F1 | Race | Mexico City GP | Norris takes the victory and the lead in the championship battle - Motorsport

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It is time to go racing at the F1 Mexico City GP. Qualifying is finished, and all eyes are on the championship contenders to see who will come out on top.

Lando Norris starts on pole, followed by Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton. This result is Hamilton’s highest qualifying position for Ferrari. His previous team-mate George Russell lines up in P5, and Max Verstappen in P6. Championship leader Oscar Piastri will take the P7 grid spot after a disappointing qualifying on Saturday.

Lights out at the F1 Mexico City GP!

As the cars lined up on the grid, the top four had all opted to start on the soft tyre. However, Max Verstappen had a set of medium tyres on his Red Bull. During the formation lap, Hulkenberg was reporting to his engineers that he had problems with the power in his Sauber. Nevertheless, he was able to make it to the grid.

As the lights went out, Lando Norris had a great getaway, which allowed him to hold off a charging Charles Leclerc. Max Verstappen attempted to move up positions. But four into one doesn’t work, which sent him into the grass, along with Charles Leclerc. Verstappen was able to rejoin the track but had to give the position back to Hamilton. Thus, he remained ahead of Russell. Leclerc’s trip had put him briefly in the lead. However, as he gained the advantage off the track, he quickly gave the position back to the McLaren.

Oliver Bearman had a great start, which moved him up to P6. In contrast, Piastri struggled with the start of the race and dropped down to P9. Lance Stroll took a spin during the first lap. Meanwhile, Lawson picked up damage after contact with a Williams. This saw him diving into the pits on Lap 2 for a new front wing.

Opening stages of the race

Things didn’t get any easier as they began to settle into the race. On Lap 6, Verstappen attempted a lunge on Hamilton but went deep, and he ended up on the grass at turn 2 as things got a bit messy. This sent him off the track once again. This had a knock-on effect as Hamilton locked up and went off track into turn 4 and gained an adventage.

Amidst the chaos, George Russell lost out and dropped down to P7. Ollie Bearman was able to stay out of trouble and moved further up the grid to P4. Piastri continued to try to fight Tsunoda for P8. Yet, the Red Bull was putting up a strong defensive drive. Lawson, unfortunately, was unable to continue with the race and was the first driver to DNF due to damage from Lap 1.

With 10 laps completed, the top 3 remained the same. Norris was leading by 3 seconds, having avoided all the chaos happening behind him. Piastri was also able to get past Tsunoda, which freed him up to chase after Russell. With the temperatures so high in Mexico, both Ferrari drivers were instructed to lift and coast to help cool down their brakes and tyres.

Lewis Hamilton was given a 10-second time penalty on Lap 16. This was due to his earlier battle with Verstappen, where he left the track and gained a time advantage on the Red Bull. Further down the field, Piastri began to close in on Russell. He found himself within his DRS.

Pit stop window opens

As the pit window opened, Sainz was the first to get a set of new tyres. However, it was a slow stop, taking the Williams team 5.1 seconds to service the car. Those on the medium tyres were beginning to struggle. The soft tyres looked like the stronger choice around Mexico. Alonso was the second driver to pit and was the first to swap to the mediums.

On the track, it continued to be close between Russell and Piastri. While the McLaren driver was able to remain in the Mercedes DRS, he was struggling with his exits in the slow corners. This limited his ability to attack.

On lap 24, Hamilton headed in to serve his penalty and get a change of tyres. When the Ferrari pit crew was finished, he re-entered the race in P14. On the next lap, Piastri and Bearman were both in the pits. Thanks to Hamilton’s penalty, Olli Bearman came out of the pits looking at a potential podium position. Mercedes countered Piastri’s earlier stop, and Russell was into the pits at the next opportunity, and remained in front.

Meanwhile, Nico Hulkenberg was forced to join Lawson in retiring from the Mexico City GP. At the same time, Carlos Sainz was issued a 5-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane. After Leclerc pitted on lap 31, Norris was left with a 28-second lead on Verstappen in P2. Both drivers still had to stop.

Halfway through the Mexico City GP

Just before the halfway marker, Norris headed into the pits for a set of medium tyres. He was able to keep hold of the lead of the race. Fernando Alonso had been running out of the points for the whole race and retired on Lap 35. Verstappen pitted on Lap 38 and came out behind Hamilton in P8. He had gone longer than the rest of the field on his medium tyres.

Antonelli was holding up Russell, which allowed Piastri to close up on the two Mercedes drivers. But despite this, Piastri was still unable to get close enough to make a move. Russell was on the radio asking the team to swap positions, with the call finally coming on Lap 41. This then allowed Russell to attempt to catch Bearman and try to deny the rookie his maiden podium.

Battles in the pits

Verstappen got ahead of Hamilton at Turn 1 on Lap 47. This moved him up to P7 and behind Piastri, who was struggling to move forward. Difficulties getting ahead on the track meant that they moved the battle to the pit stops. As Piastri followed Antonelli into the pits, all eyes were on the pit crews. It was a test to see who was able to service the cars the fastest. The McLaren team won the battle, and Piastri finally moved past Antonelli. This then triggered the others in the field to change to a two-stop strategy. Hamilton, Russell, and Bearman all headed in for their second pitstop of the race.

Bearman gave up track position when opting for a new set of tyres. He was struggling to get away from Russell, who was determined to fight for a podium finish in Mexico City. Ahead of them, Verstappen was starting to make gains on Leclerc, who was 25 seconds behind race leader Lando Norris. Sainz headed into the pits for a second time and once again received a penalty for speeding in the pit lane. This time, it was a drive-through penalty, which he served on Lap 58.

10 laps to go

On Lap 61 of the Mexico City GP, Oscar Piastri was finally able to get ahead of George Russell and move up to P5 on the grid. After spending the majority of the race behind the Mercedes driver, he was quick to pull away to deny Russell DRS. As Russell was now unable to overtake Bearman, the two Mercedes drivers inverted positions to their original running order

Bortoleto moved into the points by making a move on Isaac Hadjar on Lap 63. Tsunoda followed suit on the next lap as Hadjar dropped to P12. This quickly became P13 as Albon was the next driver to pass due to Hadjar’s tyres struggling to get to the end of the race.

With every lap, Verstappen was closing the gap to Leclerc, getting closer and closer to the P2 position. It was on Lap 69 when he found himself within a second of the Ferrari driver. At the same time, Oscar Piastri moved into Bearman’s DRS range.

Final battles of the F1 Mexico City GP

Carlos Sainz came to a stop at turn 16, causing a double yellow flag. Verstappen and Piastri both gave their best efforts, but were unable to launch an attack before a virtual safety car was called. This neutralised the race and allowed the marshals to clear a stranded Williams off the track. But we didn’t end under virtual safety car conditions, which came in with half a lap of the Mexican GP to go. It was a battle right to the end of the race, but both Leclerc and Bearman were able to hold off their challengers.

Up front, Lando Norris came home victorious after driving the perfect race, 30 seconds ahead of P2. His victory today brings him into the lead of the drivers’ championship by 1 point. This is the first time he has been leading the championship since Saudi Arabia.