Lando Norris seals commanding win in action-packed Mexico City GP to take World Championship lead
Lando Norris took 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.
The two Alpines of Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto completed the order in 15th and 16th respectively, while four cars did not see the finish in Mexico. Liam Lawson was the first to record a DNF following early damage to his Racing Bulls, with Nico Hulkenberg and Fernando Alonso later retiring in the pits due to mechanical issues on their respective Kick Sauber and Aston Martin cars.
Williams’ Carlos Sainz, meanwhile, came to a stop in the stadium section with just a few laps to go.
