Lando Norris on Sunday regained the lead in the drivers’ world championship for the first time in six months when he steered his McLaren to a commanding victory in a breathless Mexico Grand Prix.
Driving with great authority, the 25-year-old Briton came home 30.324 seconds ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, with four-time champion Max Verstappen third for Red Bull.
For Norris, it was a first win in Mexico, his sixth this season and the 10th of his career — achieved with a near-perfect race from pole position to lift him back to the top of the drivers’ title race by one point for the first time since the Saudi Arabian race in April.
Photo: AP
With four races remaining, Norris has 357 points, ahead of Piastri on 356 and Verstappen, who is third on 321.
“I love it,”Norris said.
“What a race. Thank you guys. I could keep focused, and my eyes forward, and it was a pretty straightforward race for me which is what I was after,” he said. “I just stayed relaxed and I had a really good launch.”
“A beautiful win to celebrate here in this stadium in Mexico,” he added.
Leclerc, who gained his seventh podium of the season, said: “I am very happy with the weekend. We didn’t know what to expect here, so to get on the podium is a nice surprise.”
For Verstappen, it ended his sparkling streak of winning three of the past four races.
“It was very hectic at the start, and I almost crashed out. To be fighting for P2 with all that happened — a strong race for me,” Verstappen said.
Haas teenage rookie Oliver Bearman was a career best fourth ahead of Norris’ McLaren teammate and previously runaway series leader Oscar Piastri, and Mercedes’ young rookie Kimi Antonelli.
The Italian’s teammate George Russell was seventh ahead of seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton in the second Ferrari, Esteban Ocon in the second Haas and Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto.
Barcelona star Lamine Yamal would be motivated by criticism ahead of the Clasico, Barcelona assistant coach Marcus Sorg said yesterday. Teenage winger Yamal has been in the spotlight in the Spanish capital after joking that Real Madrid “steal” and “complain” during an appearance on a social media stream. Champions Barca face Real Madrid today in La Liga at the Santiago Bernabeu, looking for a fifth consecutive win over their rivals. “Lamine is a top player and I think [the criticism] will be motivating for him,” Sorg told a news conference. “I hope we all see him tomorrow [give] the best performance.” The 18-year-old Spain
‘A HISTORIC moment’: ‘I think we all need to take a step back and appreciate Leo Messi is playing in Major League Soccer,’ league commissioner Don Garber said Lionel Messi raised the Golden Boot. He then got Inter Miami started with his head. The Argentine opened the scoring with a diving header in the first half, then capped the scoring in the 96th minute as Inter Miami opened the MLS playoffs with a 3-1 win over Nashville SC in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference best-of-three first-round series on Friday night. Messi and Ian Fray had the assists on Tadeo Allende’s second-half tally for Inter Miami, who now get two chances to advance out of the first round for the first time in Messi’s two-and-a-half-year tenure with the team. Game
‘COMPLETE GAME’: ‘To be honest, I’m not sure about the history, but I’m very happy about what I did today,’ Yamamoto said through a translator after the game Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitched a World Series game from another era. Sandy Koufax had October outings like this, and so did Orel Hershiser, but those types of performances have vanished in modern baseball. Until this 178cm starter from Japan delivered like the aces of old. Yamamoto threw a four-hitter for his second consecutive complete game, the first in the World Series since 2015, and the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-1 on Saturday night to tie their best-of-seven matchup at one game apiece. “It’s kind of the throwback,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “When he starts a game, he
Sean Dyche on Thursday achieved in his first game with Nottingham Forest what predecessor Ange Postecoglou could not in eight matches in charge: Win. Under its new coach, Nottingham Forest presented a concentrated display resulting in a 2-0 victory over Porto in the UEFA Europa League. It was the first victory for Nottingham in the competition and only the second overall this season, while Porto were defeated for the first time this season. Morgan Gibbs-White converted from the penalty spot in the 19th minute at the City Ground in West Bridgford, England. Igor Jesus doubled the advantage from another penalty in the 77th
RSS