Norris wins in Mexico to take F1 lead from Piastri by a single point

MEXICO CITY, Mexico, October 29 ------ McLaren’s Lando Norris avoided early mayhem to cruise to a dominant Mexico City Grand Prix win and retake the Formula One championship lead by a single point from teammate Oscar Piastri. 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 thrilling chase. Charles Leclerc was runner-up for Ferrari, a hefty 30.3 seconds adrift from Norris, while Red Bull’s reigning champion Max Verstappen took third — just 0.7 behind 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. “A pretty straightforward race for me which is just what I was after. A good start, a good launch, a good first lap, and I could go from there.”

Norris last led the standings in April, a gap of 189 days, and had not won a race since Hungary in early August. Sunday was his sixth victory of the season, one less than Piastri, and career 10th. “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.” He added.

Oliver Bearman was fourth for Haas, the best result for the Briton and also the US-owned team and was 1.1 second clear of Piastri at a checkered flag waved by former heavyweight boxing champion Evander Holyfield. “I held off Max in the first stint, I held off the Mercs in the second, and I held off the McLaren in the third one,” the rookie said. “I spent more time looking in myrear-vieww mirrors than in front. But that’s sometimes how it has to be.”

Source: rappler.com