Lando Norris grabbed his third win of the 2026 season in Sao Paulo, much to the anger of the fans at the track.

McLaren finally seemed to get to grips with their upgrade package as the 2025 champion looked unbeatable in Sao Paulo. Norris claimed pole position ahead of the two Mercedes, taking advantage of the wet weather conditions.

Lando Norris and George Russell were booed heavily by Sao Paulo crowd

Norris’ victory at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix has put him in the fight for P2 in the championship. He is just 33 points behind Max Verstappen, with George Russell, Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc between them.

His win was perhaps overshadowed by his chaotic podium celebrations. Norris broke his champagne bottle as he tried to do his signature move, before he accidentally walked into the sparks machine.

That was not the only eye-catching moment, as Norris was booed as he walked out onto the podium, as F1 photographer Kym Illman recalled.

Speaking via Paddock Access, Illman also noted how the Brazilian fans also booed Mercedes driver and fellow Brit Russell during the race.

“The fans are something else,” he said. “They don’t like George Russell and they don’t like Lando Norris. Oh, they give him a big boo every time they see him on screen.”

Russell had a difficult race in Sao Paulo. He spun at the pit exit and almost blocked it as he faced the wrong way as cars tried to get back onto the track. He ended up finishing P4 ahead of Antonelli, who was struggling with temperature imbalance.

Journalist Jacky Martens noticed how F1 TV direction tried to drown out the boos aimed at Russell and Norris.

“I mean they used to do that, like I remember Max getting booed in Monza a few years ago. You couldn’t tell from the television but I was there obviously and the booing was crazy, the few years after he was one of the biggest heroes because he was beating the opponents of Ferrari.

“But yeah, I think they get they get rid of it on television, because I didn’t know, I wasn’t aware of that.”

Illman then shared what he saw at the podium: “When Lando accepted his… or when he got called out to accept his trophy, he was booed. Not huge, but certainly was noticeable to me standing on the photography tower looking at that podium.”

The reason for Norris and Russell’s hostile reception at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix is unclear. The home crowd did not have too much to shout about their heroes, as Gabriel Bortoleto and Rafael Camara, who made his F1 debut with Haas, had tough weekends.

Both drivers crashed in qualifying and finished down the order on Sunday. Bortoleto was 16th, while Camara was last on the road in P20 and two laps down.