Lando Norris has continued his incredible F1 turnaround by storming to a dominant victory in the 2025 Sao Paulo GP. The McLaren driver is now 24 points ahead of teammate and title rival Oscar Piastri with just three rounds remaining. And even with Norris crossing the line in P1 across every session in Brazil, Max Verstappen was the star driver after going from the pit lane to the podium from an incredible drive on a frenetic Grand Prix Sunday.

While Norris drove an excellent high-pressure lap in Qualifying for pole position, Verstappen slumped to a rare Q1 exit. Red Bull opted to work on the four-time champion's car overnight, and their changes turned the Dutchman's weekend upside down. Verstappen used his new power unit to storm through the field to a P3 finish, but even that downplays the drama from Sao Paulo.

Norris held the lead from Andrea Kimi Antonelli at the race start, with the Italian teenager enjoying his best F1 weekend of his fledgling career. A mixture of Pirelli compounds on the grid promised various strategies and launch speeds as teams tried to anticipate the best tyre choice for the 71 laps. The race, however, stuttered in its start, with a crash for Gabriel Bortoleto bringing out a Lap 1 Safety Car.

The Brazilian driver endured a torrid weekend in front of his home crowd. His maiden Interlagos weekend had him sustain a 57G crash in Saturday's Sprint, and he went no further than Lap 1 in the Grand Prix itself. Lance Stroll didn't leave Bortoleto any space heading into Turn 10, and the Sauber hit the barriers to neutralise the race with a Safety Car.

Yet further drama came before the deployment, with Lewis Hamilton hitting Franco Colapinto's rear when chasing the Alpine down the pit straight. Hamilton misjudged the speed difference and lost his front wing, taking damage that ultimately led to a retirement later in the race.

Things didn't go so well for the sister Ferrari of Charles Leclerc on the race restart, either. With Antonelli suffering from a slow reaction time when Norris went full throttle, Piastri went for a move on the inside into Turn 1. However, with Leclerc simultaneously going around the outside of the Italian, Antonelli turned in across Piastri to avoid the Ferrari. Piastri hit Antonelli, who skidded into Leclerc, causing terminal damage and a Virtual Safety Car.

The stewards deemed Piastri responsible for the incident and handed down a 10-second penalty for the crash. Even though the Australian had passed Antonelli in the move, he'd later fall back when pitting thanks to the 10-second delay before he could swap tyres. Norris was further aided in his P1 hopes by Verstappen getting a puncture from debris and needing to pit. Red Bull swapped his Pirelli Hards for Mediums ahead of the race resumption on Lap 9, and Verstappen got to work picking his way through the field.

Verstappen sat in P18 with 62 laps to go, but he didn't last long in those lowly positions, with overtakes on Hamilton and Fernando Alonso as the three world champions occupied the bottom ten places. That didn't remain the case for Verstappen for long, though, as the split tyre strategies began to split apart the field. The earlier puncture had Verstappen on grippier Pirelli rubber than those around him, and he pushed that advantage to go longer into the race, picking his way through midfielders. Reaching P4 by the time Norris pitted, Verstappen had very much joined the fight for the podium.

To highlight just how high Verstappen had reached, the Red Bull racer was ahead of Piastri after the Australian's long pit stop with his penalty, and had reached an authentic P5 on track by Lap 39. With others stopping for a third set of Pirelli rubber, Verstappen reached P1. It looked possible that he could reach the end on his Mediums after taking an early stop for the puncture and therefore having fewer laps to complete once he stopped for his first scheduled tyre change. It would be a case of defending with ageing tyres, but being high up the order.

Red Bull opted to roll the dice, though, bringing Verstappen in from the lead for a set of Softs and a 16-lap push to the finish. This grandstand ending had Verstappen return to the track in P4, and gunning hard to close the gap to George Russell's P3 and Antonelli's P2. It took just eight laps for him to power to Russell's rear wing, and a sweeping overtake on the outside of Turn 1 had the reigning champion up into the podium spots.

The final laps had Piastri also chasing down Russell, while the sister Mercedes of Antonelli had Verstappen almost pushing the Mercedes around Interlagos. Norris ended the race with a comfortable 10s advantage, but the order of those behind him was only established in the final metres. Antonelli made all the right moves to fend off Verstappen, though a mistake in the tough-to-pass second sector almost lost him P2. Verstappen clinched P3, and Russell did enough to hold back the charging Piastri after his penalty to secure P4.

It leaves Norris a sizeable 24 points ahead in the standings as F1 heads to Las Vegas for the final race in the Americas. A triple-header awaits the sport for its closing moments of the 2025 season. Norris has the form to become the champion, but he'll have to navigate a busy three weekends of action to take the title. Verstappen's hopes of the crown look to be over, but a single DNF could yet add another twist in this season of surprises.

EV drivers: New 3p pay-per-mile tax could cost you £250 a year

Electric vehicle (EV) owners in the UK could soon face an additional annual expense, as the Treasury considers a new 3p-per-mile tax that may cost the average driver around £250 per year. The proposal, reportedly under review by Chancellor Rachel Reeves, aims to address the growing shortfall in fuel duty revenue as more motorists switch to electric cars (Carwow, 2025).

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What’s being proposed

The central idea behind the proposed policy is to introduce a pay-per-mile charge for EVs to ensure all drivers contribute fairly to road infrastructure funding. Traditional petrol and diesel vehicle owners currently pay significant amounts through fuel duty – an average of around £600 annually – which EV owners currently avoid (Carwow, 2025). Under the new plan, electric drivers would pay approximately 3p for every mile driven, equating to about £240–£300 a year for those driving between 8,000 and 10,000 miles (The Independent, 2025).

According to early reports, the scheme could be administered similarly to existing vehicle excise duty (VED) payments. Drivers might declare their anticipated mileage for the year and pre-pay the tax, with adjustments made later based on actual mileage (The Independent, 2025). The proposal is still under consultation, but the government intends to implement it by 2028 (Evening Standard, 2025).

Why now?

The move comes amid a pressing concern over the decline in fuel duty revenues, which have traditionally provided billions in government funding. As EV adoption increases, this income stream is rapidly shrinking, creating what economists describe as a “fiscal black hole” (The Independent, 2025).

The Treasury argues that introducing a mileage-based tax will create fairness between motorists, as EV drivers currently pay far less in motoring taxes than their petrol and diesel counterparts, despite using the same road network (Evening Standard, 2025). Reeves has emphasised the need for a sustainable and equitable model for road taxation that reflects the changing vehicle landscape (The Guardian, 2025).

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What it means for EV drivers

If introduced, the pay-per-mile system would represent a shift from indirect taxation through fuel purchases to direct mileage-based charging. For most EV owners, the additional annual cost of roughly £250 would reduce – but not erase – the overall savings compared with internal combustion engine (ICE) cars.

Petrol and diesel drivers currently pay around 7p per mile in taxes through fuel duty and VAT, meaning the proposed 3p rate for EVs is still relatively modest (Carwow, 2025). Nevertheless, the tax could be perceived as a deterrent at a time when the government is trying to accelerate EV adoption ahead of the 2035 petrol and diesel ban (Financial Times, 2025).

High-mileage drivers such as commuters and delivery operators would feel the impact most sharply. Conversely, those who use their vehicles less frequently could end up paying less, particularly if the government introduces a carry-over or refund mechanism for unused mileage estimates (The Independent, 2025).

Industry reaction

Motoring and environmental groups have offered mixed responses. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) criticised the proposal as “the wrong measure at the wrong time,” arguing it could slow the uptake of electric vehicles at a critical moment in the UK’s transition to zero-emission transport (Autocar, 2025).

Industry analysts, however, acknowledge the need for reform. With fuel duty revenue projected to fall by billions over the next decade, a per-mile system may be inevitable. The challenge lies in implementing it without discouraging EV adoption or penalising early adopters who switched to electric vehicles under the assumption of lower long-term costs (Financial Times, 2025).

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What drivers can do

EV owners and prospective buyers should begin factoring this potential change into their total cost of ownership calculations. Tracking annual mileage can help estimate future tax liabilities. Drivers may also wish to participate in consultations or through advocacy groups to influence how the system is designed – particularly on issues such as low-mileage thresholds or exemptions for rural drivers (The Guardian, 2025).

While EVs remain significantly cheaper to run than petrol or diesel cars, especially when charged at home, the proposed pay-per-mile tax marks a turning point. It signals that the era of “tax-free” electric motoring may soon end, reshaping how the UK funds its roads in the age of electrification.

References

Autocar. (2025) Industry reacts to pay-per-mile tax for EVs: “entirely the wrong measure”. Available at: https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/electric-cars/industry-reacts-pay-mile-tax-evs-entirely-wrong-measure (Accessed: 6 November 2025).

Carwow. (2025) Electric cars could face 3p-per-mile tax under new Treasury plans. Available at: https://www.carwow.co.uk/news/9860/electric-cars-pay-per-mile-november-budget (Accessed: 6 November 2025).

Evening Standard. (2025) Pay-per-mile tax explained: Rachel Reeves’s plans for EV drivers. Available at: https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/pay-per-mile-tax-explained-rachel-reeves-b1256786.html (Accessed: 6 November 2025).

Financial Times. (2025) EV tax proposal spurs debate about who should pay most on UK roads. Available at: https://www.ft.com/content/8c8552f2-13e3-417e-a90d-b55074f95fe6 (Accessed: 6 November 2025).

The Guardian. (2025) Rachel Reeves considering pay-per-mile tax for electric vehicles in budget. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/money/2025/nov/06/electric-vehicles-pay-per-mile-tax-rachel-reeves-budget (Accessed: 6 November 2025).

The Independent. (2025) EV drivers could pay 3p per mile under new pay-per-mile tax plans. Available at: https://www.independent.co.uk/cars/electric-vehicles/paypermile-car-tax-ev-drivers-b2859696.html (Accessed: 6 November 2025).