Mexican Grand Prix 2025: Lando Norris boosts title hopes in qualifying as Piastri, Verstappen struggle in Mexico City
by Devesh Jaganath | by Devesh Jaganath
Lando Norris could close the gap to Championship leader Piastri
Lando Norris will start the 2025 Mexican Grand Prix in pole position after holding off immense pressure from the Ferrari duo of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton during qualifying on Saturday at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez circuit.
The Brit clocked a time of 1m 15.586s, edging Leclerc by 0.262s and is now in an excellent position to pile the pressure on his teammate Oscar Piastri, who had another disappointing qualifying, only managing P8.
With just 14 points separating the two Papaya cars in the Championship standings, the title race could turn on its head this weekend. Notably, no driver that has started the Mexican Grand Prix outside the top three has managed a podium finish since 1990.
Red Bull ace and winner of three of the last four Grand Prix, Max Verstappen, also suffered disappointment in qualifying. He looked way off the pace of Norris and will start in P5 on Sunday, behind George Russell in fourth.
It was an impressive Saturday for Ferrari, as Lewis Hamilton put in a solid effort to claim third, while Leclerc will join Norris on the front row, and our experts are expecting the Spaniard to secure a step on the podium, according to our F1 predictions.
Carlos Sainz initially finished in P7 but was handed a five-grid penalty, meaning Piastri moves up a spot. Isack Hadjar, Oliver Bearman and under-pressure Yuki Tsunoda round out the top 10 in P8 - P10, respectively.
| Position | Driver | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Lando Norris | McLaren |
| 2nd | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari |
| 3rd | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari |
| 4th | George Russell | Mercedes |
| 5th | Max Verstappen | Red Bull |
| 6th | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes |
| 7th | Oscar Piastri | McLaren |
| 8th | Isack Hadjar | Racing Bulls |
| 9th | Oliver Bearman | Haas |
| 10th | Yuki Tsunoda | Red Bull |
| 11th | Esteban Ocon | Haas |
| 12th | Carlos Sainz - PENALTY | Williams |
| 13th | Nico Hulkenberg | Stake |
| 14th | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin |
| 15th | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls |
| 16th | Gabriel Bortoleto | Stake |
| 17th | Alex Albon | Williams |
| 18th | Pierre Gasly | Alpine |
| 19th | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin |
| 20th | Franco Colapinto | Alpine |
Verstappen not confident about chances in Mexico City
After winning three of the last four races, which has blown the driver championship wide open, Max Verstappen struggled during qualifying for the Mexican Grand Prix, only managing fifth place in Saturday's session.
The defending champion mentioned in a media interview on Saturday that his RB21 “just isn’t working” in Mexico City, after evidently struggling to keep his car from sliding at high altitude. Speaking on his chances of a podium finish this weekend, Verstappen said:
"Sure, if there's two cars dropping out ahead of me... There's no point in creating false hope. It's just not going to happen this weekend. And if nothing crazy happens for me, then it won't happen. That's just how it is."
With the champ seemingly resigned to finishing outside the top three, Red Bull’s chances of completing the comeback are fading, and will diminish further if Norris leaves the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez circuit with 25 points.
