Sam Bird outlines factor that will make Mexico City GP ‘more tricky’ for Lando Norris

Follow us on Google Discover

Lando Norris will be disappointed that he will start from the second row of the grid behind title rival Max Verstappen for the Mexican Grand Prix.

The McLaren driver was three tenths off the time set by Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz for pole, and just 0.089s behind Max Verstappen for a front row start.

Lando Norris has come under fire again recently for letting off Verstappen at the start of races, having allowed him to pull off an aggressive move at the recent US GP which ultimately ended in both going off track and conceding position to the Ferrari’s.

Martin Brundle thinks he should stop leaving the ‘welcome mat’ open for Verstappen, having raised his concerns about Norris starts when he is up against his title rival.

Racing driver Sam Bird believes there is one aspect to the race that will make things ‘more tricky’ for Norris when speaking on the BBC Chequered Flag podcast.

Lando Norris missing ‘wingman’ Oscar Piastri in Mexican Grand Prix start

While Norris starts from the third row of the grid, his teammate Oscar Piastri will start from P17 following a tough qualifying session.

McLaren sent him out on a set of medium tyres in Q1 to set a lap but it was not enough to make the cut off. Faced with needing to set a banker lap, Piastri intially got himself out of the drop zone but had his lap time deleted.

He went for another attempt but it was only good enough for 17th quickest behind Franco Colapinto. Bird believes his position will make things difficult for Norris, who has to find a way past Verstappen and Sainz.

“Seeing him speaking after qualifying, he looked a little bit disappointed that he doesn’t have a wingman to look after him,” said Bird.

“He’s going up against two Ferrari’s and Max Verstappen, and potentially two Mercedes. It makes his life more tricky, he’s got the pace to win the race but it would be nice if he had some support.”

Lando Norris taken ‘tip’ from Christian Horner in Mexican Grand Prix interviews

McLaren has made it clear that they feel Verstappen is ‘gaming’ the rules after what happened in Austin, which has prompted some discussion over what happens next in the drivers meetings.

An amendment is expected to be made in time for the Qatar GP weekend which will see drivers get penalised if they intentionally run another off track, similar to what Verstappen did at Austin at Turn 12 to Norris.

READ MORE: The five worst moments of Max Verstappen’s career in Formula 1

For his part, Norris has maintained a close friendship with Verstappen despite the on-track incidents and believes he could still learn a lot from the Dutchman.

One journalist says Norris copied Christian Horner in his interviews before the Mexican GP by answering his own questions in an attempt to control the narrative.