Another week, another grand prix, another bruising weekend for the team. It’s safe to say that, just as they had in Mexico a week earlier, things didn’t quite go to plan in Brazil. Like Mexico, we paid the price for a start that was almost too good, if there is such a thing: a lighting first few metres ending in contact and damage – this time for Lando Norris. A recovery drive was the order of the day for Lando, who did well to score a point. But it was scant consolation, especially after Daniel Ricciardo looked set to bring home several more points had he not suffered a loss of power with 20 laps of the race remaining.

Still, our weekend in São Paulo wasn’t all bad. From brigadeiros to birthday cakes, there were certainly some sweeter moments. Here’s what social media made of it all…

If there’s a better way to start a race week than a Seidl selfie, we haven’t heard of it:

Saying that, a brigadeiro from Daniel is a pretty strong contender:

Upon our arrival at Interlagos, word filtered through of Brazilian fans’ love for the one they call… ‘Landinho’.

And it was clear he had quite a following:

Until he... ate himself?

Unsurprisingly, there was a lot of cake over the weekend as Lando celebrated his 22nd birthday on Saturday.

There was this mouth-watering creation from @spoodeythiera:

And this 'hole-in-one' Victoria sponge:

We loved the celebratory posts on social.

There was a birthday bauble, which actually got us feeling all festive. At the time of writing, there are 40 days, 7 hours, 59 minutes, 54 seconds until Christmas Day – not that we’re counting or anything.

Some of you even committed to wearing the same Lando cap all weekend…

Thank God we haven’t released a Lando underwear range on the McLaren Store, is all we can say.

And this was the icing on the cake (yes, we did just say that):

Away from the birthday cakes and baubles, it was kicking off elsewhere in the paddock, apparently…

Meanwhile, Daniel was busy leaving a little birthday surprise for Lando ahead of sprint qualifying… 

And @AndyRobinson100 was trying to get a decent 4G connection between his legs:

His efforts were rewarded in the Sprint, as Lando made up a place at the start and passed Charles Leclerc into Turn Four on lap nine, after a great tussle through Turns One and Two.

Daniel didn’t enjoy such a great start, dropping to P10 after getting boxed-in at the inside of Turn One. But in the ‘other’ Sprint, we fared a little better:

After the Sprint – the actual one – Lando suggested Lewis Hamilton should drive Sunday’s race on three wheels:

But it was Lando who ended up driving with just three wheels: contact with Carlos Sainz at the start of the race left him with a puncture and a long journey back to the pits for a new set of tyres – he was plum last and had a mountain to climb.

Daniel’s start was a little less eventful, and having picked up a couple of places in the opening exchanges, he took P8 off Sebastian Vettel after a lap-long, wheel-to-wheel scrap:

But it proved in vain: on lap 51 we were forced to retire Daniel’s car due to a power loss. It marked the first time Daniel has failed to finish a race all season.

While a second recovery drive in as many weeks from Lando secured us a consolation point.

Exactly, @LandoughDanyul. We go again. The Qatar Grand Prix awaits...

Join the team

McLaren Plus is our free-to-join fan loyalty programme, bringing McLaren fans closer to the team with the most inclusive, rewarding and open-to-all fan programmes in F1 & esports.

Sign up now, or current members can amend their details in the form below if necessary.