The Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez again hosted another unforgettable weekend at the Mexico City Grand Prix, with a commanding victory for Lando Norris helping the McLaren driver to retake the lead in the World Championship.
There were varied fortunes throughout the three days of action for fellow title contenders Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri, setting up a thrilling battle entering into the final four rounds of the campaign, while Ferrari enjoyed another decent showing and Ollie Bearman starred for Haas.
For all that and more, here are the key moments from Mexico City…
Supreme Norris performance sees him return to the top of the standings
Arriving into the weekend off the back of a solid P2 one week ago in Austin – and with team mate Oscar Piastri’s championship lead having reduced further to 14 points following that round – Lando Norris had an opportunity to make further ground in the title fight.
It was one he seized. Despite missing FP1 – after handing his car over to Pato O’Ward for one of the team’s rookie outings – Norris looked to have the edge over Piastri when he joined the action. Saturday further confirmed the Briton’s pace as he topped FP3 before claiming an impressive pole position in Qualifying, beating Charles Leclerc by 0.262s.
Come race day, a good start for Norris helped him to avoid any potential disasters amid a busy Turn 1 that saw four cars enter the corner all vying for the lead. When the McLaren man emerged ahead, he quickly set about building a lead that only grew as the race went on.
Such was his advantage that Norris easily held P1 after his pit stop and the 25-year-old proved unchallenged right to the chequered flag, crossing the line with a staggering margin of 30.324s over Leclerc.
With Piastri ending the race in fifth (more on which below), Norris’ result means that he leads the championship standings for the first time since the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix weekend in April – albeit just by one point from his team mate.
Norris insisted after the race that he is taking it “one weekend at a time” – and while he often dismisses talk of momentum, it certainly looks like the 10-time race winner is in good form as the final four rounds of the season approach.
What happened to Verstappen and Piastri?
While Norris took a dominant victory and the lead in the Drivers’ Championship for the first time since April, his McLaren team mate Piastri was forced into damage limitation mode.
Unable to match Norris’ pace throughout the weekend, Piastri could only start seventh on Sunday in Mexico and slumped to ninth on the opening lap.
Thereafter, the Australian made steady progress, overtaking Yuki Tsunoda and George Russell on track while also jumping Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Antonelli through the two pit stop phases.
A late Virtual Safety Car prevented him from challenging Ollie Bearman for P4, as Piastri missed out on a podium for the fourth race in succession and finds himself now one point behind Norris in the title battle.
“We have some evidence of where the pace is and what to do but I’ve got to drive the car very differently these last couple of weekends, which when it’s been working well for you for the previous 18 [races] is a little bit difficult to kind of wrap your head around,” he said.
Max Verstappen, meanwhile, was able to salvage a rostrum despite taking to the grass at high-speed at the start after running four-wide on the approach to Turn 1.
Having struggled on the medium Pirelli tyre in the opening stint while others used the soft compound, as well as a controversial wheel-to-wheel battle with Hamilton, the four-time World Champion was able to utilise a one-stop strategy to finish on the heels of Leclerc at the chequered flag.
“We had a good final stint, I was enjoying that,” said Verstappen, who sits 36 points behind Norris. “I think the pace was a little bit more competitive compared to all the cars around me except McLaren I would say. I personally didn’t expect to be on the podium today.”
Bearman’s career-best finish
On just his 23rd Grand Prix start, Bearman put in the best performance of his Formula 1 career during the Mexico City Grand Prix after finishing fourth and going wheel-to-wheel with Verstappen.
The Haas driver had qualified an impressive ninth but was already up three spots before the end of the opening lap, and things became even better when he was able to capitalise on the fierce battle between Verstappen and Hamilton ahead.
With Verstappen forced to defend from Russell through Turn 5, Bearman was able to squeeze up the inside at the next corner and steadily pulled away from the reigning champion over the stint.
Bearman jumped up a further position as Hamilton received a penalty, and was running third on-the-road as he fended off both Mercedes drivers. Although the 20-year-old fell behind Verstappen due to the Red Bull driver’s one-stop strategy, Bearman was able to hold Piastri at bay in the closing stages to take Haas’ joint-best result in F1.
“It’s a feel-good moment. Also, to go side-by-side with Max is a very cool feeling,” said Bearman. “He’s someone I have basically grown up watching in Formula 1, so it’s awesome and I’m really proud of the job we did today.”
Leclerc takes second, but Hamilton hit with a costly penalty
The Mexico City weekend was a bittersweet occasion for Ferrari, with Leclerc delivering another strong performance to stand on the podium at consecutive races for the first time since Monaco and Spain, while a 10-second penalty for Hamilton denied the seven-time World Champion a shot at a first top-three Grand Prix appearance for the team.
Taking the positives, the Scuderia demonstrated race pace that was comparable to Red Bull, with Leclerc and Verstappen finishing nose to tail after running opposing strategies. Further encouragement will have come from Qualifying, with Leclerc leading Hamilton in second and third places, McLaren’s polesitter Norris just 0.262s ahead.
But there will remain questions of what could have been for Ferrari. Had Hamilton backed off, allowed Verstappen back through, and mounted a fresh challenge, there is the possibility that he could have remained in the fight to secure a podium finish.
Even with the penalty that Team Principal Fred Vasseur described as “a bit harsh”, however, a combined score of 22 points for the weekend saw Ferrari leapfrog Mercedes into second in the Teams’ Standings, after the Silver Arrows registered 14 points.
Mexico City shines again
The Mexico City Grand Prix always brings a party atmosphere, and the 2025 running proved to be no different, with a vibrant display of colour and culture on display in every direction you looked.
Soaking in the atmosphere was a plethora of famous faces, including actor, model and singer Rome Flynn, businessman Carlos Slim Domit, actor and producer Diego Klein, and boxing legend Evander Holyfield, who waved the chequered flag on Sunday.
With overtaking and plotlines throughout the field all weekend, the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez served up a treat, where the fiesta never stopped!
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