Mexico City GP: Lando Norris claims F1 world title lead from Oscar Piastri after dominating wild race

Lando Norris delivered a dominant and statement win in the Mexico City Grand Prix to reclaim the leadership of the world championship from McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri by a single point with just four races of the season to go.

Knocking Piastri off the top of the standings for the first time since April with his first victory since July’s Hungarian Grand Prix, Norris capped a stunning weekend at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez to beat Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc by a whopping 30-second margin.

Leclerc just held on to second from Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, whose third place means he again reduced his deficit to the championship summit with the reigning champion still in the hunt at 36 points back.

Piastri struggled all weekend long in Norris’ wake and finished fifth from seventh on the grid.

His race belatedly came alive after McLaren gambled on a second pit stop, with everyone but Norris, Leclerc and Verstappen subsequently doing likewise, but was denied a fourth place that would have meant he retained a one-point championship lead by Haas’ impressive Oliver Bearman.

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The crowd erupted with boos heard as McLaren driver Lando Norris spoke on his Mexico City Grand Prix victory.

Cashing in on chaos at the start as numerous drivers ran off track to move up from ninth on the grid, Bearman ran third after the first stops before dropping out of that position when Haas followed the cars around them in making a second stop.

However, while he could not reel Verstappen back in when the Red Bull stayed out, fourth still represents a brilliant result for the 20-year-old Briton – the best result of his rookie season and the joint-best in Haas’ 10 seasons in F1.

Mercedes duo Kimi Antonelli and George Russell finished sixth and seventh after twice swapping position on track in an ultimately forlorn bid for a better result for the team.

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George Russell was not happy on the radio after asking to trade places with Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli at the Mexico City Grand Prix.

Russell had grown increasingly agitated over team radio ahead of the first swap at what he saw as Mercedes’ initial delay to let him through, but ultimately stuck to his word about letting Antonelli back ahead if he couldn’t make up ground on those ahead.

And Lewis Hamilton’s wait for the first podium of his Ferrari career goes on after he finished eighth in a race which unravelled when he was given a 10-second penalty by stewards after a wheel-to-wheel duel with Verstappen.

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Lewis Hamilton was handed a 10-second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage after his wheel-to-wheel clash with Max Verstappen.

Hamilton held his grid spot of third in the opening stint but was given the costly sanction for leaving the track and gaining an advantage when fighting Verstappen at Turn Four when he ran wide off track and cut across the grass to stay ahead as the Red Bull went down the inside of him.

The old title rivals had already banged wheels into Turn One at the start of the same lap, although no further action was taken on this incident.

Mexico City GP Result: Top 10

1) Lando Norris, McLaren

2) Charles Leclerc, Ferrari

3) Max Verstappen, Red Bull

4) Oliver Bearman, Haas

5) Oscar Piastri, McLaren

6) Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

7) George Russell, Mercedes

8) Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

9) Esteban Ocon, Haas

10) Gabriel Bortoleto, Sauber

Esteban Ocon capped a bumper day for Haas with ninth in their second car, while Gabriel Bortoleto took the final point for Sauber. Haas overtake Sauber for eighth in the Constructors’ Championship and move to within 10 points of sixth-placed Racing Bulls and seven points of seventh-placed Aston Martin.

More to follow…

Formula 1’s thrilling title race continues in Brazil with a Sprint weekend at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix on November 7-9, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime