Lando Norris drove a masterclass race with a lights to flag victory at the Mexico City Grand Prix and this success means he becomes the new championship points leader over his McLaren teammate.
Charles Leclerc just managed to hold off Max Verstappen to finish P2 for Ferrari thanks to a late VSC. At least the Red Bull driver made a recovery from being pushed off track at the start to come home P3.
And yet it was Oliver Bearman who achieved a fantastic result with P4 for Haas. This is the best result for the rookie and the American-based team this season.
Norris was offered a chance to overturn his 14-point deficit on Piastri by taking his fifth pole of the campaign, while Piastri only started seventh.
Despite the long run as cars dashed down to Turn 1, Norris managed to keep his lead, while the main battle took place behind the poleman.
Ferrari’s Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton went side by side, before fifth-starting Verstappen made it three-wide on the outside. The Red Bull driver, who was the only frontrunner to start on mediums instead of softs, ran out of room and went onto the grass in the runoff area.
Leclerc also went off to cut Turn 2 and take the lead, but handed the position back immediately to Norris. Hamilton snatched third back from Verstappen.
On lap 6 Verstappen did a divebombed on Hamilton into Turn 1, leading to a clash between the pair, with Verstappen going through the Turn 2 grass. Their battle continued into Turn 4, where Hamilton locked up and went wide, while Verstappen was picked off by opportunistic Haas rookie Oliver Bearman, who had made a rocket start from ninth.
In the battle Russell lost out and dropped to seventh behind teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli, while Piastri was briefly passed by Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda before reclaiming seventh.
Hamilton would pay a price for going off at Turn 4, with the race stewards deeming the Ferrari driver had gained an unfair advantage, meaning a 10-second penalty. Taking his penalty at the first round of pitstops around lap 24, Hamilton dropped to the back of the battle he was in.
At the front Norris comfortably drove away from Leclerc, who himself was under no threat for second until the final stages of the race.
On his alternate strategy Verstappen extended his stint on mediums, initially dropping behind the rest of the for five contenders.
That allow Bearman into an unlikely podium position, defending from Antonelli, Russell and Piastri.
Russell was frustrated at being stuck between his teammate and a charging Piastri, yet still being asked to look after his tyres. After a long back-and-forth, George eventually got his wish to swap positions in his chase after Bearman.
But that midfield battle received another twist when Piastri, who was also stuck behind the Bearman train, decided to switch to a two-stop strategy with another pitstop for softs. Bearman and the Mercedes cars all responded, with Piastri making the undercut work on Antonelli to take sixth, still ahead of Bearman and Russell.
That two-stop for his rivals worked out brilliantly for Verstappen, who stayed out and suddenly re-emerged in third position behind Norris and Leclerc. Despite being on older softs Verstappen comfortably defended a 14-second gap to Bearman and instead set his target on Leclerc, who was going to the end on slower medium tyres.
Verstappen caught Leclerc with two laps to the flag, but a virtual safety car for the Williams of Carlos Sainz meant to hold their positions. By the time the VSC was withdrawn on the final lap, Verstappen had run out of possible overtaking opportunities.
Norris took his sixth win of the season, taking the victory by 30 seconds over Leclerc and Verstappen, and grabbed the lead in the championship for the first time in six months.
Behind Leclerc and Verstappen, Bearman took a career-best result in fourth after an impressive performance in the Haas.
Piastri had also passed the other Mercedes of Russell for fifth, with a move down the inside of Turn 1 on lap 60. That led to Mercedes undoing its position swap, allowing Antonelli to take sixth ahead of his teammate.
Hamilton finished a distant eighth after his ten-second penalty knocked him out of contention, while Esteban Ocon completed a dream day for Haas in ninth and Gabriel Bortoleto took the final point for Sauber in tenth.
The race saw three retirements, with Fernando Alonso’s awful 2025 luck continuing due to a suspected brake issue. Liam Lawson was forced to retire after contact on the opening lap, while Nico Hulkenberg suffered a power issue.
Norris now heads to the final four races with a single point ahead of Piastri, with Verstappen now 36 points off the top of the table.
So congratulations to Lando Norris with this latest victory and he becomes the new championship leader. But the difference is only a single point. So the title battle is still on between the McLaren drivers.
Mexico City Grand Prix, race results:
1 Lando Norris McLaren 1:37:58.574
2 Charles Leclerc Ferrari +30.324s
3 Max Verstappen Red Bull +31.049s
4 Oliver Bearman Haas +40.955s
5 Oscar Piastri McLaren +42.065s
6 Andrea Kimi Antonelli Mercedes +47.837s
7 George Russell Mercedes +50.287s
8 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari +56.446s
9 Esteban Ocon Haas +75.464s
10 Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber +76.863s
11 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull +79.048s
12 Alexander Albon Williams +1 lap
13 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls +1 lap
14 Lance Stroll Aston Martin +1 lap
15 Pierre Gasly Alpine +1 lap
16 Franco Colapinto Alpine +1 lap
Carlos Sainz Williams DNF
Fernando Alonso Aston Martin DNF
Nico Hulkenberg Sauber DNF
Liam Lawson Racing Bulls DNF
Lando Norris has taken a lights-to-flag victory at the Mexico City Grand Prix, with the McLaren driver becoming the new Drivers’ Championship leader by just one point after sealing the win ahead of Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen in an action-packed race.
Norris had made a good launch when the event got underway amid a frenetic start that saw four cars vie for P1 into the first corner, with some going wide along the way. But the Briton held his position and quickly built a lead at the front which proved to be unchallenged as the Grand Prix progressed, eventually crossing the line by a whopping 30.324s.
A thrilling finale to the race saw Verstappen chase down Leclerc for second place, yet it was the Ferrari that held on for P2 with a margin of just 0.725s, forcing the Red Bull man to settle for third.
Behind them, an impressive outing for Ollie Bearman saw the Haas racer face increasing pressure from McLaren’s Oscar Piastri down to the wire, but the Briton ultimately took a career-best fourth. Piastri’s fifth, meanwhile, means that the Australian loses the championship lead to his team mate – albeit only by one point.
Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli claimed sixth ahead of the other Silver Arrows car of George Russell, with Lewis Hamilton following in eighth for Ferrari on a day where the seven-time World Champion received a 10-second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage in a battle with Verstappen.
Esteban Ocon added to Haas’ points haul in ninth, while Kick Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto took the final point on offer in 10th. Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda was 11th, ahead of the Williams of Alex Albon, Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar and Lance Stroll in the Aston Martin.
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/norris-seals-commanding-win-in-action-packed-mexico-city-gp-to-take-world.5ztiajHhdtqagu0qQLx0vS
Lando Norris’s commanding win at the Mexico Grand Prix allowed him to secure the lead in the drivers’ championship. Heading into the final four race weekends of the season, the Briton now leads the standings over his team-mate Oscar Piastri by one point.
The McLaren driver dominated the race at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez by converting his pole position into a win with a gap of more than 30 seconds over Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc.
“Yeah, beautiful weekend, well done everyone. Incredible result, wonderful car,” Norris said to his race engineer Will Joseph during the cooldown lap. “Thanks for the hard work, keep it up, we need to keep it up.”
Despite the strong performance, Norris was met with booing crowds during the post-race interviews.
“I love it. What a race. I could just keep my eyes focused and forward and focus on what I was doing,” he said after the race.
“A pretty straightforward race for me, which is just what I was after. A good start, a good launch, a good first lap and I could go from there.
“I got a much better launch than the guys around. It’s my first win in Mexico and a beautiful one to get.”
Responding to the boos and taking the lead in the championship, the McLaren driver added: “It’s one weekend at a time. I’m happy, I’m focused on myself. I keep my head down, I ignore all of this, keep to myself. It’s working at the minute, so I’m happy.”
Reacting to the moment, Sky Sports F1 analyst and former Formula 1 driver Karun Chandhok claimed Norris should be applauded after an “outstanding job”.
“I hate booing. Whenever it happens, I hate it. When people booed Max at certain races.. It’s just wrong. Lando did an outstanding job and that should be applauded.”
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/lando-norris-responds-to-mexico-gp-boos-as-he-takes-championship-lead/10771703/
Charles Leclerc was happy to see the virtual safety car on the penultimate lap of the Mexico Grand Prix. After he fought off a fast Max Verstappen in pursuit of second place, the Monegasque admitted the safety car saved him.
“Very happy with this weekend,” he said after the race. “Austin was very positive but to end up on the podium again is a great surprise. Very happy to be on this amazing podium again.”
After a tricky race start, Leclerc was able to hold track position after a strong opening phase of his race. But with Verstappen gaining on soft tyres while his rubber started to give way, the gap between him and the reigning champion started falling away.
The virtual safety car, caused by Williams’s Carlos Sainz stopping within the stadium section, came at a good time for the Ferrari driver.
“I was quite happy about the VSC at the end! My tyres were completely gone. I could see Max was coming back on the softs,” he said. “It was tough, but the VSC saved me at the end.”
With the VSC also neutralising the threat of Oscar Piastri to not only Ollie Bearman but also Lando Norris, the Briton is now a single point ahead of his team-mate in the drivers’ standings. The VSC threatened to bring the race to a slow end, but fortunately for fans, who had enjoyed an exciting race up to this point, the drivers had a final half a lap to race to the chequered flag.
“You win some and you lose some,” Verstappen said on his attack on Leclerc being stifled by the VSC. “Sometimes the safety car works for you and sometimes it works against you.”
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/charles-leclerc-relieved-as-mexico-gp-virtual-safety-car-stopped-max-verstappens-attack/10771712/