Norris on pole with title rivals further behind, Ferrari’s double podium hopes and more: What to expect in the Mexico City Grand Prix
- Meghana Sree
- 4 hours ago
- 4 min read
Perhaps one of the most crucial qualifying sessions in the title fight narrative unfolded on Saturday in Mexico City, with Lando Norris triumphing as the pole-sitter ahead of Ferrari clinching P2 and P3. Here’s everything to look out for in a race that sees Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen starting on the back-foot, while Norris is in prime position to reclaim the championship lead.
Teams arrived at Mexico City with the set-ups suited to a track that sits 2285m above sea-level, with low downforce packages and opened up cooling ducts to combat the thinner air of the high altitude city.
Following practice sessions, of which FP1 saw all teams barring Sauber hand a car to rookie drivers, qualifying was poised to be extremely marginal with several teams expected to enter the fight for pole.
Ferrari threatened the top spot with Charles Leclerc during the final moments of Q3, but an electric lap from Lando Norris saw the McLaren driver edge out Leclerc by four-tenths – comfortably clinching pole.
Meanwhile, championship leader Oscar Piastri continued to struggle through a rough patch in the season, as he could muster a mere seventh place, which would’ve been eighth if not for Carlos Sainz’s grid penalty carried over from Austin.
This Grand Prix has all the ingredients to rewrite the championship narrative, so here are five things to watch out for ahead of the 2025 Mexico City Grand Prix.
Norris’ golden opportunity to reclaim championship lead
While pole is historically not the best place to start from in Mexico, given the longest run to Turn 1 on the calendar and the powerful slipstream effect for cars behind, Norris nevertheless has the chance to wipe out Piastri’s championship buffer.
He will be comforted that three cars separate him from reinvigorated title rival Verstappen, while Piastri starts all the way down in seventh – much more favourable for Norris’ championship hopes than if they had joined him on the front row.
Norris’ opportunity to reclaim the championship lead that he lost all the way back in Saudi Arabia now rests upon keeping the two Ferraris at bay, who have shown promising performance throughout this weekend.
Ferrari’s double podium hopes – and a possible win if they dare
Lewis Hamilton has never finished a Formula One season without standing on the podium in his entire career.
With just five Grands Prix remaining to maintain this feat and P3 secured in qualifying, Sunday’s race looks like his sure-fire chance to claim that elusive first podium in red.
He lines up ahead of George Russell in the Mercedes, but Ferrari has proven to be the quicker car this weekend in a sudden upturn in form compared to the last few rounds preceding Austin.
Ferrari’s competitiveness in Mexico comes as little surprise given last year’s dominant performance from Sainz, who still remains the last Ferrari race winner.
That statistic does have possibilities of being re-written, if Leclerc can repeat his Lap 1 heroics from last time out to pass Norris, this time for the lead, or if Hamilton looks aggressive on the opening lap.
Furthermore, Ferrari’s PU turbo specification better suits the thinner air compared to their rivals such as Mercedes, which bodes well for Leclerc and Hamilton as well as fellow Ferrari engine users like Haas and Sauber.
Piastri and Verstappen fighting from the back
Two of our key championship protagonists start from positions further down the order.
With Verstappen in fifth and Piastri seventh, both drivers will be keen on making sure to gain as many positions as possible because if they finish as they start, Norris will retake the lead from Piastri by five points while Verstappen will drop one point away from the lead.
Verstappen, a repeat winner in Mexico, has been on edge all weekend and was pessimistic of his chances of a podium to keep up his rekindled title campaign’s momentum, stating: “I’m not really expecting to be in a battle ahead of me – they’re miles faster.”
He was particularly fighting the car through the final sector with a lot of sliding, and was unable to post competitive lap times during qualifying, leaving the Red Bull driver to settle for fifth.
Meanwhile Piastri has been painfully slow despite the extra practice session compared to Norris and Verstappen, who stepped out during the rookie-filled FP1.
Piastri’s struggles in Mexico aren’t completely out of the blue, however, as in 2024, the Australian recorded a Q1 exit at this track.
His climb from 17th to eighth last year will be encouraging for the championship leader, yet he will still be wary of his teammate’s better track-record in Mexico that threatens his title hopes.
Sainz’s charge to remedy his five-place grid drop
The most recent winner of the Mexico City Grand Prix starts on the backfoot this year, taking a five-place grid penalty following a collision with Kimi Antonelli during the United States Grand Prix last week.
Sainz has been rapid all weekend, making this grid penalty even more unfortunate as without it, he would have started seventh.
Now dropped to 12th, the Spaniard will be eyeing an overtake-packed opening stint by unleashing his car’s pace to minimise the penalty’s damage.
The longest run to Turn 1
The Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez is famous for bearing the longest run to Turn 1 on the F1 calendar, with 830 metres from the start to the first braking point — setting us up nicely for some chaos on the opening lap.
With an invaluable slipstream up for grabs down this straight, third placed Hamilton has good odds to pounce on Norris at the first available opportunity, while the McLaren driver will no doubt be looking in his mirrors to defend his position.
Here in Mexico more than other tracks, the thrilling start will be crucial in how the rest of the race pans out, as we gear up for a potential change of hands in the championship lead.
