Follow us on Google Discover McLaren driver Lando Norris racked up the 10th win of his Formula 1 career at the Mexico City Grand Prix.
Lando Norris was denied a Grand Slam at the Mexico City Grand Prix after George Russell took the fastest lap, but the McLaren driver couldn’t have been any more dominant in the race.
He finished more than half a minute ahead of Charles Leclerc in second, winning by the biggest margin since Max Verstappen at the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix.
Norris still encountered some boos from the Mexican crowd, but that won’t dampen his spirits as he retook the lead in the drivers’ championship for the first time since April.
It was an eventful race for everyone except Norris, with his teammate Oscar Piastri only able to recover to fifth after a disappointing performance in qualifying.
Position Drivers’ Championship PointsPts 1 357 2 356 3 321 4 258 5 210 6 146 7 97 8 73 9 41 10 39
Lewis Hamilton was among Oliver Bearman’s admirers after the Haas driver recorded his best-ever finish in Formula 1, coming home in fourth ahead of Piastri, Kimi Antonelli and Russell.
Hamilton received a penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage, although many fans were surprised that Leclerc and Verstappen avoided punishment for similar infringements during a chaotic start to the race.
Damon Hill was closely watching and suggested that Norris’ win raised an important issue that Formula 1 needs to address.
It’s something Pirelli are responsible for, and with F1’s regulations changing in 2026, it will be interesting to see what impact that has on tyre life going forward.
READ MORE: McLaren driver Lando Norris’ life outside F1 from parents to celebration
Photo by Gerardo Vieyra/NurPhoto via Getty ImagesDamon Hill not happy with the tyres at the Mexican Grand Prix after Lando Norris victory
Hill reacted on X to Norris’ impressive opening stint on the soft tyres, and he said: “Lando not stopping. 33 laps on a soft and leading. That is NOT a soft tyre!!”
After the race, he reacted on Instagram to Norris taking the lead of the championship from Piastri, with Verstappen catching up and said: ‘Momentum is real’.
Lando not stopping. 33 laps on a soft and leading. That is NOT a soft tyre!!
— Damon Hill (@HillF1) October 26, 2025
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This is in contrast to the British driver’s comments after the race, where he dismissed that he could take momentum into the rest of the season from Mexico.
The top three drivers all only stopped once, doing long stints on the soft compound, but behind them, Piastri triggered the rest of the chasing pack to stop a second time.
Pirelli are gathering data for 2026, but the experiments they’ve done with tyre compounds this season haven’t always worked.
The last two races have seen the hard tyres barely used because they’ve been so slow, and because teams have found a way to make the softer compounds last far longer than many people expected.
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Pirelli chief gives his verdict on Mexico City Grand Prix tyre choices
Motorsport director of Pirelli, Mario Isola, explained his feelings about the tyres after the race, via Pit Pass.
He said: “We were treated to an interesting race here in Mexico City, not just in terms of the on-track action but also because we saw the field split between those on a one-stop and others on a two-stop.
“The medium and soft compounds both played their part, but if one were to pick a star of the day, it was without a doubt the red-banded compound.
“Most of the drivers chose the softest tyre for the start and for the final stint in the case of those who opted for a two-stop strategy.
RANKDRIVERTEAMPOINTS1Lando NorrisMcLaren252Charles LeclercFerrari183Max VerstappenRed Bull154Oliver BearmanHaas125Oscar PiastriMcLaren106Kimi AntonelliMercedes87George RussellMercedes68Lewis HamiltonFerrari49Esteban OconHaas210Gabriel BortoletoSauber12025 Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix result
“Thanks to very little wear and no graining, the drivers were able to extend their C5 stint, effectively managing thermal degradation on the rears. The pit stop windows were in line with our expectations, and I believe the variety of strategies also owed something to the decision to introduce a gap in the compounds selected.
“The hard saw very little use, because it was at a disadvantage on this track that offered little grip all weekend.”
Norris will want the tyres to be one less factor that he has to think about during the final four races of the season.
He’s got the smallest advantage over Piastri, and with Verstappen closing in ahead of some of his best tracks, it’s almost certain the championship is going to go down to the wire in Abu Dhabi.