F1 Mexico GP: 5 fast takeaways

Is Norris the brand new title favorite?

Lando Norris in all probability didn’t count on this after his retirement in Zandvoort, when he was left trailing Piastri by 34 factors. However the Briton is again on high of the championship for the primary time since dropping the lead on the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in April.

Norris had been steadily closing the hole to his team-mate over the 4 rounds that adopted Zandvoort, and he has now delivered a flawless efficiency on the Mexico Grand Prix to return to the highest step of the rostrum for the primary time because the Hungarian Grand Prix earlier than the summer time break.

With Piastri struggling over the previous couple of weekends, and Mexico proving that Verstappen and Crimson Bull gained’t be profitable each race in any case, Norris leaves the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez robust sufficient to stake his declare as the brand new championship favorite.

Lando Norris, McLaren

Photograph by: Zak Mauger / LAT Photos through Getty Photos

It is going to be fascinating to see how Norris handles this new standing heading into the ultimate 4 race weekends of the season.

– Federico Faturos

Piastri’s drop in kind is alarming

When Andrea Stella was requested after Baku whether or not Oscar Piastri’s dreadful weekend – with crashes in each qualifying and the race – prompt he was beginning to really feel the warmth of the championship battle, the McLaren boss’s response was a transparent “no.”

One-off dangerous weekends, he insisted, occur to all of the greats in F1 historical past, Michael Schumacher included. Stella ought to know – he labored with Schumacher throughout Ferrari’s dominant years. However maybe he overestimated how properly he is aware of Piastri.

Baku wasn’t a one-off. The Mexico GP has now grow to be one more troublesome weekend for the Australian, following comparable struggles in Austin, the place he once more did not match his team-mate and title rival Lando Norris. In Mexico, the distinction between the 2 was much more putting.

Piastri was virtually knocked out in Q2 on Saturday and endured a tricky race on Sunday. The factors benefit that regarded monumental simply a few months in the past has not solely vanished – it has was a deficit, as Oscar now finds himself second within the standings for the primary time since April.

And that’s not even probably the most worrying half: he appears unable to grasp the place his tempo has abruptly disappeared.

– Oleg Karpov

Crimson Bull isn’t dominating, however Verstappen continues to be there

The previous few races prompt we could be heading for a last stretch of the season the place Max Verstappen and Crimson Bull would win all of it – turning an unlikely title bid into a really actual one. And when you can by no means rule the Dutchman out, Mexico confirmed that, though he stays a serious pressure, it’s nonetheless too early to name the Crimson Bull a dominant automotive.

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, Max Verstappen, Crimson Bull Racing

Photograph by: Colin McMaster / LAT Photos through Getty Photos

In qualifying he was overwhelmed not solely by Lando Norris, but additionally by each Ferraris and George Russell. Within the race, an aggressive technique helped him get better floor, but he was nonetheless overtaken by Oliver Bearman’s Haas within the early phases.

He did make it to the rostrum – regardless of saying beforehand that it was “just about not possible” – however there was by no means a second when he may really problem Norris for victory.

What does look more and more possible, although, is that Verstappen – not Piastri – may grow to be Norris’s predominant rival for the 2025 title. The tip of this championship is something however predictable.

– Jose Carlos de Celis

Bearman proves his value

It was at this very observe two years in the past that Oliver Bearman accomplished his first FP1 session for Haas – displaying sufficient potential to persuade Ayao Komatsu that he was one to observe, even when his later F2 marketing campaign didn’t fairly ship on outcomes. The Jeddah race in a Ferrari got here as an sudden bonus, however Haas’s new boss insists that was merely the cherry on high.

Bearman’s first full season in F1 hasn’t been simple. He’s made the occasional mistake and at occasions regarded a bit too keen, however the uncooked velocity is undoubtedly there. On his day, Bearman can ship one thing particular.

And Sunday in Mexico Metropolis was a kind of days. It wasn’t simply the tempo that stood out – it was the racecraft. Muscling previous Max Verstappen is sort of an achievement for any driver, not to mention a rookie.

Ferrari might be watching…

— Oleg Karpov

Ferrari: Higher late than by no means…

Ferrari’s 2025 marketing campaign has been a curler coaster with extra downs than ups, however simply because the season nears its finish, the group lastly appears to have discovered the candy spot. Leclerc’s podium in Austin nonetheless left some doubts, and Mexico was meant to point out whether or not that outcome was an oasis within the desert – or an indication they’ve reached open waters. It seems to be the latter, even when a bit of too late.

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari

Photograph by: Sam Bagnall / Sutton Photos through Getty Photos

Leclerc and Hamilton had been Norris’s closest rivals in qualifying. Though they had been nonetheless a step behind the Briton, they beat Verstappen, the Mercedes, the opposite McLaren, and the remaining. Within the race, Leclerc held off Verstappen to safe a second consecutive podium, whereas Hamilton had a extra eventful Sunday, dropping to eighth after a debatable penalty.

Ferrari, although, has clearly confirmed its Austin kind.

— Jose Carlos de Celis

Photographs from Mexico – Race

Lando Norris, McLaren