Lando Norris won the Mexico City Grand Prix, taking the championship lead from teammate Oscar Piastri for the first time in 15 races.
Norris made a dream start from pole position as the Ferrari drivers, who had started second and third, tangled in a three-car scrap at the first turn with the fast-starting Max Verstappen. Charles Leclerc and Verstappen ended up going off the track, the former briefly rejoining the lead before handing the place back to Norris at the exit of Turn 3, while the latter stayed behind Hamilton and maintained his top-four grid position.
However, Verstappen was anxious to move forward and Norris widened the gap to the lead. On lap six, the Dutchman made a late lunge on Hamilton, aiming for a podium spot, but the two collided at the apex. The battle continued until Turn 4, where Hamilton locked up and cut the corner. He was given a 10-second penalty for not following the race director’s instructions to merge from the side road.
In the scuffle, Verstappen ended up on the grass and lost his place to Oliver Bearman. The Haas driver rose from ninth to sixth on the first lap, taking advantage of the tussle between the 2021 title rivals to snatch fourth place from the Dutchman, effectively taking third place after Hamilton’s penalty.
This skirmish was like music to Norris’ ears, but he was then told that the race was proceeding as planned and he was free to increase the pace. By lap 15 he had opened a five-second lead over Leclerc, increasing his advantage to a staggering 17 seconds just before half the distance. The Briton made a refreshing solo stop on lap 34 without losing the lead and took a huge 30-second lead to the checkered flag, winning his first race since the mid-season break and taking a one-point lead in the title race.
“What a race,” he said. “I was able to look forward and focus on what I was doing.
“It was a very easy race for me and exactly what I wanted. Good start, good start, good first lap and I was able to go from there.”
“It’s my first win here in Mexico. It’s a great win.”
Leclerc fended off a rapid finish from Verstappen and finished a disappointing second. Red Bull’s defending champion jumped over Bearman and fell back when Haas reacted to movement from behind and switched Bearman to a two-stop strategy. Red Bull Racing opted to sit out Verstappen, but the Dutchman was the last of the leaders to pit, making the decision to secure second place.
He pressed hard against Leclerc, who appeared to have a comfortable position, but the battle was neutralized on the penultimate lap by a virtual safety car meant to protect Carlos Sainz’s stopped Williams.
The race restarted with half a lap to go, depriving Verstappen of a clear overtaking opportunity and allowing Leclerc to move up the order.
“I’m very happy with this weekend,” Leclerc said. “We didn’t know what was going to happen this weekend, but it’s a big surprise to be on the podium again.
“I was very happy that the safety car came out in the end. I had a tire completely gone, but I could see Max coming back on a softer tire. It was tough, but I think the safety car saved me in the end.”
Verstappen’s third place narrowed the championship gap to Norris to 36 points, and he praised the car’s pace after a disastrous qualifying defeat.
“It was all about surviving the first stint and trying to go as long as possible on the tires,” he said. “I think I’ve become a little bit more competitive and happier since I put on the softs.
“It’s been a difficult weekend for us, but I think it’s still a very strong result to be still fighting for second place considering everything that happened in the first lap.”
Bearman held off the fast-finishing Piastri thanks to the virtual safety car and finished fourth, a career best for Haas. Despite a disastrous start for the former title leader, dropping from seventh to ninth on the first lap, Piastri minimized the damage to his title bid with a hard-worked recovery. By the 11th lap he had passed stalwart Hiroki Tsunoda to move into eighth place, moving up further after the final stop, when Hamilton was given a 10-second penalty.
Piastri, on fresh medium tyres, locked up behind the Mercedes, with Andrea Kimi Antonelli taking George Russell into the lead. Although the McLaren was clearly faster, Russell’s defense was helped by his teammate DRS, but the Brit was annoyed by the situation and yelled over the radio for his team to let him pass lest he burn out his tires with over 30 laps to go. The team held off until lap 41, at which point Russell’s tires appeared to burn out and he was unable to finish on the podium.
Faced with a long stint on the Mercedes DRS train, McLaren opted to roll the dice by pulling Piastri into the pit lane on lap 47 for a second stop. Mercedes pre-empted Antonelli’s move, but the McLaren stopped earlier, allowing Piastri to move forward. Russell was forced to respond on the following tour to maintain his position, but without the help of his teammate DRS, he became vulnerable to bold late braking into the first turn, and Piastri moved into fifth place on lap 49.
The Australian was 2.5 seconds behind Bearman after the move, and after letting his tires cool, he started after the Haas newcomer. He was close to DRS on the final lap, but due to the virtual safety car, he ended up in 5th place, and his 14-point title lead turned into a one-point difference.
Antonelli bitterly insisted that Russell return sixth place as he could not compete for the podium, and the Briton was obliged to finish seventh behind the Italian.
Hamilton’s penalty left him a quiet eighth place in the final points spot ahead of Esteban Ocon and Gabriel Bortleto, the latter moving up six places on the grid. Hiroki Tsunoda finished scoreless in 11th place, ahead of Alex Albon, Isaac Hajjar, Lance Stroll and Alpine teammates Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto.
Four drivers retired from the race: Sainz, Fernando Alonso, Nico Hulkenberg and Liam Lawson.
result
