Martin Brundle says McLaren sent one ‘message’ to F1 fans that led to Lando Norris boos in Mexico

Follow us on Google Discover

The boos that Lando Norris received after taking the chequered flag in Mexico City have been under heavy scrutiny following the conclusion of the race weekend. Martin Brundle believes they were due to the reception of one McLaren ‘message’ from weeks prior.

Norris won his first race since the resumption of the 2025 F1 season after the summer break, and was met with a wave of jeers and boos from Mexican fans during his post-race comments, as well as when he received his winner’s trophy on the podium.

Amid his pure joy at reclaiming the lead of the F1 standings with the victory, Norris vowed to ignore the negative reaction to his feat and noted that he was keeping his head down as the title fight continues to keep him on his toes.

Now just one point ahead of McLaren counterpart Oscar Piastri, the pressure of leading the championship in the final rounds of the season has shifted to the shoulders of the Brit.

READ MORE: Lando Norris just showed why he will win the 2025 F1 title, but no one’s giving him credit for it

Martin Brundle thinks McLaren’s ‘message’ after Monza team orders led to Lando Norris’ boos in Mexico

Speaking on an episode of The F1 Show, the former F1 driver turned pundit, Martin Brundle, offered his thoughts on one Mexican journalist’s theory that suggested Norris was booed because of McLaren’s Monza team orders.

The request from the McLaren pit wall saw Piastri yield to the British driver after the latter was bogged down due to a slow pit-stop.

Brundle said, “I think McLaren will take the brunt of that because I think they didn’t manage the message well, post-Monza. And for me, it was an absolute no-brainer to switch them back.

“It’s just odd that [the boos were] in Mexico, isn’t it? But I learned a very, very long time ago, you do not tell fans what to think or what to say or not to say. They will do what they feel, and so they should.

“If he’d have had Sergio Perez off in the first corner in three consecutive years, I could have understood it in Mexico.

“I think that’s just a misunderstanding of the situation, and somebody asking a specific question because it didn’t make a lot of sense.

“When we used to do the interviews on the podium that I did for quite a lot of years, I’ve been up there with Nico getting booed. I’ve been up there with Sebastian Vettel getting booed. And it’s quite something. It’s quite powerful. It’s quite off-putting.”

As alluded to by Brundle, Norris’ previous comments about Sergio Perez may also explain some of the jibes that he received during his parade at the Mexico City Grand Prix. The Mexican is a fan-favourite at the Grand Prix for obvious reasons.

READ MORE: McLaren just made a behind-the-scenes Oscar Piastri decision that left Lando Norris relieved

Lando Norris has grown into the pressure that comes with an F1 title fight over the last 12 months

A key factor that Norris currently holds over Piastri in the title narrative is the fact that he has been in a fairly similar situation in F1 before, during his emergence as a potential candidate to dethrone Max Verstappen for the title last year.

The prospect of winning a maiden championship in 2024 saw Norris make a swathe of mistakes at crucial moments in the lead-up to Max Verstappen clinching the title.

However, one of the key improvements that David Coulthard has seen Norris make in the last 12 months is that he can now deliver in high-pressure moments such as the one that was presented in front of him in Mexico.

He isn’t quite out of the woods yet, though. With four rounds remaining of the 2025 F1 season and just one point separating the top two drivers in the standings, anything can happen between now and the chequered flag in Abu Dhabi.