Lando Norris seized the lead of the Formula 1 Drivers’ Championship with a commanding win in the Mexico City Grand Prix, as his title rivals were left unable to challenge.
The Brit led from pole position and never looked seriously threatened, taking victory by 30 secons from Charles Leclerc.
Max Verstappen finished third after a manful stint on Soft tyres which saw him make a very late challenge on the Ferrari, which was truncated by a late Virtual Safety Car.
Oscar Piastri managed to make up two places in a damage limitation job, finishing ahead of both Mercedes.
Oliver Bearman took the best result of his F1 career with fourth, having made an exceptional start from 10th on the grid.
At the start, Norris got away well but the long run into Turn 1 saw Leclerc get a good run at the McLaren. Verstappen got himself side by side with Leclerc, and the ensuing bottleneck saw the Red Bull head straight off onto the grass.
Leclerc got ahead of Norris, but via taking to grass, and immediately handed him back the position. Lewis Hamilton kept a watching brief in third, treading over the slip-ups around him.
Verstappen managed to rejoin in fourth, incurring the irriation of George Russell, who told his team that the Dutchman ought to give the place back.
Amid all that chaos at the front, Piastri lose ground, dropping to ninth behind Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Yuki Tsunoda and Bearman, who rocketed up to sixth place.
The early excitement dwindled for a few laps before it all got hectic again on Lap 6.
Verstappen got a run at Hamilton into Turn 1. He divebombed the #44 Ferrari, the pair banged wheels, and once again, Verstappen went off the circuit, this time on the inside apex.
Hamilton resisted Verstappen’s advances again into Turn 4, but on the outside, he was forced to also take to the run-off, retaining third place.
It caused Verstappen to fall into Bearman’s clutches, who swept around the Red Bull at Turn 7, with Antonelli just behind, the Italian having gotten ahead of his team-mate Russell.
Piastri was itching to make ground, swarming all over the back of Tsunoda’s Red Bull, but to no avail.
He did take the Japanese driver on Lap 11, using the DRS to home in and take the position into Turn 1.
Hamilton handed 10 second penalty to end podium hopes
At the front, Norris was now three seconds ahead of Leclerc, and with Verstappen and Piastri some distance behind, things were looking good.
Tsunoda was now coming under threat from Ocon, the Haas duo looking in prime position for double points.
After an instruction to try and pick up the pace, Norris responded with an extra half-a-second pulled out on Leclerc by Lap 14, with Hamilton a further five seconds back.
Verstappen was yet to make a dent into Bearman’s advantage ahead, the Brit 1.5 seconds ahead of the Red Bull.
Hamilton was handed a 10 second penalty for his excursion at Turn 4, leaving Bearman in net third place, his gap to Verstappen was edging into two seconds as Norris was now over eight seconds ahead of Leclerc.
Piastri appeared to have found some improvements in his own car, now hunting down Russell for seventh.
Hamilton, informed of the time penalty, branded the decision as “such s**t” whilst Verstappen escaped punishment for taking to the grass the corner before, and for potentially causing a collision.
The Brit was the first big gun to pit, taking on Mediums and serving his time penalty. Norris was now 11.5s ahead of Leclerc, as Russell, Antonelli, Piastri and Bearman also pitted, leaving Verstappen third, Tsunoda fourth and Isack Hadjar fifth.
Bearman was not wasting time however, sending it up the inside of Hadjar at Turn 1 for sixth, with Antonelli soon following suit, the Frenchman’s Racing Bulls evidently in need of new tyres.
Carlos Sainz, who showed so much promise on Saturday, was having a race to forget. After being cleared of gaining an advantage with Alonso at Turn 1 at the start, he was then handed a five second penalty for breaching the pitlane speed limit. He was now 12th.
Hamilton was now ninth, with Piastri eighth. Leclerc pitted on Lap 32, taking on Mediums, as Bearman took Tsunoda for fourth at Turn 1.
Furious Russell barters with Mercedes pit wall with Piastri closing
With the race creeping towards half-distance, Norris was now nearly 30 seconds ahead, with Verstappen second, both having yet to pit.
Antonelli dispatched Tsunoda for fifth, with Russell following suit, taking sixth at Turn 4.
Piastri was now ahead of Tsunoda, taking seventh place, as up ahead, his team-mate was now finally ready to box. Norris took on Mediums and rejoined comfortably ahead of Verstappen.
Hamilton was the next one to take Tsunoda, going into eighth, as the Mercedes duo were now in a tense battle for position between themselves.
Russell dove down the inside of Turn 1, but the Italian was in no mood to waiver, and promptly slammed the door on the Brit. Russell set the fastest lap of the race and was told to cool his tyres by the Mercedes pit wall, the Brit desperate to get past to seize an opportunity to fight for a podium.
Verstappen pitted on Lap 39 for Softs, rejoining eighth, behind Hamilton. Norris’ lead to Leclerc was now 17.5s.
Russell, now feeling pressure from Piastri, bartered with the Mercedes pit wall about letting Antonelli back through, if he was allowed past in order to attack Bearman.
No response was forthcoming however, and Russell was left to keep fending off Piastri’s advances, who knew that every point was important with Norris leading.
The next communication was another order to keep his tyre and brakes down, which caused Russell to furiously vent that Piastri was now right up behind him. He reiterated his compromise suggestion, and into Turn 4, Antonelli let him through.
By Lap 47, Norris was 21.1s ahead of Leclerc, with Bearman in a comfortable third position. Piastri was now looking to take Antonelli as Russell moved away from the pair, looking to eradicate the Haas’ seven-second advantage.
Antonelli, Piastri and Hamilton all pitted together, the Australian getting out ahead of the Mercedes, the three all opting for Softs.
Russell boxed on Lap 49, also for Softs, rejoining fifth ahead of Piastri, who wasted no time in dispatching Ocon for sixth at Turn 6.
Antonelli and Hamilton also quickly got past the Haas, with Russell bearing down on Bearman on fourth, which would be third once Verstappen made his second stop.
It was now a duel between the two Brits, with Norris keeping Bearman honest, but the Haas’ dirty air helping him stay ahead of the Mercedes.
Further back, Sainz’s nightmarish race got worse, being given a drive-through penalty for another instance of exceeding pit lane limit.
Verstappen delivers mighty stint on Softs to chip away at Leclerc
Verstappen was making good use of his Softs, and made them last as he began to close in on Leclerc. Further back, Russell was now down to 1.2s behind Bearman, with Piastri now in DRS range of the Mercedes.
At Turn 1 on Lap 60, Piastri got close enough to have a lunge on the inside of Russell, and despite is valiant attempts, Russell was now down to sixth, and seemingly left with no alternative but to give that place up too, with Antonelli just two seconds behind.
The deal was not lost on Antonelli, who reminded the team that he should have the position back.
With less than 10 laps to go, Verstappen, praised for his “insane stint” by Gianpiero Lambiase, was encouraged to keep going, with the gap to Leclerc now down to 3.2s.
For Norris, there was now time to relax, as he was 28.6s up the road from Leclerc, with Bearman now 2.2s ahead of Piastri, with Antontelli now back ahead of Russell.
With Norris leading and Piastri potentially on for fourth place, Verstappen was now in need of taking Leclerc for second place, with the championship fight in mind.
Further back, the Piastri-Bearman battle was now encountering traffic in the shape of both Alpines, but were dealt with promptly.
With just two laps to go, it was going to be a tasty battle for second, with Verstappen now within a second of Leclerc.
Verstappen had a look into Turn 1, but Leclerc covered him off, but it was now a mere matter of tenths between the two.
But the battle was halted as a Virtual Safety Car was deployed going into the final lap, enabling Leclerc some respite, with a good amount afforded to Bearman too, who was still 1.6s ahead of Piastri.
By Turn 4 the VSC was ending and by Turns 5 and 6, the battle was back on. But for Norris, there was no such complaints, as he coasted him to take victory and the Drivers’ Championship lead.
Leclerc created enough of a buffer in the esses to hold on to take second from Verstappen, with Bearman a mighty fourth ahead of Piastri.
Antonelli and Russell brought their Mercedes home fifth and sixth, with Hamilton, Ocon and Gabriel Bortoleto rounding up the top 10.
For Norris, it was nigh on the perfect weekend, with both his championship rivals unable to score significantly, giving him title favourite status going into Brazil.
READ MORE – F1 2025 Mexico City Grand Prix – Race Results
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