Norris grabs vital pole for the Mexican Grand Prix

Lando Norris grabbed a critical pole position for the Mexican Grand Prix and put his world championship charge firmly back on track.

A stunning lap saw the McLaren driver better the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc by 0.262 seconds. Better still for the Brit is that there are two Ferraris and George Russell’s Mercedes between himself and fifth fastest Max Verstappen.

Following recent victories in Italy, Azerbaijan and the USA, Verstappen is threatening to derail the McLaren title double charge. But, with Oscar Piastri only managing the seventh fastest time, Norris could now really take advantage on Sunday.

A mighty impressive lap from Lando 🙌

The @pirellisport Pole Position in Mexico goes to the Briton in his papaya McLaren! 💨🇲🇽#F1 #MexicoGP pic.twitter.com/Wl6gWVfMCg

— Formula 1 (@F1) October 26, 2025

“I’m happy to be back on pole, it’s actually been quite a long time,” an ecstatic Norris told Sky Sports afterward. “The lap was one of those laps where you don’t really know what happened. It felt decent but when I crossed the line and saw a 15.5, I was very pleasantly surprised.

“I have been feeling good all weekend especially from today in Q1, Q2, Q3. I got a little bit nervous of the Ferrari at the end but I pulled it out when it mattered and I’m happy because of that.

“I have had some good races here in the past so I’m just focused on what I can control and that’s all I can do. I’m here to win and I will be looking forward. I know I’m going to have some quick guys behind me and it’s a long run down to Turn 1 and so forth and the race pace of the Ferraris is normally very strong.

“I’m expecting a battle, I’m not expecting it to be easy but eyes forward and let’s see how much I can win by!”

All the positive vibes from Lando 🤗#McLaren | #MexicoGP 🇲🇽 pic.twitter.com/UWlWLgth6R

— McLaren (@McLarenF1) October 26, 2025

For Piastri, there is much work to do and the Australian must now seriously be looking over his shoulder after an alarming drop off in form over the past few races.

“It’s just been very difficult,” he is quoted on BBC Sport. “We’ve tried a lot of stuff. It’s not a lack of trying, but yeah, it’s been not great.

“It’s just no grip, and you just turn, and traction, it slides.”

Currently, Norris is just 14 points behind Piastri in the standings. And should the positions remain exactly the same at the end of the race, the Brit would gain the lead of the championship by five points.

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