Sky Sports F1’s Martin Brundle says Lando Norris proved he can win this year’s F1 Drivers’ Championship by discovering the ‘overdrive gear’ during his dominant victory at the Mexico City Grand Prix.
Norris has regained the championship lead from McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri for the first time since April, with the Brit having finished ahead of the Australian for the fifth consecutive race heading into the final four races of the season, starting with this weekend’s Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Only one point separates him from leader McLaren, and despite finishing outside the top two in Mexico for the first time in six races, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen remains a threat in third place, 36 points behind the leader.
Norris had finished on the podium in three of the four races leading up to the Mexico race, but the 25-year-old had not won since Hungary, his last race before the summer break. Brundle was impressed with his overwhelming race control after taking pole position.
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Mexico City Grand Prix Highlights
“I think it was a great weekend for Lando,” Brundle told Sky Sports’ F1 Show. “If we had seen a performance like that from Max or Lewis, we would have quietly talked about it because it was amazing.
“When I’m doing commentary for championship showdowns, I often hear that one or more of the main participating combatants somehow seem to have found Overdrive gear, and that was Lando’s Overdrive.
“Max always seems to be on overdrive, but I thought the qualifying lap, the perfect start, defending into the most difficult first corner of the year and going the distance was just perfect and exactly the kind of statement and confidence boost he needs right now.”
Sky Sports F1 pundit and 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve agreed with Brundle, praising Norris’ reaction to failing to take advantage of Piastri’s retirement from September’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
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Watch the moment when both Ferrari drivers narrowly missed out on pole position in Mexico City as Lando Norris and STUNS clinched the title with their qualifying performances.
Piastri had a disastrous weekend in Baku, crashing in both qualifying and the race, while Norris made some crucial mistakes of his own and finished seventh.
“It was a statement weekend,” Villeneuve said. “You know, we’re used to watching Max fight and we watched a little bit last year when Lando was fighting Max this weekend.
“I think Baku was a wake-up call for him. He didn’t respond and he didn’t take advantage of a bad weekend at Oscar. And I think that threw cold water in his face and he came back stronger as if he was fighting Max last year.”
“And he’s in great shape. He took a step forward in Singapore, took another step forward in Austin, and was great in Mexico. When a driver gets into that zone, he’s invincible.”
“Land with a complete set of cards”
Since emerging as one of the sport’s top drivers, Norris has faced questions about whether he has the mental fortitude to match his speed.
A poor start to last year’s title race prevented him from chasing down Verstappen, but Norris made another costly blunder earlier this season when he sparked an unnecessary clash with Piastri.
Brundle believes the hard work Norris has put in at McLaren to maximize his performance is now showing.
“It’s a high-pressure game,” Brundle said. “It’s the same with any high-level sport. At the end of the day, it’s mostly in your head.
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McLaren driver Lando Norris was booed by the crowd when he spoke about his win at the Mexico City Grand Prix.
“But a year ago, I would have said no to Lando. But he and the team have worked a lot on this front, and he’s taking his disappointment because, no matter what they say, it was a wasted opportunity in Baku. Obviously, the contact in Canada hurt him. There was nothing they could do about the engine failure at Zandvoort, and obviously they couldn’t do anything about the fallout in Austin either.
“But he manages it. Even the boos at the end of the race seemed a little strange to me. He just compartmentalizes it and packages it and finds a way to not let it get to him.”
“Land a year or two ago wouldn’t have been able to start as well as he did. I think he’s really kind of completed a full set of cards.”
Villeneuve: “Norris’ self-criticism is a great strength”
Norris has often been criticized for being overly negative about his performances, but Villeneuve believes the Englishman’s harshness towards him has led to his improvement.
“It’s too early to judge a driver’s psychology just by what you see from the outside,” Villeneuve said. “But that doesn’t mean it’s happening internally.
“Rand was always vocal about his mistakes. Even when it wasn’t his fault, he was actually responsible. And everyone took that as him being very weak and defeated and defeated.”
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Lando Norris steals F1 title from McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri and talks about victory at Mexico City Grand Prix
“I always thought, no, actually, if you can admit it, act like it, always take responsibility, that’s how you progress.
“Understand that just admitting your mistakes, and admitting mistakes that aren’t yours, is how you actually step up. What can you do to avoid being in that situation again?
“That’s not weakness. It’s a very strong thing to be able to say that out loud. But in today’s society and social media, you just get criticized like, ‘Oh, he’s so weak, he’s putting himself down.'”
“No, it wasn’t weakness.”
F1’s thrilling title race continues in Brazil, with the São Paulo Grand Prix sprint weekend being broadcast live on Sky Sports F1 from this Friday. Stream Sky Sports now – cancel anytime with no contract
