The British pilot McLaren’s Lando Norriswon this Sunday categorically the Mexican Formula 1 Grand Prix and took the lead in the drivers’ world championship with four races remaining until the end of the season.
The 25-year-old Englishman reached 357 points, one more than his teammate, the Australian Oscar Piastriwho arrived as the leader in Mexico but passed first place after finishing in fifth place.
The Dutchman Max Verstappen (Red Bull) finished third and is 36 points behind Norris and 35 behind Piastri in the general classification, a short distance that keeps his chances of achieving the five-time world championship alive.
“You had to stay very focused at the beginning and then the race was quite linear. Good start, good first lap and I was able to open up a gap,” said the new leader.
“The atmosphere was incredible, it’s really fantastic to win here for the first time. Now we’re going to go week by week,” said Norris, who achieved his sixth win of the season and tenth in F1.
Norris defended the pole position from end to end and with a lead of 30.324 seconds he left Monegasque Charles Leclerc, from Ferrari, in second place.
“We didn’t know what to expect here, so getting on the podium is a pleasant surprise,” said Leclerc, who achieved his seventh podium of the campaign.
Photography Startup
The drivers of the first three lines had an aggressive start at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. Norris, Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton and Verstappen arrived almost together at the first corner.
In an attempt to improve his initial fifth place, Mad Max went for the pass, but the maneuver did not go well and he was momentarily left off the track in the grass area.
“The start was very hectic and I almost crashed. Fighting for second place with everything that happened… It was a very good race for me,” reflected the Dutchman, who had won three of the last four races.
Norris showed off his skill under the initial pressure of the two Ferraris and was able to maintain the lead. Further back, Piastri, who started seventh, lost a couple of positions and soon gave up the chance to get on the podium.
Meanwhile, Leclerc was frantically chasing Norris and Hamilton and Verstappen, third in the general classification, engaged in a duel that included touches between the two.
The seven-time world champion’s race was ruined when he received a 10-second penalty for taking advantage on a track exit, and that made Verstappen’s day easier.
The Briton paid the penalty in a pit stop and rejoined the race mid-table, but the effort was only enough for him to finish eighth.
His eventful race did not correspond to the feelings shown by the Mexican fans, devoted to the Scuderia drivers and expectant with the return of local Sergio “Checo” Pérez to F1 in 2026 with Cadillac.
Piastri rescued points
Resigned to not reaching the podium, Piastri focused on making up positions and was able to overtake the two Mercedes drivers, the Italian Kimi Antonelli and the British George Russell, who finished sixth and seventh.
The Australian tried to take fourth place, which would have allowed him to retain the lead, but he could not overcome the British Oliver Bearman (Haas), the surprise in Mexico City.
“Hopefully we can straighten the path (…) and do some different things,” Piastri said.
Bearman, 20, flirted with the podium and finished fourth after starting in ninth position.
Brazilian Gabriel Bortoleto had a good race and rose from sixteenth to tenth place to take a point.
Bortoleto’s luck was very different from the other Latin American in the running, the Argentine Franco Colapinto, who finished in sixteenth place, ahead of the Spanish Carlos Sainz (Williams), who received two penalties for speeding in the pits.
“The truth is that we as a team did not have rhythm and it cost us a lot,” said the Alpine driver, who hoped to improve his performance in the next Grand Prix, in Sao Paulo, on November 9.
