Lando Norris has vowed to score a title-clinching victory at Sunday night’s Mexico City Grand Prix as his main rivals struggle with a lack of pace.
The British driver produced the most dominant performance of his career in qualifying, taking pole position from Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, with Max Verstappen starting fifth and championship leader Oscar Piastri starting seventh, nearly six tenths behind his teammate in qualifying.
Norris is 14 points behind Piastri in the drivers’ standings and if he wins on Sunday his McLaren teammate will need to finish at least fourth to maintain his lead in the title race.
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McLaren’s Lando Norris was shocked by the speed of his pole lap
And Norris was brimming with confidence heading into Sunday’s race.
“I came here to win,” he said.
“I’m looking forward to it, I know there are some fast guys behind me.
“It’s long until Turn 1. Ferrari’s race pace is usually very strong.
“I’m looking forward to a fight, but I don’t think it’s going to be easy. I’m going to look forward and see how far I can win.”
Piastri says lack of pace is a ‘mystery’
McLaren team boss Andrea Stella told Sky Sports F1 after the race that Norris was faster than Piastri in “almost every corner” at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
The Australian driver, who is in danger of relinquishing the title lead he has held since April, appeared frustrated on Saturday night, claiming he was embarrassed by his lack of pace.
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Mexico City Grand Prix Qualifying Highlights
“Everything feels okay, but the lack of pace is a bit of a mystery,” he told Sky Sports F1.
“We’ve had pretty much the same lead all weekend so we’ll see what went wrong. Obviously it’s a little frustrating.
“There hasn’t been much change in terms of how the car feels. The only times I felt like I wasn’t picking up the pace were this weekend and last weekend.”
“We still don’t know 100 percent why, so we’ll look into it a little more closely.”
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Oscar Piastri is frustrated by his car’s lack of pace
Piastri’s best chance to improve his position may come in the long run to the first corner, where he will be hoping for some traction as he lines up behind Norris, Hamilton and Verstappen on the left side of the grid.
“It’s going to be an opportunity moving forward,” he acknowledged. “Let’s see what I can do.”
Verstappen: “Everything we tried didn’t work”
Verstappen entered the weekend in the best form of the three title contenders, looking to repeat last week’s impressive weekend in Austin and further close his 40-point gap in the drivers’ standings.
But, like Piastri, he has endured a frustrating lack of pace as Red Bull is unable to match the runaway Norris.
“If I knew, I would have changed it, but unfortunately I haven’t,” he told Sky Sports F1.
“We’ve tried so many things that haven’t worked. It’s not that we haven’t tried enough, it’s that we haven’t found it.
“I tried something again and went into qualifying, but in some corners it didn’t work. That made me better in some places, but in other parts it was more difficult and I couldn’t push.”
“From the first run in Q1 we knew it wasn’t going to work. Basically everything we tried didn’t work.”
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Max Verstappen says he has no chance of improving in Sunday’s race
But he does not share Piastri’s optimism that he can regain ground by charging into the first corner.
“When there is no pace, there is no motivation to recover,” he added.
“In order to move on, I need someone to retire before me.
“None of the laps this weekend were good. I never felt good in the short or long term, and it’s not like it’s going to suddenly get better tomorrow.”
Sky Sports F1 Mexico City GP Schedule
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Look back at some of the most dramatic moments that happened at the Mexico City Grand Prix.
Sunday, October 26th
6:30pm: Grand Prix Sunday: Mexico City GP Build-up*
8pm: Mexico City Grand Prix*
10pm: Checkered flag: Mexico City GP reaction
*Also held at Sky Sports Main Event
Heads of F1’s thrilling title race will continue at Autodromo Hermanos Rodríguez for the Mexico City Grand Prix with lights out at 8pm on Sunday and broadcast live on Sky Sports F1 and Sky Sports Main Event. Stream Sky Sports now – cancel anytime with no contract
