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.

The top four ran nose to tail for the first 18 laps of the race, with Piastri leading Norris, from Leclerc and Verstappen.

McLaren had gone into the race planning to allow Norris to lead in order to maximise his points gain over Verstappen.

They had an apparent opportunity to swap the drivers on lap three, by which time Norris was 1.6 seconds ahead of Leclerc.

But they did not take it, and soon Leclerc got back within a second of Norris, giving him the use of the DRS overtaking aid to allow him to stay close and threatening.

The obvious choice seemed to have been to allow Norris through on Piastri early on, and then have Piastri give Leclerc the DRS to allow him to defend from Verstappen.

Instead, they kept Norris in second and Leclerc began to slip back until by lap 17 Verstappen was right on his gearbox, and he moved past using the DRS into Turn Four on lap 18.

Initially, McLaren seemed to have the pace to keep more than a second clear of Verstappen.

But there was extra jeopardy when Nico Hulkenberg’s Haas pulled off on lap 21, with three laps to go.

It was obvious that a virtual or real safety car would be deployed, and if it had been before McLaren had swapped places, then Piastri might have won the race.

In the end, they got the swap done just before the VSC was deployed, and the race resumed for a final half lap.

Norris said: “Not proud about it, but we worked well as a team together. I thank Oscar. Today was the result we wanted, Oscar deserved it but I thank him and the team.

“It was yo-yoing a little bit. The dirty air costs you a lot of lap time. I felt a bit quicker but I couldn’t get close enough to pass. I felt we were quicker than the guys behind but it’s difficult in the sprint to know how much to manage (the tyres).

Verstappen has been cited for a potential infringement of the VSC rules, which could lead to a penalty, apparently for when he tried to challenge Piastri on the restart on the final lap.

Verstappen, who has a five-place grid penalty for the grand prix, said: “It was quite a tricky race but the pace was always good. It took a bit too long with Charles because when everyone is in the DRS train it is very hard to attack. But then he started to make some mistakes and I could use that to attack.

Leclerc took fourth, ahead of team-mate Carlos Sainz, who was off the pace of the leaders.

Mercedes driver George Russell, Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, and Red Bull’s Sergio Perez – from 13th on the grid – completed the top eight points positions.

Alex Pereira has teased a potential move to heavyweight to chase history for a third UFC belt, and top-15 heavyweight Rodrigo Nascimento likes his chances against the elite of the division.

With only two defeats in seven octagon appearances and having beat the likes of Tanner Boser and Ilir Latifi, “Ze Colmeia” explained in an interview with MMA Fighting why he believes Pereira won’t be affected by the jump to a heavier weight class after already going from middleweight champion to light heavyweight titleholder.

“Once you’re over 205 pounds, brother, it’s all the same,” Nascimento said. “That’s why Alex is willing to move up. You have heavyweight strength already when you’re over 205, no doubt about it.”

Nascimento, who faces Alexandr Romanov at Saturday’s UFC Edmonton, sees names that “in theory” could be bad match-ups for “Poatan” at heavyweight, but he’s on such a roll at the moment, defending his 205-pound title three times in 2024, that he can overcome those challenges.

“I don’t think there are many good wrestlers in the division to take ‘Poatan’ down,” Nascimento said. “And the fight starts on the feet. He has good distance, he’s extremely experienced on the feet. I’m sure he’s training on the ground with Glover [Teixeira]. I think he will do well in this division.”

“I think a grappler could be a bad fight for him in this division. Jon Jones, maybe Tom Aspinall, but I think ‘Poatan’ can definitely beat Tom Aspinall, and maybe Jon Jones, too. If this Jon Jones fight happens, he can be very dangerous in the first rounds. Jon Jones is spectacular, as [Pereira] is, but I think he can beat the interim champion. The worst fight for him, without a doubt, is Jon Jones.”

Jones is slated to defend his heavyweight title against Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 on Nov. 16, and interim titleholder Aspinall serves as a potential replacement on the card. The UFC has yet to announce who’s next for Pereira’s belt at 205-pound. Meanwhile, Nascimento works his way back up after having his three-fight winning streak snapped by Derrick Lewis in the main event of UFC St. Louis back in May.

“Ze Colmeia” said he has learned important lessons against Lewis, like coming in lighter to the cage, but there were upsides from headlining a first UFC event, such as a very lucrative new UFC deal for double the pay. Either way, he promises to a “very different” version of “Ze Colmeia” this Saturday against Romanov, who was choked by Jailton Almeida in under three minutes back in June.

“I saw him this week at the hotel and he’s big, probably walking around 277 pounds,” Nascimento said of Romanov, who won six of nine in the UFC. “Romanov is a grappler and works the body, shoots for single leg takedowns, but I’m a jiu-jitsu guy, too. I’ll put the pressure, take him down and tap him in the first round. I’ll use my ground and pound and I know he will give away his back when he gets desperate, and then I’ll submit him.”

Lando Norris was waved through by team-mate Oscar Piastri to win Formula 1’s 2024 Brazil sprint race, with the second McLaren saved from a Max Verstappen attack by a late virtual safety car.

However, the Red Bull driver faces a post-race investigation for his actions as the VSC was ending on the final lap.

At the start, polesitter Piastri moved across to cut off Norris’s run to the inside at Turn 1, where the McLarens held their positions and Verstappen locked up unsuccessfully attacking Charles Leclerc’s third place.

The McLaren pair moved slightly clear in the early laps, before Leclerc – who was unmoved by an early look from Verstappen into Turn 4 at the end of the track’s second straight – and the world champion closed back up.

Norris suggested he thought Piastri should have let him by in the opening quarter of the 24-lap contest, but the only order in the first half was for the leader to give his team-mate DRS after the second McLaren had fallen slightly away as the first 10 laps ended.

Leclerc perused the McLarens closely through the next phase before a moment at the Senna S on lap 13 meant he had to defend against Verstappen to Turn 4 and the McLarens finally snapped the DRS threat from behind.

But, just as McLaren was telling Norris it expected to swap positions late in the race, Leclerc’s pace dipping meant Verstappen was finally able to fight by at Turn 4 with DRS on the outside line on lap 18.

Verstappen quickly tore a chunk from Norris’s lead ahead, as he continued to lap regularly within a second of his team-mate.

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

The McLaren pair in the pulled a two-second gap to Verstappen as lap 20 kicked off, before the Red Bull then closed in by a few tenths.

Then when Nico Hulkenberg pulled off at Turn 8 in his Haas, McLaren suddenly had to urgently swap the lead in fear of the VSC that eventually came.

On lap 22, Piastri obeyed the instruction to let Norris by, with Verstappen suddenly all over the now second McLaren and threatening massively in third.

But just before the penultimate lap kicked off, the VSC was activated and the race neutralised.

There was to be one last moment of action when the VSC ended as Norris made it to Turn 4 on the final lap, with Verstappen pulling out from behind Piastri’s slipstream as if to attack with the neutralisation still active.

When it went green, Norris powered clear easily to win by 0.5s, while Verstappen did not get to make his move as by this stage he and Piastri and reached Turn 4.

Soon after the race ended, it was announced that Verstappen’s actions are being investigated for a possible infringement.

Ferrari’s expected race pace advantage never materialised, as Leclerc dropped back towards team-mate Carlos Sainz by the end – the Spaniard having been dropped quickly in the early laps.

George Russell was the lead Mercedes in sixth, with Pierre Gasly an impressive seventh for Alpine, while Sergio Perez fought his way up from SQ2 exit to finish eighth and claim the final point.

Lewis Hamilton recovered a few spots from losing badly at the start, while in the other Haas Oliver Bearman also dropped back from running at the end of the top 10 early on.

Photos from Brazilian GP Sprint

Saoirse Ronan’s interjection on the Graham Norton show, shone a big spotlight on the gender divide on personal safety.

It was difficult for Saoirse Ronan to make her point, with Eddie Redmayne, Paul Mescal, Denzel Washington and Graham Norton in full flight, joking about using a phone in self-defence. ‘That’s what girls have to think about all the time’, prompted what felt like a big silence, followed with a heartfelt and knowing applause from the audience.

White Ribbon UK’s work has at its core promoting men’s allyship to women. We encourage men to listen to women’s experiences and think about how they can prevent violence against women and girls and stop the responsibility falling upon women to keep themselves safe.

November is White Ribbon Month, culminating in White Ribbon Day on 25th November. The White Ribbon is the global symbol for ending men’s violence against women. This year is being marked with the theme, ‘It Starts with Men’, highlighting men as changemakers on this issue. All men can make a difference, by giving space to women when they are out in public places and also when they are trying to speak, whether on a chat show, at work or a night out. Ask women about their experiences and think how what you do, as a man, could make it different and make it feel safer for women. Talk about this with your male friends – be a positive influencer and encourage self-reflection. With consistent reflection and positive behaviour and attitude changes, long term we can get to a place where women are truly equal, where women don’t have to risk assess for their safety ‘all the time’. Where a mobile phone returns to just being a way of keeping in touch with friends and family and not a safety tool.

More information about White Ribbon Day is available here.

About White Ribbon UK: White Ribbon is the UK’s leading charity engaging men and boys to prevent violence against women and girls. Our mission is to prevent men’s violence against women and girls by addressing its root causes — harmful and dominant masculine norms. We strive to change long-established attitudes, behaviours and systems around masculinity that perpetuate gender inequality and men’s violence against women.

ALEXANDER ISAK’S header dealt Arsenal another blow in their Premier League title dreams.

The Swedish striker turned home a superb cross from Anthony Gordon to break the deadlock after just 12 minutes.

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And in truth it was quite a comfortable victory as Arsenal did not really threaten Nick Pope’s goal.

The only nervy moment for the Toon Army came in the 93rd minute when Declan Rice squandered a glorious chance to head in at the back post.

That makes it three Premier League games without a win for the Gunners following the defeat at Bournemouth and draw with Liverpool.

THIS IS A DEVELOPING STORY..

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