F1 Mexican Grand Prix 2025 Recap: Lando Norris eases to victory, takes championship lead

McLaren’s Lando Norris took a big step in this year’s title battle by picking up a commanding win at the 2025 F1 Mexican Grand Prix.

The Brit secured the win in Mexico City ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc (P2) and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen (P3). Haas’ Ollie Bearman finished a career-best fourth, while Norris’ teammate, Oscar Piastri, finished fifth. 

Norris’ win has also resulted in him taking the lead in the Drivers’ standings by a point, with Verstappen a mere 35 points further behind second-placed Piastri.

Lando Norris got a clean start off the line as the two Ferrari cars lined up behind him. Charles Leclerc had his elbows out to keep Lewis Hamilton at bay and hold on to second place, while Max Verstappen went wide at Turn 1 and Oscar Piastri had a shocking start, dropping from P8 and to P11. While one McLaren driver struggled in midfield, the pole-sitting one soon built a lead of almost two seconds.

Verstappen suffered a big moment on Lap 6, going wide, and Hamilton went off the track just as the Dutchman was trying an opportunistic lunge, which saw the two touch tyres and lock up a turn later.

Haas’ Ollie Bearman, meanwhile, moved up to P4, making the most of the commotion around him to build on his stunning start, just as Piastri was slowly making back places and had moved back into the points places — up to P9. 

After being held off by Yuki Tsunoda for a couple of laps, Piastri finally got past the Red Bull driver on Lap 11 as he went into Turn 1, while up ahead his teammate had managed to extend his lead to more than five seconds by Lap 15.

Hamilton was the first of the top six to come in for his stop. The seven-time world champion was also handed a ten-second penalty for gaining an advantage after going off the track. Hamilton re-joined in P14, with his task firmly cut out.

Piastri and Bearman both came into the pits the following lap after Hamilton’s stop and re-joined in P13 and P9, respectively; between Laps 24 and 30, most of the grid came in.

Sauber’s Nico Hülkenberg became the second car to retire on Lap 28 due to an engine issue, with Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson being the first, having recorded a DNF after damage to his front wing on Lap 1.

Leclerc stopped for his first pit stop on Lap 31. A quick stop allowed him to re-join in P2. Norris stopped on Lap 35 for his stop and re-joined seven seconds ahead of Verstappen, while the Dutchman had a messy stop and re-joined in P8, although the reigning world champion was flying on his set of soft tyres.

As the race entered its 40th lap, Norris held the lead, with Ollie Bearman and Kimi Antonelli behind him. Verstappen picked off Hamilton for P7 a few laps later; with the remaining few in front coming in for their stops, he moved to third place behind Leclerc on Lap 49, some 13 seconds down on the Ferrari driver.

George Russell and Bearman had a tussle as they came out of the pits, with the latter putting all his skills on show to keep the Mercedes driver behind him. Piastri went on to get past Russell for P5 after a stunning overtake at Turn 1, while Bearman consolidated his position with ten laps to go, with Verstappen trying to close down the gap to Leclerc.

P2 looked for the taking for Verstappen, but a late Virtual Safety Car following Carlos Sainz getting stuck on track ended all hopes of the Dutchman catching Leclerc, who held on to P2 by the skin of his teeth.

Up ahead, there was little to no trouble for Norris, who waltzed to a dominating win — his seventh of the season. In doing so, he also overtook his teammate to take the lead in the Drivers’ standings.

Leclerc finished a fortunate second, especially given Verstappen’s pace in the final stint that saw him finish on the podium. Bearman finished an incredible fourth ahead of Piastri, with Antonelli in sixth. Russell, Hamilton, Esteban Ocon, and Gabriel Bortoleto rounded out the points places, with Haas securing a double points finish. 

Norris led from start to finish in Mexico City, which bodes well for McLaren and their hopes of also securing the Drivers’ title, with Verstappen threatening to spoil their hopes late on.

Norris now leads his teammate in the Drivers’ standings by a point with four races left. He will look to hold on to his lead going forward, with Piastri needing to play catch-up.

Racing returns in two weeks’ time for the Brazilian Grand Prix.