Lando Norris delivered an absolutely dominant performance in Mexico, showing control and consistency throughout the weekend that recalled the best days of Max Verstappen. The former championship leader managed to make steady progress as the weekend unfolded and as track conditions evolved. His race pace was strong enough to beat both Mercedes cars, although not quite sufficient to quickly close in on Oliver Bearman. Starting from a lower grid position proved costly at the unforgiving Mexican circuit. Overall, the Australian has been struggling to find the right feeling with his car for several races now, appearing less effective than earlier in the season. There is no clear indication of a specific problem — it could simply be poor adaptation or a development direction that doesn’t suit his driving style. For this reason, a potential chassis change by the team in the coming rounds would not be surprising.
Meanwhile, Ferrari returned to second place in the Constructors’ Championship, thanks to an excellent performance from Charles Leclerc, who secured his 50th career podium after a superb qualifying session. The key to his success was being, along with Norris, the only driver among the top ten to have a new set of soft tyres available. Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton lost significant time battling each other, in a duel that felt reminiscent of their classic encounters. In Mexico, Ferrari also confirmed the small but important step forward made — particularly by Leclerc — following the updates tested during the American Sprint weekend. The new rear suspension improved stability under braking but initially reduced traction and sensitivity on corner exit, a crucial phase where the Monegasque often likes to play from the apex onward. Adjustments made to the brake-by-wire system and braking migration helped Leclerc regain better control and balance behind the wheel.
Verstappen recovered from his early losses caused by the fight with Hamilton during the second stint, as his Red Bull proved far stronger in race trim than in qualifying. Team principal Laurent Mekies praised his driver’s effort: “His second stint was incredible — he kept the pace alive and managed to extract exactly what we needed from the car to make our race work. He was gaining six to seven tenths per lap on Charles Leclerc, and without the VSC we would have had a real fight in the final laps.”
However, the Dutch champion was not entirely satisfied: “Let’s see what we can do in the final races. I just hope we don’t have another weekend like this again; it shows we’re not strong everywhere,” he said. Verstappen gained five points on Oscar Piastri but lost ten to Norris, which technically brings him numerically closer to the championship lead, yet without truly strengthening his position — especially considering Norris’s current performance level.
His attempt to catch Leclerc was ultimately frozen by the Virtual Safety Car, but before that, Oliver Bearman had already shown both Verstappen and the others that overtaking the Ferrari was far from straightforward. The high altitude of Mexico City — over 2,200 meters above sea level — raises tyre temperatures more quickly in the slow sector leading to the main straight, while also reducing both downforce and DRS effectiveness due to thinner air.
Oliver Bearman impressed once again, beating both Mercedes cars on pure pace and even managing to hold off Piastri’s McLaren. How did he do it? The young Briton equalled Haas’s best-ever Formula 1 result — matching Romain Grosjean’s fourth place at the 2018 Austrian Grand Prix. In the opening laps, Bearman took advantage of the chaos ahead and climbed three positions. By lap six, he was up to fourth, which became third when Hamilton served his penalty. He was the highest finisher using a two-stop strategy. While keeping Verstappen behind was impossible, Bearman successfully defended against McLaren’s number 81 to secure a valuable 12 points for Haas.
Ferrari team principal Frédéric Vasseur also congratulated the young driver on loan from Maranello. It was Bearman’s best Formula 1 result to date, not just in finishing position but also in tyre management and overall consistency. In many ways, the Mexican Grand Prix represented his first major test as a full-fledged F1 driver. “When we got the car into the right operating window, it was fantastic. Racing wheel-to-wheel with Max Verstappen is an amazing feeling — he’s someone I grew up watching in Formula 1. We earned that position. Maybe we had a bit of luck, but our pace kept us there,” Bearman said.
He was right — his Haas was genuinely competitive throughout the race. With this result, the American team overtook Sauber in the Constructors’ Championship, a crucial achievement given that every position in the standings is worth an estimated seven to eight million dollars in prize money.
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