Lando Norris has insisted that the overwhelming win at the Mexico City Grand Prix that took him to the top of the F1 world championship won’t mean much until he catches up in “two, three or even four races in a row”.
Oscar Piastri’s 189-day reign at the top of the drivers’ championship was ended by Norris on Sunday. The Briton won by the biggest margin of the season, with his McLaren teammate finishing fifth.
The result gives Norris a narrow one-point championship advantage over Piastri, with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen still chasing him on 36 points, with four race weekends remaining in the season.
Sky Sports F1’s Jacques Villeneuve, the 1997 world champion, said the Briton’s solo victory showed “the strength we usually see in Max”.
Norris admitted that his strong showing in Mexico made the event “one of the best weekends of the whole season”, but he was not enamored by the eye-catching results in a year where he has consistently struggled to get the best out of his team’s MCL39 cars.
Asked if he doubted himself earlier this year when the race against Piastri, his longtime qualifying home, proved particularly costly, Norris replied: “I certainly did (doubt myself), because I don’t want to blame it on my car.”
“Certainly when the car was winning and the Oscar was winning, you could never use the excuse that your car wasn’t good enough.
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Mexico City Grand Prix Highlights
“I wasn’t on top of the situation and didn’t find a way to make it work, but now I’m finding a better way to make it work.
“It’s very easy. Of course it gives you a lot of confidence.
“One race, I really don’t care.”
There are four race weekends left in this year’s title race, with the next race being the São Paulo Grand Prix, which will be the penultimate sprint of the year on November 9th.
“The last few games have been decent. This was definitely my best performance,” Norris said.
“But I still have a long way to go. So I’ve got to keep doing what I’m doing and keep trying to be consistent against the really fast guys around me. And yeah, I think that’s a good thing. But just because I’m in front or behind or anything doesn’t mean I have to do anything different. So I just keep doing what I’m doing.”
He added: “I don’t believe in momentum in a way. Even if you have a great weekend, it doesn’t really mean anything.
“Two, three, four times in a row means something.”
How good was Norris’ performance in Mexico?
Jacques Villeneuve of Sky Sports F1:
“Land is in great shape, he should be able to keep this going.
“He didn’t put a foot wrong all weekend. He showed the kind of strength we usually see from Max.
“We saw him at times last year, but unfortunately it was in the middle of the season, he wasn’t nearly at Piastri’s level.
“Lando drove like a world champion, or someone who aspires to be a world champion.
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Norris was booed by the crowd when he talked about his win at the Mexico City Grand Prix.
“It’s not about reinventing yourself” – What’s going on with Piastri now that he’s lost the title lead?
Norris’ form has steadily improved in recent months, but Piastri has now failed to finish on the podium in four races and his once comfortable 34-point title lead over Norris has completely disappeared.
The Australian’s race from seventh on the grid in Mexico City on Sunday was always going to be a damage-maximum race, but Piastri revealed he was actually given an extra challenge throughout the 71 laps – changing his driving style to get the most out of his car.
“The biggest thing for me is trying to learn what I wanted to learn today,” said Piastri, who finished last behind driver Oliver Bearman that day.
“Yesterday, after the session, it became clear to me some things that I need to change significantly in the way I drive.
“Today was about minimizing the damage, but also trying to learn some things about it. I would be happy if we could make some progress on that.
“Obviously, finishing fifth in a race is not such a luxury when your teammate wins.
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The race for the championship continues to heat up as Norris takes the lead with a comfortable victory in the chaotic Mexico City Grand Prix!
“The last few weeks I’ve had to drive completely differently, or I should have driven differently, but I didn’t drive differently.
“I’ve been driving exactly the same way all year, so I think it was a little weird to get crazy.
“The last few weeks, the car or the tires or something just required a completely different way of driving. I haven’t gone that far.”
Piastri added: “We made some changes today, and once we analyze whether they are effective, we hope to see some progress.”
“It has nothing to do with the car because obviously the car hasn’t changed in a while. Obviously it was easier for Lando to adjust to it given the difference in pace, but it wasn’t for me.”
“It’s important to remember the remaining 19 races and the way I drove worked pretty well.
“Rather than reinventing yourself, it’s important to add some tools to your toolbox.”
‘We need to be faster’ – reality check for Verstappen and Red Bull?
Verstappen also adopted a different tire strategy to those around him and moved up two places in the race after struggling in his own qualifying to finish on the podium in race six.
The scale of Norris’ victory on Sunday underlines that McLaren remains a formidable force, although the Dutchman is back in the second half of the race for a fifth successive title since recovering 104 points against Piastri at the end of August.
“It’s OK to think differently[about strategy]but the most important thing is that we need to be faster,” he said.
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Max Verstappen left disappointed after thrilling chase of Charles Leclerc was interrupted by virtual safety car
“We had some really good races, but if you look at the tire management, even in the races we won, McLaren was still very strong.
“Then you don’t have a chance on the weekends when they generally have more pace.”
F1’s thrilling title race continues in Brazil with a sprint weekend at the São Paulo Grand Prix from November 7th to 9th, broadcast live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports now – cancel anytime with no contract
