Laurent Mekies’ ‘honest’ verdict on whether Max Verstappen would beat Lando Norris in Mexico re-run

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McLaren star Lando Norris outscored Red Bull ace Max Verstappen for the first time in six rounds, as the Briton won the Mexico City Grand Prix and the Dutchman sealed P3.

Before winning in Mexico on Sunday, Norris had not outscored Verstappen since he won the Hungarian GP in round 14 of this year’s 24 in August. The McLaren driver was also on course to outscore his Red Bull rival in the Dutch GP in August, yet he retired from P2 on Lap 64/72.

Red Bull continuing to develop the RB21, while McLaren stopped bringing major updates for the MCL39 some time ago, then helped Verstappen to win the Italian GP, Azerbaijan GP and United States GP. He also sealed P2 in the Singapore GP, as Norris finished third in round 18.

But Verstappen did not rival Norris at the Mexico City GP, as the four-time defending drivers’ champion only qualified P5 and finished the race 31.049 seconds adrift. Verstappen’s fastest Q3 lap of 1:16.070 was even 0.484s slower than Norris’ Mexico City GP pole lap of 1:15.586.

Laurent Mekies would ‘be lying’ if he said Max Verstappen would beat Lando Norris in a Mexico City Grand Prix re-run

Verstappen admits his Mexico City GP race pace was not on Norris’ “level”, as well, after the McLaren racer produced a dominant drive to run away from the field to win by 30.324s over Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Verstappen may have passed Leclerc without the VSC last Sunday.

READ MORE: McLaren driver Lando Norris’ life outside F1 from parents to celebration

Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies also praises Norris for his “untouchable” drive to win the Mexico City GP. And while Red Bull “missed a trick” last weekend, the Frenchman admits the Milton Keynes team do not know if Verstappen would beat Norris in a re-run of the race.

Mekies said, via quotes by Motorsport.com: “We’re aware that we may have missed a trick in certain areas. Would that have been enough to match Lando? Honestly, I’m not sure.

“We also have to give them credit, because they were very fast. Lando was untouchable. I’d be lying if I said we now know how to beat him if we could repeat this weekend.”

Max Verstappen must outscore Lando Norris by nine points per round to win the 2025 F1 title

Norris’ Mexico City GP victory on Sunday also handed the McLaren man the lead in the 2025 F1 drivers’ championship for the first time since April. The 25-year-old now edges his papaya pal Oscar Piastri by only a point atop the standings, while Verstappen is 36 shy in third place.

READ MORE: Red Bull driver Max Verstappen’s life outside F1 from net worth to girlfriend

Had it not been for a late VSC denying Verstappen a chance to overtake Leclerc for P2 in the Mexico City GP, as race control reacted to Williams’ Carlos Sainz retiring on the penultimate lap, the defending champion might have gained a further three points for his 2025 title bid.

Now, Verstappen has to outscore Norris by nine points per round over the final four Grands Prix and two Sprints to retain his title, as well as outscoring Piastri by 8.75 per round. There are a maximum of 116 points left over the rounds in Brazil, Las Vegas, Qatar and Abu Dhabi.