Mexico City GP talking points: Norris mastery, Verstappen resilience and beaming Bearman

A chaotic race sees McLaren driver Norris take the chequered flag and the championship lead

Race winner Lando Norris, right, is congratulated by Max Verstappen after the Mexico City Grand Prix. AFP

The Mexico City Grand Prix was chaotic and frenzied, with just enough injustice to leave tempers simmering long after the chequered flag.

Cars frequently ran wide, dust hung in the thin air, and across 71 laps at altitude, strategies collapsed and luck twisted at will. A Virtual Safety Car arrived at the wrong time for some and the perfect time for others, sealing a race that reshaped the balance of an already volatile season.

In the end, it was Lando Norris who emerged as the new leader of the drivers' standings, his poise and control arriving at just the right time to ensure what will be a breathtaking finale to the season in Abu Dhabi in December. Behind him, rivals fought and collided and amid the cheers and boos, a rookie once more reminded us why we watch this sport in the first place.

Here are the biggest storylines from an unforgettable weekend in Mexico City.

Norris matures into mastery

If precision defines champions, Norris delivered a masterclass in control in Mexico City. From pole to flag he was untroubled, executing one of the most complete performances of his career to reclaim the lead in the drivers’ standings with four races to go. Only one point now separates the two McLarens.

Norris’ launch from the line was the measure of his composure. On a circuit where the 800-metre drag to the first corner can undo even the calmest of drivers, he judged it perfectly. What followed was a display of faultless pace and management, the Briton finishing more than 30 seconds ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc – the largest winning margin in F1 in over a year.

Not everyone was pleased with his win. Norris was greeted by boos, the fallout of McLaren’s much-debated Papaya rules still colouring public perception. Many in Mexico saw the internal team orders at Monza as evidence that the balance of favour within McLaren had tilted towards Norris. The man himself refused to be drawn. “People can do what they want,” he said, smiling. “It makes it more entertaining for me.”

It has been a long season of recalibration. Oscar Piastri began the year steadier, but since mid-summer, the momentum has shifted. Norris has now scored points in 10 consecutive races, claiming four victories and five podiums in the last seven races. The mistakes of inexperience have given way to a driver in full command of his race, and his evolution has been noted.

For Piastri, the picture was more nuanced. The Australian qualified seventh and finished fifth, candid afterwards about a car that demanded a “very different way of driving".

Verstappen stays in the hunt

Max Verstappen left Mexico more relieved than triumphant. Third place felt like the limit of what Red Bull could achieve on a weekend that exposed the car’s fragility as much as the driver’s resilience. The Dutchman, starting fifth, admitted afterwards that he “didn’t expect to be on the podium,” yet his race management and late-race pace kept him within striking distance of Leclerc.

His start was typically assertive, threading between the Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton's Ferraris into Turn 1 before taking to the grass to avoid contact. From there, it became a matter of managing limitations. Starting on the medium tyre while the leaders ran softs, he lacked grip in the early laps and fell back to eighth after his first stop. The switch to the soft compound improved balance and traction, allowing him to work steadily back through the field as others pitted again.

Red Bull’s difficulties were clear. Earlier in the weekend, Verstappen described the car as “not working,” attributing the struggle to tyre overheating – a problem he said had plagued them all season. “At altitude, you start sliding and the tyres heat up immediately,” he explained. “It doesn’t suit us, that’s very clear.”

By the closing laps, Verstappen had cut a 12-second deficit to Leclerc to within DRS range, only for the late-race Virtual Safety Car to neutralise the final chase

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Ferrari recapture second in standings

Ferrari left Mexico with mixed emotions. Leclerc claimed a second consecutive podium, finishing runner-up to Norris after resisting Verstappen’s late advance. Starting alongside the McLaren on the front row, Leclerc was part of a chaotic four-way dash into Turn 1, narrowly avoiding contact and settling into second place. From there, he managed the pace and the tyres to the end, later admitting relief when the Virtual Safety Car froze Verstappen’s charge.

“Very happy with this weekend,” Leclerc said. “We didn’t know what to expect, and to end up again on the podium is a great surprise. I was quite happy about the Safety Car at the end. My tyres were completely gone, and Max was coming back on the softer tyre. The Safety Car saved me.” His podium also lifted Ferrari above Mercedes to second in the constructors’ standings.

For Hamilton, the weekend told a different story. After securing his best qualifying result since joining Ferrari – third on the grid and finally within reach of a podium in red – optimism was high. But his race unravelled after an early battle with Verstappen. The pair banged wheels into Turn 1 before Verstappen briefly cut the track, rejoining ahead. The stewards reviewed the clash but deemed it a racing incident, noting that Verstappen’s front axle was ahead at the apex and therefore entitled to the line.

Moments later, Hamilton ran wide in his counter-attack and cut across the grass at Turn 4, rejoining in front. This time, the stewards ruled he had gained a lasting advantage, imposing a 10-second penalty that dropped him into traffic. “It felt like racing, I was fine there, it was just the cutting, and I’m the only one to get a 10-second penalty, it’s kind of nuts,” Hamilton said afterwards.

Bearman captures P4

Ollie Bearman left Mexico with a result that felt as improbable as it was deserved. The 20-year-old Haas rookie produced the finest drive of his young career, finishing fourth. Starting ninth, he stayed clear of the early chaos and made his defining move on Lap 6, when Hamilton and Verstappen clashed in their battle for third. As the pair ran off the track and rejoined, their fight unsettled George Russell just ahead. Bearman read the moment perfectly, maintaining his calm and capitalised as he swept past all three in one brilliant move.

For Haas, it equalled the team’s best finish, matching Romain Grosjean’s result in Austria in 2018, and earned Bearman Driver of the Day. “It was crazy,” he said afterwards. “I’m so happy to take so many good points for the team. It’s a feel-good moment.”