Mexican Grand Prix 2025: Race Review

An action-packed Mexican Grand Prix turned up the heat on the 2025 Formula One drivers’ championship battle, with a decisive performance from Lando Norris enabling him to clinch the title lead by just one-point.

With only four races left to solidify his status, will the British driver be able to recreate Formula One history, securing his first ever world championship title in Räikkönen style, or will Oscar Piastri or Max Verstappen instead claim bragging rights?

Key Moments

Starting as the Mexican Grand Prix meant to go on, Lap 1 saw four drivers challenge for pole position, with Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, and Lewis Hamilton all going wide.

Meanwhile, Lando Norris was able to maintain a respectable lead in front, away from the chaos unfolding behind him.

While this successfully benefitted his British Papaya counterpart, Oscar Piastri – on the other hand – found himself engulfed, conceding two places at the start, lending himself to P9 position.

This proved worrisome for the Australian’s title hopes, given that obtaining P4 position or higher at the Mexican Grand Prix was the requirement for maintaining his championship lead.

During Lap 6, Lewis Hamilton locked up, finding himself off-track and in battle with old-school rival Max Verstappen, while Ollie Bearman capitalised on the situation-in-hand and firmly positioned himself in P4.

While, at stages, it seemed the Haas driver would be capable of obtaining a career-first podium result in Formula One, this is ultimately where the 20-year-old British driver concluded his Mexican Grand Prix.

During Lap 48, Kimi Antonelli, Oscar Piastri, and Lewis Hamilton all entered the pit lane – no, this is not the start of a tasteless joke – with Piastri emerging first, crucially placing him back to his original P7 starting position.

The Australian was eventually able to overtake George Russell during Lap 60, claiming P6 position, and conclusively finishing in P5; just one place away from remaining the championship leader.

With one lap of the Grand Prix left, the race came to its nail-crunching conclusion, with Carlos Sainz stopping within the stadium section, controversially omitting a virtual safety car during Lap 70.

This coincided with a last-minute lunge from Max Verstappen towards Charlec Leclerc for P2 position, and three crucial championship points.

Holding on by a margin of just 0.725 seconds, Charles Leclerc – and his now-favourite colour; yellow – managed to maintain P2 position, with Max Verstappen concluding his race in P3 position.

The release of a safety car too prevented a battle emerging between Piastri and Bearman for P4, with the safety of two extra points in the 2025 drivers’ championship title left up in the tracks’ pebbles.

Dominating the Mexican Grand Prix weekend, Lando Norris ultimately secured victory for the first time since The Hungarian Grand Prix – back in August – bringing his McLaren home and ahead, by a margin of over 30-seconds.

Mexican Grand Prix 2025: Final Thoughts

While widespread superstition plagues the McLaren garage – with fans speculating that Team Papaya are sabotaging Oscar Piastri and his championship-winning car – I fear my own curse is to blame, having bought a Piastri shirt right on time for his timely demise.

Laugh as you may, having secured the gruesome fate of many a footballer and sportsperson in my 24-years on Earth, I cannot help but feel that my overt support comes with a cost – coincidence, I think not.

Silly superstitions aside, the reality is that Lando Norris now leads the drivers’ championship by a mere point.

Having led the Mexican Grand Prix by over 30-seconds, the continuation of such positive momentum would see the British driver secure the title, without any further questions asked.

While this would not be a completely shocking prospect, Formula One is not that simple, as those of us plagued with the curse of following the sport can attest to.

Oscar Piastri demonstrated an upwards trajectory throughout his race, with his promising performance providing a hopeful glimpse into the Australian being back on track and ready to fight for his title hopes, having dominated its possession for the best part of the 2025 season.

Max Verstappen is also still not to be ruled out of contention, however, securing a podium placement – almost snatching P2 position from Charles Leclerc – and ultimately ensuring that the gap between the top be reduced to just 36-points.

So, who has the grit and determination to push right to the very end? My brain suggests Norris, my heart hopes for Piastri, and the drama queen within roots for Verstappen.

Championship battle aside, reminiscent of his Ferrari debut at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in 2024, I feel we are finally starting to see Bearman come into his own at the top stage of the sport, which is an absolute delight, irrespective of your political views.

Achieving a joint best-ever result for Haas should not be overlooked, and I am excited to see how his career progresses over the many seasons to come.

With the Brazilian Grand Prix forecast to be wet and wild – should the FIA ever utilise the otherwise-useless wet tyre – and a dramatic series of night races to go, how many fireworks will bloom in the build-up to the infamous Abu Dhabi Grand Prix finale?

The answer will be revealed in just 4 races and 2 sprints’ time; otherwise known as 6-weeks to non-fans.

The Formula One season commences in Sao Paolo for the Brazilian Grand Prix on November 9th, 2025.