Bullets:
- Lando Norris dominated the Mexico City Grand Prix, reclaiming the championship lead from teammate Oscar Piastri.
- Norris’ strong recent form has boosted his confidence for a first world title.
- McLaren proved competitive against Red Bull, while Piastri and Verstappen face challenges adapting to conditions.
Lando Norris left Mexico City with a massive boost in confidence after a commanding victory that put him back on top of the Formula 1 championship standings.
From Lights to Flag
The Briton led from lights to flag, reclaiming the championship lead he had lost to McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri back in April after the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. More than just points, the win confirmed Norris’ strong recent form, as he has clawed back 35 points on Piastri in the five races since retiring from the Dutch Grand Prix in late August.
It gives me confidence. One race performing well I don’t think means anything. Two, three or four in a row does, so I think the last few months I’ve been good.
The weekend also highlighted that McLaren has been the form team in recent races, not Red Bull.
Max Verstappen who has battled Norris in the past, coming off three wins and a second-place finish in the previous four races, had been closing in on Piastri, but Norris’ flawless weekend sent a clear message.
In Full Control
From his first laps in practice, after handing his car to Mexican IndyCar driver Pato O’Ward for the rookie session, to qualifying and the race itself, Norris was in total control. He took pole with one of the season’s standout laps and navigated a chaotic start to maintain the lead, briefly giving it up only when Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc cut a corner during a battle behind him.
Once the position was corrected, Norris pulled away.
In a way, I think it’s just my best performance through a whole weekend. You know, all my laps in qualifying, all my practice, all my race.
The season has had its ups and downs for Norris. He began with a win in Australia, but Piastri then dominated, winning four races before Norris notched his second.
Car struggles slowed him, but tweaks to the front suspension at the Canadian Grand Prix in June helped him regain his rhythm. Since then, Norris has taken four wins compared with Piastri’s two.
You put that behind you, right? You forget about that as much as you can, and you just focus on every race coming up. Every weekend’s new and you have a fresh start to try new things and try to do better than before. And I feel like that’s what I’ve done very well this weekend.
For Piastri, the challenge is now adjusting to new conditions. After qualifying far off the pace in Mexico, he spent Saturday night analyzing data with his engineers and recovered to fifth in the race.
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