Lando Norris insisted he would continue to block out the outside noise as talk of a maiden Formula One title continued to swirl after his Brazilian Grand Prix victory. 

Norris stormed to his seventh victory of the season in Sao Paulo on Sunday, finishing ahead of Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli and the Red Bull of Max Verstappen. 

But, more importantly, the Briton opened up a 24-point gap in the Drivers' Championship to McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri, who took the chequered flag in fifth place. 

It was a stellar weekend for Norris, who also won the sprint to improve his advantage over Piastri to nine points heading into the Grand Prix, which he was able to further improve. 

Indeed, Norris became only the fifth driver in F1 history to finish on the podium at least 17 times in a single season, joining the likes of Lewis Hamilton (five times), Verstappen (three), Sebastian Vettel and Michael Schumacher (once each). 

Just three races and one sprint stand in Norris' way of overcoming last year's heartbreak and becoming a world champion, but he was not getting carried away at this stage.

"Just ignore everyone that talks about you and just focus on yourself," Norris told Sky Sports. "McLaren are doing an amazing job and giving me a great car.

"We're pushing hard every single weekend, and I'm pushing hard away from the track, so it's rewarding; it doesn't come easy.

"To be honest, I didn't think we were the quickest out there on track today, so I'm glad to take home the win."

DRIVER STANDINGS (with three rounds to go)

Norris extends his lead to 24 points #F1 #BrazilGP pic.twitter.com/juh6zgXv4n

— Formula 1 (@F1) November 9, 2025

Norris has refused to discount Verstappen as a potential title rival after the Dutchman's mid-season revival catapulted him into contention for a fifth-straight crown. 

And as he did in 2024, Verstappen delivered another sensational display in Interlagos, claiming the final podium place to leave him 49 points adrift of Norris. 

Having been knocked out of the first qualifying session, Verstappen started the race from the pit lane after being fitted with a new engine and having a change of set-up. 

He made his way through the pack and was up to 13th by lap seven and challenged Antonelli for second late in the race, but was unable to pass the Italian teenager. 

However, it marked just the eighth time in F1 history that a driver starting from the pit lane recovered to finish in the top three, and the first since Hamilton did so at the Hungarian Grand Prix back in 2014. 

"It's a great win, but to be honest, seeing how quick Max [Verstappen] was today, I'm pretty disappointed we weren't quicker," Norris added. 

"That is where my mind is at the minute. I'm going to see the team and congratulate them, and see why we weren't quick enough.

"There's not a long way to go, but it can change so quickly as we've seen today, so just focus on myself, keep my head down, ignore everyone and keep pushing."