Kimi Antonelli arrives at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace already crowned 2025 Formula 1 world champion, his dominant season having sealed the title before the 20th race of the year. Yet the Brazilian Grand Prix in São Paulo is anything but a ceremonial run-out. With the championship decided, the fight for second place in the standings, a tense intra-team battle at Ferrari, and a severe weather system bearing down on Interlagos, the weekend carries real stakes, elcorreo.com reported.
The Italian, who celebrated his title in Mexico, comes to Brazil with the crown in hand — but the remaining questions are far from settled. Ferrari’s two drivers head into the weekend with their relationship under visible strain, and the battle for the runner-up spot has become a proxy war inside the Scuderia.
Leclerc and Hamilton: A Ferrari Civil War in the Making
Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton clashed visibly at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City, and what looked like a clear Ferrari one-two turned into a far shorter result than Maranello expected. The fallout has put both drivers in a serious spot, elcorreo.com reported.
The fight for the championship runner-up position — a prize few outside the paddock care about — has become a coveted objective inside Ferrari’s garage. For Max Verstappen it would be a modest consolation; for Mercedes’ George Russell it is far more significant, since a slip could see him drop to fifth — or worse if Lando Norris finishes the season strongly — while his teammate Oscar Piastri dominates. At Ferrari, second place would amount to a demonstration of the internal pecking order.
Leclerc, long tagged as the team’s predestined leader, has spent the season asserting himself both on track and in the team’s offices, and Hamilton — the seven-time champion who holds the sport’s records — has responded by reclaiming the pride of a man who expects to be looked up to, not down on. Hamilton leads Leclerc by 14 points in the standings, a margin that could tilt the balance in what shapes up to be one of the most compelling duels of a stormy weekend.
Hamilton also carries a special connection to Brazil: he admires Ayrton Senna, and it was at Interlagos where he clinched his first world title in the unforgettable 2008 season finale. Leclerc, meanwhile, arrived in São Paulo on Wednesday as a new father.
Rain Threatens to Rewrite Qualifying at Interlagos
The weather is no figure of speech here. Brazil is enduring one of its worst weather weeks of the year: the south of the country was hit Thursday by extremely strong winds that forced the cancellation of numerous flights, and the same storm system is moving toward the circuit from Friday onward, with the peak of the rain forecast for Saturday’s qualifying session, elcorreo.com reported.
If the session runs in wet conditions, an outsider could take pole — as Nico Hülkenberg famously did for Williams at this circuit in 2010.
Alonso Battles to Avoid His Worst Season
Fernando Alonso arrives in Brazil convinced Aston Martin will improve on its Mexico showing. That is not a difficult bar to clear: he retired on lap five at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez after another Honda engine failure, the power unit overheating due to incorrect pressures.
The Spaniard has reason to smile at a technical track like Interlagos, and even more so knowing that raw power will take a back seat if the rain arrives. Alonso, who replaced a still-unwell Lance Stroll at Thursday’s official press conference, said the team aims to be running around 12th or 13th on Sunday — which would make scoring possible. His focus is on reaching Q2 and avoiding incidents at the start rather than Saturday’s forecast deluge.
The points matter because a cloud hangs over him: with four races remaining, Alonso has 7 points. If he fails to reach 11 — his worst tally apart from his debut season with Minardi — it will be confirmed as his worst Formula 1 season with Aston Martin.
What Comes Next in São Paulo
The action at Interlagos features Saturday’s rain-threatened qualifying and Sunday’s Brazilian Grand Prix — the 20th round of the season — where second place in the championship, Ferrari’s internal order, and Alonso’s fading points hopes will be settled on track.
