F1 Stock Watch: Who Gained and Lost More After the São Paulo Grand Prix?

Lando Norris weathered the storm to take his second straight São Paulo Grand Prix victory, winning the race by more than 14 seconds over Max Verstappen. The McLaren driver, who failed in his title defense this year,  surely sees his stock go up after the weekend in Interlagos.

So, who joins Norris in the gainers and who joins his teammate in the losers?

Norris finally ended his five-race podium drought with a pole and a victory in Brazil. He maximized McLaren's upgrade package this weekend, and showed off his skills and composure in wet conditions.

Moreover, he finished ahead of teammate Oscar Piastri for the fourth straight race. 

Max Verstappen's mega start from P21 to the points positions in the opening lap ultimately allowed him to catch up to Norris and the frontrunners. The P2 finish in Interlagos further increased Verstappen's second-place lead to 17 points over Mercedes' George Russell.

The higher-ups in Racing Bulls are surely having a difficult time deciding on their 2027 seats. Lawson further solidifies his case for next year, finishing P7, amazingly ahead of the two Ferrari drivers. It seemed that the Kiwi driver couldn't do anything wrong, even maintaining his composure in defending against Charles Leclerc. 

Alonso didn't finish in the points, but his performance in Interlagos was nothing short of impressive. He started in eighth place and eventually lost positions to the faster cars, which was expected. But the Spanish driver constantly fought for points the whole race, giving Aston Martin fans something to cheer for.

That unfortunate spin on the pit lane exit was sort of a rookie mistake for Russell, and he knows it. He could've fought for the podium positions, and even for the win, if not for that crucial mistake. 

Mercedes did clinch the Constructors' Championship in Interlagos, but Russell will be licking his wounds for the nth time this season.

Piastri, who started in P10 and climbed to a P6 finish, was decent during the race on Sunday. But it was during the qualifying session on Saturday when his weekend took a wrong turn. He failed to advance to Q3 for the second straight weekend, while his teammate took pole and converted it into a win.

In Formula 1, the drivers' stock rises and falls based on how they stack up against their respective teammates. Piastri's is falling badly.

Leclerc got off to a very slow opening stint on the intermediate tyres, as he failed to move up from his starting position of 14th. Meanwhile, his teammate, Lewis Hamilton, surged from 20th to ninth after the opening lap. 

Then, later in the race, Leclerc got his elbows out in an effort to overtake Lawson for seventh place. But the Monegasque was a tad too aggressive, making contact with the Racing Bulls driver and incurring a five-second penalty for causing a collision.