F1 Mexico GP live: Qualifying updates with Norris against Verstappen in pole fight – UK Times

It’s another big moment in this F1 title race.

After a sterling lap earlier in practice, Lando Norris is perhaps the marginal favourite over Max Verstappen, with championship leader Oscar Piastri again off the pace so far this weekend.

Can he turn it all around, though? And can Mercedes and Ferrari get involved in the fight?

Piastri’s lead is 14 points over Norris and now only 40 over Verstappen:

1. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) – 346 points

2. Lando Norris (McLaren) – 332 points

3. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) – 306 points

4. George Russell (Mercedes) – 252 points

5. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) – 192 points

6. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) – 142 points

7. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) – 89 points

8. Alex Albon (Williams) – 73 points

9. Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber) – 41 points

10. Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) – 39 points

“I’m in a good position. I’m second. Probably prefer being first but I’m also in second with nothing to lose,” Norris said in Mexico.

“I’m in a comfortable place. I’m also not a guy who believes in momentum. Every weekend is so different.

“I’ve just been performing well recently and I’ll continue that. Same as Max has been doing very well recently.”

“The pressure is high. It is a time where you have to put your blinkers up and block everything from the outside. There is so much coming in, positive and negative,” Ferrari driver Hamilton told Sky Sports.

“Also, you really have to be cut-throat and that is what Max is. He is going to take this from them if they don’t do the same.

“They have got to be pushing and you have to dig deep firstly to be able to hold off someone like Max in the car that he is in at the moment.

“But for either of them to come out ahead, consistency is key and we have seen that from Max in the last few races.”

Preview by Kieran Jackson

The battle for the 2025 F1 drivers’ title is heating up and with five rounds remaining this season, it’s now a three-horse race.

“I just want to try and win races until the end of the season. We had a good run and we also know as a team that it needs to be perfect to have a chance. So, if it works, then great, unbelievable comeback.

“Of course, I’ve won championships very late, very early. Now, this one, of course, is very different because I think for most of the season it was a lot harder for us.

“To be able to still be in this fight is very surprising but I take it. For me, it’s just positive pressure. I’m loving what I’m doing. If the car is competitive, it’s much better to be racing in it than when it’s not.”

Asked if he believed after Zandvoort that his title fight was only with Norris, Piastri said: “I think probably yes but everyone did. The run of form that he (Verstappen) has had since Monza has been a bit of a surprise.

“There were flashes of that performance early in the season but also pretty big dips. He has come to the fight quicker than I expected.

“The gap has shrunk a bit in the last few races but the focus has always been on going as fast as I can.

“I’d rather have the lead than being in any other spot. There is no benefit for me in worrying about that or focusing on that.”

Piastri revealed that the McLaren drivers now have a “clean slate” until the end of the season, after the team previously suggested Norris faced “repercussions” over their collision in Singapore earlier this month.

Yet Piastri hitting Norris in last week’s sprint in Austin has balanced out the driver preference with five races to go of the 2025 season. Piastri’s lead is 14 points over Norris and 40 points ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.

1. McLaren – 678 points (champions)

6. Racing Bulls – 72 points

7. Aston Martin – 69 points