This was Lando Norris’ sixth win of the season, but more importantly it was one he really needed; a first win since Hungary in the summer. Taking the weekend as a whole, it was one of his most dominant performances as a grand prix driver. Is he coming into form at just the right time?
We’ve talked quite a few times this season about the power of an athlete having that quality of ‘inevitability’ when they go out to compete. Oscar Piastri had it for a while as he built his championship lead in commanding fashion from April onwards. Norris had it in the summer with three wins and a second in July and early August.
More recently, Max Verstappen had it as he tightened up the points race in a brilliant four-race streak. And now, Norris has re-discovered it just when he needed it the most.
He now leads the championship for the first time since Bahrain. That seems like a different lifetime, such has been the length of the season and the control of Piastri. But in the last six weeks, that control has abandoned the Australian.
The United States Grand Prix changed the game because it made Verstappen a genuine title contender, having been more than 100 points adrift after the Dutch GP in August. This weekend has set us up for a quartet of races with a thrilling three-way title battle in prospect. If any of those drivers can put together a four-race sequence such as they have already managed this season, they will be world champion. I don’t think it will go like that. I think the pendulum will swing between them. And that will make it very exciting to watch.
Piastri’s poor run continues
A lot of people are focusing on the way Norris was booed by the crowd, with some speculating that it is because of the way McLaren is handling its two drivers, the perception being that they are giving preferential treatment to Norris. I think the more interesting storyline is the drop off in performance of Piastri, who has not looked himself in or out of the car since Monza.
The next four races, in Brazil, Las Vegas, Qatar and Abu Dhabi, are going to be appointment viewing and we also have a couple of sprint races mixed in there as well – Brazil and Qatar, the significance of which cannot be underestimated. That is because the points could be invaluable in the final reckoning. It is all to play for and it’s impossible to call a winner, given the momentum shifts between the top three drivers.
Bearman delivers a big result
Another highlight from Mexico was the performance of Oliver Bearman in the Haas, who finished fourth. He’s been pretty strong in qualifying this year, but hadn’t managed to deliver the big race result.
This is not uncommon with rookies; a talented youngster will usually find the one-lap pace, but it takes time to learn race day consistency. In Bearman’s case, we had got used to the idea that he was ready to deliver because of his breakthrough drives last year as a super-sub for Ferrari in Jeddah and Haas in Baku.
What I find exciting about the Bearman story is his performance next to Esteban Ocon, who is an established benchmark driver. He is 12-8 up against the Frenchman in qualifying and is now ahead in the drivers’ standings – 32 points to 30. This is the kind of performance that puts him on the radar and is exactly what a team like Haas will have been looking for in pairing the Ferrari junior with a more experienced race winning driver.
The team looks balanced, it keeps Ocon on his toes and it confirms the impression from his substitute runs in 2024 that Bearman has a high ceiling.
A race for pride
Another narrative I’m enjoying is the tightening battle in the constructors’ championship between Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull Racing. Any one of them could finish second or fourth.
Apart from the differential in prize money that would entail, there is an element of pride at stake, but also momentum going into next season. For any of them to finish fourth would be a real downer ahead of an important winter. To finish second would demonstrate a positive trend going into an important winter period.
These things really do matter to teams. It looks like McLaren and Ferrari eased off on the development of this year’s car earlier than the other two, who have continued to add performance, particularly Red Bull. This is a factor, but it’s also about teamwork and having that mindset for optimising everything, from car preparation and pitstops to qualifying laps and long runs.
And this brings us back to Piastri. He’s not been executing to the same standards since the start of September. He’s still got a great chance of being world champion, but he needs to borrow a phrase from the great Ayrton Senna; the Brazil GP ‘has to be my way’.
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