Lando Norris admits McLaren “behind” in Mexico as Oscar Piastri minimises disappointing P12

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Lando Norris made a worrying admission about McLaren’s pace after the team struggled for pace in FP2.

Norris was back in the cockpit of his McLaren for the second practice, after missing the first session of the weekend as the team took part in a mandatory rookie run.

Pato O’Ward was one of nine rookies to take part in FP1 earlier in the day, with Max Verstappen also handing over his car to Red Bull junior Arvid Lindblad.

In recent races, Verstappen has closed the gap to Norris and McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri in the drivers’ championship fight, with the Dutchman now a key contender for the title.

The four-time world champion is now 40 points behind Piastri, who leads his teammate by 14 points. With five races remaining, focus turns to whether Verstappen can bring the challenge to the Woking-based team.

Verstappen topped the second practice timing sheets, as the Red Bull team continue to gain momentum in this season’s closing stages.

Read more: 2025 F1 Mexican Grand Prix: qualifying and race times, how to watch and weather forecast

Lando Norris admits McLaren are “behind” during day one of Mexican Grand Prix

Lando Norris said he “found the limit quickly” during his post-session interview with Sky Sports F1, after a messy session for McLaren.

Norris was able to quickly get into the session after missing the earlier running for the rookie test, putting himself at an advantage from his teammate during the session.

The 25-year-old needs some strong performances over the coming races to keep up with championship leader Piastri, after falling behind with a technical retirement in Zandvoort.

A concerning admission came from the Brit after FP2, when he revealed that the team were “already a little bit behind” following Friday’s practice sessions, with the team usually showing their strength on the first day of a race weekend.

Norris said: “The balance of the car is just a bit all over the place, same as the last few weeks. Just single lap stuff we’re struggling at the minute.”

Red Bull has continued to upgrade their car towards the final race, which has seen it outperforming McLaren at the last four races. The Woking-based team are dropping behind, after stopping their upgrades to put all focus on the 2026 regulation changes.

Oscar Piastri remains confident McLaren can challenge Verstappen in Mexico

Oscar Piastri minimised his disappointing twelfth-place finish in FP2 following the session, but remained confident that McLaren could still bring the challenge to Verstappen.

The Aussie described his soft tyre, low fuel laps as “pretty average” in an interview with Sky Sports, before admitting he was “not surprised with the lap time”.

Piastri said the team will work on making improvements to his car for tomorrow, with just one final practice run before qualifying later in the day.

When asked if he thought the team could still challenge Verstappen around the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez circuit, Piastri told Sky Sports: “I think so. It’s going to be tight, like always, but I think we have a good car underneath us.”