The demonstration of Lando Norris and the fantastic result of Ollie Bearman, but also the strange strategy of Mercedes and the lost points of Oscar Piastri, find the tops and flops of the Mexican GP.
TOPS
Norris’s takeover
Lando Norris had the perfect weekend. The Briton stunned the field on Saturday with a pole position pushing the competition back to three tenths. On Sunday, he managed the start perfectly and came out in front of the first turn, where hell was predicted for him, and the others never saw him again. He quickly gave Leclerc five then ten and finally twenty seconds. When he stopped after thirty laps to switch to the mediums, the Briton didn’t even lose his lead as his lead was enormous. Above the rest in Mexico, Norris won 30 seconds ahead of Leclerc, managing the last twenty laps. Impressive. He arrived in Mexico 14 points behind Piastri and left Latin America one point ahead of his teammate. He is now leader in the championship standings with four races remaining.
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Bearman’s Dream Sunday
Ninth on the grid, Ollie Bearman had a dream Sunday. The Haas driver went through the rain in the first corner where there were numerous incidents. The rookie quickly found himself fifth ahead of the Mercedes and took advantage of the battle between Verstappen and Hamilton on lap 6 to slip between the Ferrari and the Red Bull. Fourth for a long time then third, the Briton believed in the podium, but his two-stop strategy prevented him from battling with Verstappen. On the other hand, he kept Russell’s Mercedes at bay then Piastri’s McLaren with his Haas to finish 4th and sign his best result of his young career. And with Esteban Ocon’s ninth place, Haas scores 14 points and equals his best weekend with China.
Verstappen limits the coffers
The Dutchman has sometimes mixed Formula 1 and rally raid, but what a race again for Verstappen. Fifth on the grid, the Batavian, despite being in mediums, is the one who made the best start. The reigning four-time world champion almost won the two Ferraris but had to go off and give up positions. Then fourth, he then quarreled with Hamilton, penalized by ten seconds. Fifth with a car that looked like a giant lawn mower after ten laps as the Red Bull had cut the corners, without being penalized, Verstappen opted for the one-stop strategy and it paid off. His second stint on softs propelled him to 3rd and he could have finished second if the virtual safety car had not intervened two laps from the end while he was stuck with Leclerc. Verstappen limits the damage and leaves Mexico now 36 points behind Norris. No doubt he would have signed for this scenario on Sunday morning.
FLOPS
Mercedes misses out
Sixth and seventh, Mercedes was expecting something else in Mexico. The silver cars got lost mid-race while chasing Bearman. Russell was blocked by Antonelli and demanded that his teammate let him pass to attack the Haas. The decision took a long time to come and large discussions, quite heated, took place by radio. Finally, Antonelli let Russell pass but the latter never got back on Bearman and in the end, Verstappen and Piastri also took advantage, pushing the Mercedes back. A poor team strategy here and it is worth pointing out that Toto Wolff, the usual big boss of the German brand, was absent this weekend. Maybe not a coincidence.
Piastri continues to lose feathers
He arrived in Mexico as championship leader with 14 points ahead of Norris but the Australian suffered all weekend while his teammate struggled in Mexico. Seventh on the grid, Oscar Piastri quickly lost two places and honked for a long time in the peloton behind Tsunoda and the Mercedes. Using a two-stop strategy, Piastri found pace at the end of the race with the softs to overtake Russell but he came up against Bearman’s Haas. He only scores ten points and confirms his fall for almost two months now. So much so that he is no longer leader of the championship since Norris took the throne from him by one point.
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Hadjar inevitably disappointed
He had declared that he didn’t really like this track but with his Q3 on Saturday and his eighth place on the grid, Isack Hadjar hoped to finish in the top 10. The Frenchman ultimately had a difficult race. He lost a few places at the start but was still in the points zone. Starting on mediums and on a one-stop strategy, Hadjar suffered with the softs in the second part of the race and only finished 13th. Very disappointed at the end of the race, Hadjar remains on three delicate weekends.
