Lando Norris has ignited his Formula 1 world title charge after taking 10 points out of Max Verstappen’s lead by finishing second with his twice-penalised Red Bull rival sixth in a Mexico City GP absolutely dominated by Ferrari’s victorious Carlos Sainz.
On a second successive contentious Sunday in F1’s title battle as the two protagonists squabbled and the stewards intervened, Verstappen was given a pair of 10-second penalties for two quick-fire chaotic incidents with Norris on the 10th lap of the race – moves which the McLaren driver branded “dangerous”.
Verstappen was found to have forced his McLaren rival off the track at Turn Four in the first, and then to have gained an unfair advantage by running off track four corners later in the second, with the combined 20s sanction dropping him out of third place and down the order when he served it as his pit stop.
The championship leader briefly dropped out of the points places and although he quickly recovered to sixth, he made no further progress from there as his Red Bull struggled with tyre wear.
With Norris taking over third after his rival’s penalties and then overtaking Charles Leclerc late on to deny Ferrari a second successive one-two, the McLaren driver has closed down Verstappen’s title lead to 47 points with four race weekends still to go – with the Sao Paulo GP and its Sprint event next up this coming week, live on Sky Sports F1.
Polesitter Sainz had originally lost the lead of the race to Verstappen in a dramatic start which saw RB’s Yuki Tsunoda crash out before the first corner after a tangle with Williams’ Alex Albon on the long congested run to the first corner.
But after a six-lap Safety Car phase, Sainz soon breezed past Verstappen down the main straight, with Norris then swiftly getting on the Red Bull’s tail and launching an attack on the Dutchman.
Mounting what appears a stunning late charge for the Constructors’ Championship title, Ferrari have now usurped reigning champions Red Bull for second place and closed down McLaren’s advantage to 29 points.
Red Bull’s woes were compounded by another miserable day for Sergio Perez, the home Mexican favourite, who received a five-second penalty for a jump start and then sustained car damage in a clash with Liam Lawson, who drives for sister team RB and is in contention to take the struggling Mexican’s seat for 2025.
Lewis Hamilton won out after a ding-dong battle with George Russell to beat his Mercedes team-mate to fourth, although the British pair finished half a minute behind Sainz.
More to follow…
Formula 1’s Americas triple header concludes this weekend with the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, with every session live on Sky Sports F1. Stream every F1 race and more with a NOW Sports Month Membership – No contract, cancel anytime
