There is a new leader atop the Formula 1 Drivers’ Championship standings.
Lando Norris delivered a dominant performance on Sunday, winning the Mexico City Grand Prix by nearly 30 seconds ahead of Charles Leclerc to take the full 25 points available on this afternoon. With teammate Oscar Piastri settling for a fifth-place result, Norris now leads Piastri by just one point in the Drivers’ Championship race.
While Norris led wire-to-wire on this day, he needed to survive a chaotic start to maintain the lead on the opening lap. The run from the starting line to the first turn at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez covers over 800 meters, and is the longest such stretch on the F1 calendar.
Norris got off to the launch he needed, but as the drivers hit the first corner, it was suddenly four-wide at Turn 1, with Norris on the inside, the Ferrari duo of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton to the outside of him, and Max Verstappen suddenly in the mix:
Verstappen and then Leclerc both went off the racing line, with Leclerc getting into the lead ahead of Norris when he rejoined the track. But the Ferrari driver gave the place back rather than risk a penalty from the race stewards, and Norris settled back into the lead.
And began driving away from the field.
Behind him, his McLaren teammate was fighting for position, as Piastri dropped a few places following the start after starting seventh. But as the laps ticked down in Mexico City, the McLaren driver fought his way forward, passing the Mercedes duo of Kimi Antonelli and George Russell in the later stages to settle into fifth, perhaps the best result he could have hoped for when the race began.
The dramatic final act of the Mexico City Grand Prix played out behind Norris, as Verstappen tried to chase down Leclerc in the last few laps. The Red Bull driver pulled within DRS range of Leclerc on the penultimate lap, but then the Virtual Safety Car was deployed when Carlos Sainz Jr. stopped on the track, freezing the field.
Racing resumed with just a few corners remaining, and while Verstappen was all over the rear wing of Leclerc, the Ferrari driver held on for second. Verstappen finished third, with Haas rookie Oliver Bearman finishing fourth for the best result of his F1 career.
“Yeah, beautiful weekend. Well done, everyone. Incredible result,” said Norris after taking the checkered flag. “Wonderful car, thanks for the hard work. Keep it up, we need to keep it up.”
Norris now leads the Drivers’ Championship race with 357 points, with Piastri right behind him with 356.
Verstappen remains in third with 321 points.
“A pretty straightforward race for me, which is just what I was after,” said Norris trackside to James Hinchcliffe.
Here are the provisional results from the Mexico City Grand Prix:
