McLaren’s Lando Norris avoided early confusion to claim a commanding victory at the Mexico City Grand Prix and regain the lead of the F1 championship on Sunday, one point behind teammate Oscar Piastri.
Australian Piastri started the race in seventh place, 14 points clear of the Briton, but a virtual safety car in the final two laps prevented him from advancing to fourth after a thrilling chase, and he finished fifth.
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Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was second, 30.3 seconds behind Norris, while Red Bull’s reigning champion Max Verstappen was third, just 0.7 seconds behind the Monegasque driver.
Norris, who started from pole position and led every lap, now has 357 points to Piastri’s 356, while Verstappen has 321 with four rounds remaining.
“What a race it was. I just kept my eyes forward and focused on what I was doing,” said Norris, who was booed by the home crowd for unknown reasons.
“It was a very easy race for me and exactly what I wanted. Good start, good start, good first lap and I was able to go from there.”
Norris is the favorite for the championship
Norris last led the drivers’ standings in April, 189 days apart, and had not won since Hungary in early August. Sunday was his sixth win of the season, one less than Piastri, and 10th of his career.
“During the race I felt like I was right behind someone and fighting against dirty air. It was pretty difficult,” Piastri said.
“Today was about trying to minimize the damage, but also trying to learn some things about it. If we can make some progress on that, I’ll be happy.”
Haas’ Oliver Bearman finished fourth, the best result for both the Brit and the American-owned team, with a 1.1 second lead over Piastri at the checkered flag waved by former heavyweight boxing champion Evander Holyfield.
“In the first stint I held off Max, in the second stint I held off Merckx and in the third stint I held off McLaren,” said the rookie.
“I spent more time looking in the rearview mirror than I used to. But sometimes you have to.”
Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli was sixth, teammate George Russell seventh, and Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton was eighth after a 10-second penalty dropped him from third, ending his hopes of a first podium with the team he joined in January.
Esteban Ocon finished ninth, giving Haas a double point, with Sauber’s Gabriel Bortleto taking the final point.
Ferrari drops to 2nd place
The top three drivers all completed the race using a one-stop strategy, but Bearman, Piastri and the Mercedes drivers all pitted twice.
McLaren had already won the constructors’ championship, but the runner-up spot was close, with Ferrari moving into second place, one point ahead of Mercedes.
As soon as the lights went out, Norris made a clean start from pole position, but on the long run to Turn 1 he was caught up in a four-way fight, with Verstappen cutting the corner and hitting the grass.
Leclerc then cut Turn 2, handing the place back to Norris who had broken out of the chaos up front, while Verstappen moved up to fourth place, much to Russell’s frustration.
Russell, who started fourth, asked in vain for the four-time world champion to give him back his place, with Verstappen saying over the team radio that he was being “squeezed like crazy.”
In a frightening incident, Racing Bull’s Liam Lawson, who had pitted on lap three with a new front wing, accelerated out of the pits as two marshals crossed the track in front of him.
Verstappen and third-placed Hamilton collided on lap six, with the Red Bull driver attempting to pass him at Turn 1, only to have to cut him off at the next corner.
Hamilton went off the track at Turn 4, backed up across the grass, and was given a penalty for going off the track and gaining an advantage.
Meanwhile, Bearman rose from a starting ninth position to fourth, and when Hamilton received a penalty on lap 24, he aimed for a podium place, but was reeled in by Verstappen.
Norris enjoyed a mild afternoon in the sunshine, but Piastri was forced to fight back from his lowest position of 11th place after his first pit stop, passing Antonelli in the pits and Russell on the track.
The virtual safety car was introduced after last year’s winner for Ferrari, Carlos Sainz of Williams, spun on his penultimate lap and came to a halt on the track, smoking.
