Dominating the race and emerging as the new leader in the World Championship, Lando Norris had a perfect Grand Prix in Mexico on Sunday. Despite a chaotic start, Max Verstappen, who started fifth, can also be satisfied. Thanks to a daring and successful strategy, the Dutchman secured a third-place finish.
Here’s a quick overview of the race:
ROUND 1/71: Four abreast into turn 1, and it’s Max Verstappen who pays the price. He tries to outmaneuver Norris, Leclerc, and Hamilton, but runs out of asphalt and has to cut through the grass. The Dutchman stays in the race and, to avoid penalties, gives back the position he gained to Hamilton. Leclerc also cuts through the grass, giving his position back to Norris. So, the order after the first round is: Norris, Leclerc, Hamilton, Verstappen, Russell.
ROUND 2/71: Worth noting: Verstappen is the only top driver who started on medium tires. Will this give him an advantage later in the race?
ROUND 7/71: The Dutchman wants to take third place from Hamilton and sees his chance. He goes for it, the two touch in turn 1, and again Verstappen cuts through the grass. Hamilton also has to cut through the grass, Verstappen loses ground and suddenly sees Oliver Bearman overtake him. The Haas driver also goes slightly off the track; it’s raining incidents at this rate. Norris is laughing all the way at the front. And Oscar Piastri? He’s only ninth.
ROUND 16/71: The race direction has decided: a ten-second time penalty for Lewis Hamilton, who gained quite an advantage by cutting the track after the duel with Verstappen. Good news for the Dutchman, although he primarily has his hands full with Bearman ahead of him. Meanwhile, the incident where Verstappen and Hamilton touched is also being reviewed.
ROUND 25/71: No penalties for the Dutchman, and no pit stop yet. However, Hamilton and Bearman, who disappear in front of Verstappen, do make a pit stop. The drivers on soft tires around him are therefore coming in, while he has to continue on his medium tires for a while longer.
ROUND 34/71: Norris now enters the pits to swap soft tyres for medium. The McLaren driver has everything under control. Leclerc has also been in the pits and is quickly closing in on Verstappen, who is now in second place. Bearman is also approaching. The Dutchman will even fall back behind Hamilton, who has already served his ten-second penalty, during his pit stop. The number of retirees has now reached three. After Liam Lawson in the opening phase and Nico Hülkenberg in round 27, it’s now over for Fernando Alonso in the pits.
ROUND 38/71: Verstappen’s pit stop is here. As expected, he falls back behind Hamilton, to P8. Piastri is also now ahead of the Dutchman. It all sounds rather grim, but Verstappen’s hopes rest on the final phase. He depends on a flawless stint on the soft tyres he now has (which are 15 laps newer than the mediums of the men ahead of him) for a good result. With 33 laps and a lightening car, it’s possible. Up front, Norris is breezing towards victory: he’s 17 seconds (!) ahead of Charles Leclerc.
ROUND 48/71: After nine laps, Verstappen has Hamilton in his sights, the Dutchman moves up to P7. Immediately after, Hamilton, Piastri, and Antonelli go for their second pit stop of the race! McLaren manages to get the Australian ahead of the Italian from Mercedes. Russell and Bearman also go in, staying ahead of Piastri. And Verstappen? He’s suddenly in third place. And… he’s going for a one-stopper.
ROUND 60/71: Piastri is doing well: he overtakes Russell in a splendid move and climbs to fifth place. He’s going to lose the championship lead to Norris this way, but he’s keeping the damage relatively limited. There are more exciting battles on the track, for example between Bortoleto and Hadjar for 10th place, the last point. In the meantime, Verstappen has significantly closed in on Leclerc, can he still become second!?
ROUND 71/71: After a failed overtaking attempt by Verstappen on Leclerc in the penultimate round, a virtual safety car is deployed due to Carlos Sainz retiring. Therefore, Verstappen fails to secure second place. Meanwhile, Norris dominates the race and wins the Mexican Grand Prix. He also takes the championship lead: he now has a one-point lead over Piastri, who finishes fifth. Verstappen is third in the championship, 36 points behind Norris and 35 (down from 40) behind Piastri.
