be honest very bumpy as we know and the racing line was incredibly narrow, you miss it by a tyre's width then you're in all sorts of trouble. It was a great day for the team, a lot of points and we can learn a lot for the race tomorrow, as well."

On whether he feels optimistic for the race: "I think optimistic. the pace looked ok but the Ferrari was quick at the start and Max quicker at the end. Let's see, we've got a few things we want to improve before qualifying but we're in decent shape."

Image source, Getty Images

Lando Norris wins the Sao Paulo sprint race in the McLaren, he said afterwards: “Not proud about it but we work well as a team together so I thank Oscar. We’ve done a great job as a team today and t was the result that we wanted, Oscar deserved it, but we are doing what we have to do. I thank him and the team and we had great pace so I’m looking forward to qualifying and the race tomorrow.”

On having the pace to overtake his team-mate Oscar Piastri, he added: “It’s tough, it was like yo-yoing a little bit, I would catch up and then drop back, and catch up. The dirty air will cost you a lot of lap time, I felt a bit quicker but I couldn’t pass at the time.

“It felt good, we were clearly quicker than the guys behind so it was just difficult in the sprint race with lots to manage and push and that kind of thing but we executed it well.”

The virtual safety car infringement for Max Verstappen at the restart of the sprint is now under investigation by the stewards.

What does the sprint result mean for the drivers' championship? Lando Norris is now 45 points behind title leader Max Verstappen, with the main event still to come tomorrow.

Max Verstappen - 368

Lando Norris - 323

It's maximum points for Lando Norris in his bid to close the gap on Max Verstappen in the drivers' championship.

In the final points place is Sergio Perez, who came from 13th on the grid - with another little tussle with Liam Lawson in between - to pick up one point.

1. Lando Norris - 8pts

2. Oscar Piastri - 7pts

3. Max Verstappen - 6pts

4. Charles Leclerc - 5pts

5. Carlos Sainz - 4pts

6. George Russell - 3pts

7. Pierre Gasly - 2pts

8. Sergio Perez - 1pt

Max Verstappen has been noted by race control for a virtual safety car infringement.

Jolyon Palmer
Former Renault driver on BBC Radio 5 Live

[McLaren] left themselves so open by doing [that strategy], I mean, they had about 30 seconds to play with before it was going to get really messy for McLaren, I'm not understanding the logic of what they did.

Jolyon Palmer
Former Renault driver on BBC Radio 5 Live

A couple of corners to go now, Verstappen is still close to Piastri, Norris is looking set to win this one. Can Verstappen do anything about the second-placed McLaren?

Max Verstappen is gaining on Oscar Piastri but the Dutchman runs off line as the green flag is shown for the race to resume. The final lap is on and Lando Norris is on his way to winning this fifth sprint race of the season.

"Pay attention to this, if he is driving slow on purpose, report it"

Jolyon Palmer
Former Renault driver on BBC Radio 5 Live

The question is will they clear it up or will they finish under VSC?

I am actually very surprised the VSC wasn't called before it was.

Jolyon Palmer
Former Renault driver on BBC Radio 5 Live

There is smoke coming off the back of Nico Hulkenberg's Haas, if there's a safety car now, that would neutralise the race.

Nico Hulkenberg is watching the action from a safe distance as his car just sits stricken off the track. The marshals are coming to the German's aid now.

Lando Norris leads, Oscar Piastri is now second and Max Verstappen is third after passing Charles Leclerc. Verstappen comes on the Red Bull radio to say keep an eye Piastri during this VCS...

McLaren have pulled the trigger with threat of a safety car in the air. Oscar Piastri moves over and Lando Norris takes the lead of the sprint.

And now the virtual safety car is deployed.

Yellow flagpublished at 14:29 Greenwich Mean Time

14:29 GMT

Lap 21/24

Nico Hulkenberg looks to be out of this race, with the Haas parked up off the track.

Oscar Piastri is eight-tenths ahead of team-mate Lando Norris and is still leading this Sao Paulo Grand Prix sprint.