Lando Norris managed to avoid the chaos at the start and achieved a dominant victory at the Mexico City Grand Prix from pole position, this Sunday (26). With that, he took the lead in the Formula 1 championship from McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri by a single point.
Australian Piastri, who had started the race in seventh place and 14 points ahead of the Briton, finished fifth after a late virtual safety car denied him the chance to challenge for fourth after a thrilling chase.
Charles Leclerc was second for Ferrari, 30.3 seconds behind Norris, while Red Bull’s reigning champion Max Verstappen took his sixth consecutive podium in third place after a breathtaking final lap that left him just 0.7 seconds behind the Monegasque.
Norris now has 357 points against Piastri’s 356, with Verstappen adding 321. The Dutchman keeps his dream of a comeback alive, by shrinking the McLarens’ advantage, which was 104 points at the end of August.
“What a race. I could only keep my eyes focused and forward and concentrate on what I was doing,” said Norris, who was booed by the home crowd for unexplained reasons. “A pretty straightforward race for me, which is exactly what I wanted. A good start, a good start, a good first lap and I could go from there.”
Englishman Oliver Bearman, from Haas, came fourth, the best result of his career. He was 1.1 seconds ahead of Piastri at the checkered flag waved by former heavyweight boxing champion Evander Holyfield.
Kimi Antonelli was sixth for Mercedes, with teammate George Russell seventh and Lewis Hamilton eighth for Ferrari after a 10-second penalty dropped him from third place.
Esteban Ocon was ninth for Haas and Brazilian Gabriel Bortoleto, from Sauber, took the last point.
Ferrari returned to second place, one point ahead of Mercedes, in a constructors’ championship already won by McLaren.
Norris made a clean start from pole when the lights went out, but found himself in a four-way race on the long straight to turn one, with Verstappen cutting the corner and passing through the grass of the run-off area.
Leclerc then cut through turn two, handing the position back to Norris, who emerged from the chaos ahead, while Verstappen gained a position, taking fourth to the intense annoyance of Russell.
“I was squeezed like crazy,” Verstappen said over team radio as Russell, who started fourth, pleaded in vain for the four-times world champion to be forced back.
Verstappen and Hamilton, who was third, then made contact on lap six when they went side-by-side, with the Red Bull driver attempting to overtake at turn one but ending up cutting into the next corner.
Hamilton went wide at turn four, heading back across the grass, and received a penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage. The collision did not result in any further action.
Meanwhile, Bearman had moved up to fourth place, from ninth at the start, and was in the podium positions while Hamilton served his penalty on lap 24. The Ferrari driver came back in 14th and had to fight his way back up the pack.
Norris was, at this point, 11.5 seconds ahead of Leclerc and enjoying a calm afternoon in the sun, steadily increasing his lead.
The next stage of the circuit will be the Brazilian GP, in São Paulo, from November 7th to 9th.
