BY OSABUOHIEN VIVIAN ROSE
McLaren’s Lando Norris has won the Mexico City Grand Prix and taken the Formula One championship lead by a single point from teammate Oscar Piastri on Sunday.
Australian Piastri, who started the race seventh and 14 points clear of the Briton, finished fifth after a virtual safety car in the last two laps denied him a shot at fourth after a hot chase.
Charles Leclerc was runner-up for Ferrari, a hefty 30.3 seconds adrift of Norris, while Red Bull’s reigning champion Max Verstappen took third – just 0.7 behind the Monegasque.
Norris, who started from pole position and led every lap, now has 357 points to Piastri’s 356 with Verstappen on 321 and four rounds remaining.
“What a race. I could just keep my eyes focused and forward and focus on what I was doing,” said Norris, who was booed by the home crowd for reasons that remained unclear.
Norris last led the standings in April, about 189 days ago, and had not won a race since Hungary in early August. Sunday was his sixth victory of the season, one less than Piastri, and 10th in his career.
“I felt like the whole race I was right behind someone and struggling with the dirty air. That was pretty difficult,” said Piastri.
“Today was about trying to limit the damage, but also trying to learn some things about that. If I’ve made some progress with that I’ll be happy.”
Oliver Bearman was fourth for Haas, a best result for the Briton and also the U.S.-owned team, and was 1.1 seconds clear of Piastri at a chequered flag waved by former heavyweight boxing champion Evander Holyfield.
Kimi Antonelli was sixth for Mercedes, with teammate George Russell seventh and Lewis Hamilton eighth for Ferrari after a 10-second penalty dropped him from third and dashed his hopes of a first podium for the team he joined in January.
Esteban Ocon was ninth, making a double points finish for Haas, and Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto took the final point.
The top three all completed the race on a one-stop strategy, while Bearman, Piastri and the Mercedes drivers all pitted twice.
Ferrari moved back into second place, a point ahead of Mercedes, in a constructors’ championship already won by McLaren but with a tight scrap for the runner-up slot.
Norris made a clean start from pole when the lights went out but was caught in a four-way tussle down the long run to turn one, with Verstappen cutting the corner and bumping over the grass.
Leclerc then cut turn two, giving the place back to Norris who emerged from the chaos ahead while Verstappen gained a place in fourth to the intense irritation of Russell.
A scary incident saw Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson, who came in for a new front wing on lap three, accelerate out of the pits as two marshals ran across the track in front of him.
Verstappen and third-placed Hamilton made contact on lap six as they went side by side with the Red Bull driver trying to go past at turn one but ending up cutting the next corner.
Mexico City GP Result: Top 10
1) Lando Norris, McLaren
2) Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
3) Max Verstappen, Red Bull
4) Oliver Bearman, Haas
5) Oscar Piastri, McLaren
6) Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
7) George Russell, Mercedes
8) Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
9) Esteban Ocon, Haas
10) Gabriel Bortoleto, Sauber.
