Lando Norris cruised to a dominant win in Mexico. After fending off the likes of Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton, and Max Verstappen at turn one, Norris ran unopposed for the entire race, led every lap, and came home 30.324 seconds clear of the field. With this win, Norris has retaken the championship lead by a single point. Although pleased with his and McLaren’s performance this weekend, Norris stressed the importance of sticking to a race-by-race mentality.
After getting away with an off-road excursion at turn one on the first lap, Charles Leclerc was able to hold on to second but did not have it all his own way as Max Verstappen opted for a lengthy first stint on the medium tyres. After switching to softs on lap 38, Verstappen scythed into Leclerc’s 10-second lead. A last-gasp duel looked to be on the cards until a stationary Carlos Sainz engendered the virtual safety car on lap 70. Leclerc managed his mediums superbly and hung on for second, his best finish since Monaco.
Verstappen’s credible recovery drive was not without incident. After taking to the outside on lap one, Verstappen ran wide and narrowly avoided a collision with the barriers. On lap six, an audacious lunge on Lewis Hamilton saw the pair make contact. Verstappen made his way past, and the incident did not result in a penalty. After a middling first stint, Verstappen jumped up to third once the mid-race flurry of pit stops had ended. He fell just short of passing Leclerc, but with this podium, Verstappen is now 35 points off the championship lead with four races and two sprints to go.
The race’s standout midfield entry was undoubtedly Ollie Bearman, who capitalised on the opening lap skirmishes ahead of him. A well-timed switchback saw him pass both Verstappen and George Russell at turn five. Running as high as third at stages, Bearman held off Oscar Piastri to cross the line fourth for both his best result in Formula 1 and Haas’s best finish since the 2018 Austrian Grand Prix.
For the second week in a row, Oscar Piastri has been unable to contend with his teammate. Starting seventh, Piastri spent much of his race stuck behind the Mercedes’ of George Russell and Kimi Antonelli. The Australian was one of many drivers who decided to switch to a two-stop strategy and pitted on lap 48. After jumping Antonelli in the pits, Piastri overtook Russell on lap 61 but was unable to pass Bearman and had to settle for fifth, relinquishing the championship lead for the first time since April. With Verstappen 34 points behind him in third, Piastri has work to do if he's to rediscover the rhythm and consistency he showed in the early part of this season.
Kimi Antonelli finished sixth, albeit after a late race swap with a dissatisfied George Russell. Starting fourth, Russell lost out to Verstappen on lap one and soon found himself sandwiched between his teammate and Piastri. Believing himself to be faster than Antonelli, Russell repeatedly urged his team to let him pass, but Mercedes declined to do so until lap 41. After losing out to Piastri, Russell let his teammate back past and later lamented the questionable calls made by the stewards over the numerous corner-cutting incidents.
Having lost track position to Verstappen on lap six, Lewis Hamilton locked up and ran wide at turn five. The seven-time world champion failed to follow the escape road and cut across the grass while rejoining the circuit. An incident that earned him a ten-second penalty. A late switch to a two-stop strategy on lap 48 did little to improve his fortunes as Hamilton came home eighth. Although disappointed with the penalty, Hamilton said there were positives to take from his and the car’s performance this weekend.
Esteban Ocon took ninth to cap off a great weekend for Haas as they leapfrogged Sauber for eighth in the constructors’ championship. A bold move around the outside of Isack Hadjar on lap 53 was enough to seal tenth for Gabriel Bortoleto, who finished ahead of Yuki Tsunoda and Alex Albon. Hadjar suffered a major drop-off in tyre performance during the latter stages of the grand prix and had to settle for 13th, ahead of Lance Stroll. Pierre Gasly finished 15th ahead of Franco Colapinto, while Carlos Sainz capped off a disappointing weekend with a mechanical failure on lap 67. Fernando Alonso, Nico Hulkenberg, and Liam Lawson also failed to finish.
A single point is all that separates the McLarens. With Verstappen continuing his charge in third, it's safe to say every remaining point will be precious for every remaining contender as the season nears its climax.
