Lando Norris has moved one point ahead of McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri in the F1 Drivers’ Championship following his dominant performance at the Mexico City Grand Prix.
Which driver impressed you the most? Which driver disappointed you the most?
Lando Norris – 10
Lando Norris had the best weekend of his F1 career to date at the Mexico City Grand Prix. From the moment he hopped in the car, Norris was eye-to-eye with his McLaren. He is leading the championship for the first time since Saudi Arabia.
Charles Leclerc – 9
Charles Leclerc squeezed the best out of his Ferrari SF-25 at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodríguez. Leclerc hinted that pole position was on the cards after topping the timesheets following his first run in Q3. His Grand Prix was fairly easy, settling for second place behind Norris. Admittedly, I was somewhat lucky to avoid going off course on the opening lap. However, the stewards had no intention of intervening as their sole aim was to get ahead of their Ferrari team-mates.
Max Verstappen – 9
At one stage it looked like Max Verstappen was headed for a bottom finish of eighth in Mexico. Verstappen came back to life on the softs and a long stint on the mediums made the difference. Due to VSC being late, he lost his chance to beat Leclerc and move into second place. Verstappen was also lucky to avoid a penalty that caused him to collide with Lewis Hamilton at Turn 1.
top 3 in mexico
Olly Bearman – 10
A great exhibit by Olly Bearman from Mexico City. He once again recorded a brilliant qualifying lap to advance to Q3, before finishing fourth. Had Verstappen been penalized, Haas could have taken their first podium.
Oscar Piastri – 6.5
Oscar Piastri’s poor performance continued, with a lackluster weekend. In his confessional, Piastri revealed that he needed to change the way he drove to rediscover his form, especially on low-grip circuits. With four rounds left, he is one point behind his teammate.
Kimi Antonelli – 7.5
Kimi Antonelli had another encouraging weekend after coming within striking distance of Mercedes teammate George Russell in qualifying. After some confusion between Verstappen and Hamilton, Antonelli took the lead over Russell. The Italian eventually finished ahead of his teammates after Russell failed to advance as per his team’s instructions and gave up his place.
George Russell – 7.5
Russell’s advantage over Antonelli was slightly smaller than usual. He felt that Mercedes was too slow in instructing his teammates to pass to attack Bearman in front. Russell also lost in the battle between Hamilton and Verstappen.
Lewis Hamilton – 7
Everything went wrong for the seven-time world champion in Mexico. Hamilton lost out to Leclerc on the opening lap, with the Monaco cutting corners for no apparent reason, staying ahead of his teammate. Hamilton then got into a chaotic battle with Verstappen. Verstappen attempted an aggressive charge into Turn 1, pushing Hamilton wide. Hamilton returned the favor, forcing Verstappen out at the next corner. He then cut Turn 4 to take the lead and was given a 10 second time penalty by the stewards. While Hamilton’s penalty was justified, it was surprising that Verstappen received no penalty.
lewis hamilton
Esteban Ocon – 7
Esteban Ocon was clearly the second best Haas driver in Mexico. The long first stint allowed Bearman to battle some of the drivers he was battling. Still, given what Bearman has achieved in recent races, Ocon will be expecting more.
Gabriel Bortleto – 7.5
After a difficult qualifying, Gabriel Bortleto had a strong Sunday and took the final points in Mexico.
Yuki Tsunoda – 6
Hiroki Tsunoda fell outside the top 10 on race day, regretting his 12-second pit stop.
Alex Albon – 6.5
Alex Albon was dissatisfied with Williams’ strategy of starting on unfavorable hard tires. He showed some progress in the second half when he switched to softs, but it was too late to compete for points.
Isaac Hajar – 7
A mistake at Turn 6 on the first lap could have cost Izak Hajar a top-10 finish in Mexico. Hajjar felt the Racing Bulls lacked outright pace and the fact that they had no new software available after making it to Q3 was holding them back.
Isaac Hajar
Lance Stroll – 6
Lance Stroll overtook Aston Martin teammate Fernando Alonso halfway through Mexico and finished 14th. Aston Martin just didn’t have the pace to finish in the points.
Pierre Gasly – 6.5
Alpine continued to have one of the slowest cars on the grid over the weekend. Pierre Gasly outperformed Franco Colapinto in both qualifying and the final.
Franco Colapinto – 6
Colapinto described the Mexico City Grand Prix as “a long, lonely afternoon for us”. He took the checkered flag just behind Gasly.
Carlos Sainz – 6.5
Carlos Sainz’s excellent qualifying performance was ruined by damage on the opening lap. Although he received two penalties for speeding, Williams admitted that this was due to problems with his car rather than driver error. His DNF, which spun off in the stadium section late in the race, was apparently his own fault.
Carlos Sainz
Fernando Alonso – 7
Alonso continues Stroll’s incredible streak of failing to qualify, now 31 races in a row. His race ended prematurely due to overheating brakes.
Liam Lawson – 5.5
Lawson’s race started well but was ruined by contact with Sainz at Turn 1. Lawson felt that the Spaniards were responsible for the accident. After sustaining significant damage, Lawson retired early from the Mexico City Grand Prix.