2025 F1 Round 20, Mexican Grand Prix Race: Norris Dominates to Lead Drivers’ Standings as McLaren Secures the Upper Hand in the Title Fight

The race at Round 20 of the 2025 F1 season, the Mexican Grand Prix, took place at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in the early hours of October 27, China Standard Time (UTC+8). Norris (McLaren) led throughout from pole position to claim a dominant victory, while Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull) suffered a painful loss of time in the pits and finished 11th, narrowly missing out on points.

The 71-lap race became a one-man show for Norris: he crossed the line a commanding 30.324 seconds ahead of second-placed Leclerc (Ferrari), who used the same one-stop, “soft-to-medium” strategy. Behind this superb victory, however, the fiercely contested title battle ended on a slightly anticlimactic note.

As third-placed Verstappen (Red Bull) pursued Leclerc within DRS range and championship leader Piastri (McLaren) chased down fourth-placed Bearman (Haas), Sainz (Williams) hit the barrier with the rear of his car and stopped in the stadium section. A Virtual Safety Car (VSC) was introduced with two laps remaining.

The VSC ended on the final lap, leaving Verstappen, who had started fifth, to complete his recovery to third and a podium finish. Bearman held on to a career-best fourth, with Piastri finishing fifth. With four rounds remaining, Norris moved to the top of the drivers’ standings.

Tyre strategies varied considerably, both in the number of pit stops and the choice of starting compound. Contrary to pre-race expectations, 12 cars, including the top four on the grid, started on softs. The others chose mediums, while Albon (Williams) and Colapinto (Alpine), further back, opted for hards.

Despite lapping 1.5 to 2 seconds slower than the two-stopping teams on fresh tyres, both Red Bulls persisted with an extended first stint, adopting a “medium-to-soft” strategy that was unconventional among the leading group. The drivers finishing fourth through seventh made two stops, following a “soft-to-medium-to-soft” sequence.

The soft tyres suffered little wear during the race, with no graining. Drivers were able to manage thermal degradation at the rear and successfully extend their stints.

At Turn 1 on the opening lap, historically a frequent flashpoint for chaos, Norris, Leclerc, Hamilton (Ferrari) and Verstappen charged into the corner four abreast.

Verstappen, on the outside, ran out of room and cut the corner. Leclerc then also went off the track at Turn 2, but subsequently handed the position back. Norris emerged still in the lead, with Leclerc second, while Verstappen yielded to Hamilton and initially ran fourth.

On lap 7, Verstappen dived down Hamilton’s inside at Turn 1, with the pair making light contact. Hamilton cut the corner at Turn 4, and Bearman capitalised to move up to fourth, while Verstappen dropped to fifth.

Hamilton received a 10-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage at Turn 4, ultimately finishing eighth.

Tsunoda started on mediums and gained two places on the opening lap to run eighth, while Piastri, starting on softs, lost two positions and fell to ninth.

Tsunoda skilfully fended off Piastri’s attacks in the early stages, but was passed at Turn 1 on lap 11 and dropped to ninth. The two-stopping leaders then gradually pulled away, leaving him in a tough midfield battle within Ocon’s (Haas) DRS range.

Red Bull’s strategy was to extend the first stint: Tsunoda switched to softs on lap 36, followed by Verstappen on the next lap. But Tsunoda lost around nine seconds during his pit stop and rejoined in 15th.

He then gave chase, with a gap of around 15 seconds to tenth place and the final points-paying position. His fresh soft tyres initially helped him close the gap, but his progress stalled after around 15 laps. In the closing stages, Bortoleto (Sauber) passed Hadjar (Racing Bulls) for tenth, and Tsunoda followed through into 11th on the next lap. However, he could never close in on Bortoleto and crossed the line 11th, 2.185 seconds behind him.

Ocon finished ninth, joining fourth-placed Bearman in securing a double points finish for Haas.

Mercedes endured confusion over team orders, with Antonelli ultimately finishing sixth and Russell seventh.

Under pressure from Piastri close behind, Russell sarcastically asked over the radio on lap 38, “Would it be better to let the McLaren through?” as he requested a swap with his team-mate Antonelli ahead.

Three laps later, Mercedes finally issued the team order and swapped its cars, prompting another sarcastic radio response from Russell: “Oh, great!” Behind the battle between the Mercedes drivers and Piastri, Verstappen passed Hamilton on lap 47 to move into seventh.

As the order began to settle in the closing stages, Russell was overtaken by Piastri and dropped to sixth. Having ultimately failed to get past Bearman, he let Antonelli through on lap 62 in keeping with his promise that he would be “happy to give the position back”.

Although there were no major crashes, Safety Cars or red flags, four cars, including Sainz, failed to reach the chequered flag. Lawson (Racing Bulls) made contact with a Williams at Turn 1 immediately after the start and went off the track. Despite returning to the pits for a new front wing, his car remained badly damaged, forcing him to retire after just five laps. Hülkenberg (Sauber) returned to the garage and retired on lap 27 with a power-unit-related problem, while Alonso (Aston Martin) did so on lap 35 with brake trouble.