Lando Norris’ rivals realised he would be ‘unbeatable’ after seeing one Mexican Grand Prix moment

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Lando Norris became the 2025 Formula 1 championship leader for the first time since Jeddah after grabbing a dominant win at the Mexican Grand Prix.

Since his mechanical retirement at Zandvoort, the Brit has beaten teammate Oscar Piastri in the last five races, while he has achieved just one podium in that time. Norris’ dominant win at the Mexico City Grand Prix puts him in the lead of the standings by just one point.

The 25-year-old claimed his fifth pole position of the season over Charles Leclerc and went on to dominate the race, winning by over 30 seconds. Timo Glock saw a rare faultless race from Norris as he was free of mistakes throughout the race.

Laurent Mekies admitted that Max Verstappen would not have beaten Norris in a re-run. Red Bull simply did not have the pace of McLaren as the four-time champion had to settle for third.

Scarily, Mercedes engineers claim Norris was driving at 90% in Mexico, suggesting that he could have won the race by an even bigger margin. His rivals knew they would not get close to him early on in the weekend.

Lando Norris’ rivals knew he would be ‘unbeatable’ at the Mexican Grand Prix from his race simulation in FP2

Norris’ performance in Mexico is more impressive given that he did not take part in FP1, handing his car to rookie Pato O’Ward. He was immediately on the pace in FP2, which ‘set the alarms’ for his rivals, according to journalist Diego Mejia.

Speaking via Pit Pass F1, he says that his race simulation during the session made Norris’ competitors realise that he would be ‘unbeatable’.

“I think he checked all the boxes, and he did so without running in FP1, so it made it a little more challenging in a way,” said Mejia.

“At the end of Friday, he was not happy because the car was a little bit all over the place in the fast corners, and you could see it wobbling in the esses finishing sector two, he had a couple moments there.

“But still his race run, I mean, I think it set the alarms for the rivals, because once he run that race simulation at the end of FP2 with the soft compound, it looked unbeatable.

“I think Leclerc called it on the radio that they were in a league of their own at the end of FP2, and that’s just like it unfolded on Sunday.”

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Why was Lando Norris booed by the Mexican Grand Prix crowd?

Norris’ dominant win was not too popular among the Mexican fans. Boos were heard towards the McLaren driver throughout the weekend, notably at the end of the race and on the podium.

Norris ignored the boos, stating that he is focused on his championship fight with Piastri and Verstappen. But the hostile reception from the crowd left many wondering why he was subject to this reaction.

Fans were heard chanting Sergio Perez’s name after booing the Brit. Norris’ past criticisms of Perez may explain why he was jeered by the Mexican fans, but it was later revealed that it had to do with McLaren’s handling of the title fight.

Fans were upset with the events of Monza, as they believe that McLaren are favouring Norris by giving him preferential treatment with team orders over Piastri. But now that the drivers are on equal terms, they are set to fight hard for the final four races.