Beijing, Oct 27 (IANS) Lando Norris delivered a textbook lights-to-flag win in ñ Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix, seizing the championship lead from McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri with four GPs remaining.

Starting from pole position after having dominated Saturday’s qualifying session, Norris headed off the threat from behind on lap 1 to settle into a commanding lead that he would keep to the flag, crossing the line some 30 seconds ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.

Behind Leclerc came Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who hunted down the Ferrari in the closing laps and might have been set to overtake on the final tour, but a Virtual Safety Car deployment to clear Carlos Sainz’s stricken Williams prevented him from attempting a pass, reports Xinhua.

Piastri, meanwhile, could only salvage fifth after a mystifyingly poor qualifying performance saw him line up seventh on the grid. The Australian’s cause was not helped when he dropped to 11th on lap 1 after having lost out in a midfield melee over the first few corners.

Between Verstappen and Piastri came Ollie Bearman for a career-best fourth place finish in his Haas. The Briton had started ninth on the grid, but moved up to third as other cars ran wide jostling for position in the early stages, and from then on drove a composed race to keep faster cars behind him.

Behind Piastri came the twin Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli and George Russell, with the Briton voicing his displeasure at being stuck behind his teammate as the two hunted down Bearman, clearly feeling he had the pace in clear air to challenge the Haas.

In eighth place came Lewis Hamilton, who had run third in the early stages but whose challenge was blunted by a ten-second penalty for gaining an advantage by running off track in the early stages. The Briton complained over team radio that others had done likewise and gone unpunished, but his appeals fell on deaf ears.

Bearman’s teammate Esteban Ocon took ninth on an excellent day for Haas, with Gabriel Bortoleto rounding out the top ten for Sauber.

Norris’ win is his sixth of the season and his first since Hungary six races ago. After having trailed Piastri in the Drivers’ Championship by 34 points following the Dutch Grand Prix five races ago, Norris now leads the standings by one point from his teammate, with Verstappen a further 35 points adrift.

For his part, Piastri appeared bemused by his lack of pace relative to Norris all weekend long, and the Australian may privately be concerned at his recent form that has seen him take only one podium finish since his Dutch Grand Prix win.

While McLaren has long since wrapped up the Constructors’ title, the race for second place remains as tight as ever, with Leclerc’s second place helping move Ferrari to 356 points, one ahead of Mercedes, with Red Bull a further nine points adrift.

The 21st round of the 2025 F1 season is the Brazilian Grand Prix at the Interlagos Circuit in Sao Paulo, on November 9.

–IANS

bc/