For the first time since the Dutch Grand Prix, nearly two months beforehand, Max Verstappen was pipped to the chequered flag by a McLaren driver.
After spending much of the Mexico City weekend trying to fine-tune balance issues, the Dutchman recovered from fifth on the grid to third at the finish, with a late virtual safety car intervention likely preventing him from a probable fight for second.
Although Norris, the new world championship leader, extended his points lead over the chasing Red Bull driver, the Dutchman actually closed his gap to the top, because of Oscar Piastri’s fifth-place finish.
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Piastri started the weekend as the man to beat, but his run of races without a podium, currently at four, have wiped away what was once a 34-point advantage.
But Verstappen, whose momentum has built monstrously over the past month, was understandably not satisfied with his Mexican visit.
“I lost 10 points to Lando [Norris], so as I said before the weekend, everything needs to go perfect to win,” he told Sky Sports F1.
“And this weekend didn’t go perfect. I think it’s going to be tough, but let’s see what we can do in other tracks.”
With four race weekends to go, the reigning world champions sits 36 points behind the Brit. That means that he must outscore Norris by an average of nine points across those events, which do also include sprints.
Ollie Bearman SENDS a lunge on Max Verstappen... And gets through! 😮💨
— Formula 1 (@F1) October 26, 2025
The Haas driver is currently P4 on the road 👀#F1 #MexicoGP pic.twitter.com/MbX4ABNQpm
But the likelihood of that could feasibly increase, given that Mercedes and Ferrari are starting to join the ever-complex battle between the two Papaya cars. In the US, Leclerc’s strong defence thwarted Norris from fighting for the win, while the Monegasque slotted in between the Brit and the Dutchman at the chequered flag last weekend.
We have also seen that the two McLaren drivers are not impervious. Although Norris has done well to win back the championship lead, there is little doubt that points have been left on the table, regardless of whether he was always the cause of it or not. And with Verstappen churning close to everything out of his RB21, across the season, he will continue to punish those missed opportunities by the two drivers ahead of him.
Mexico City has often been a stronghold for Verstappen and Red Bull, with the Dutch driver winning five times there in the past. Hence, despite the seeming-inevitability that McLaren’s supreme control of their rear tyre temperatures, the weekend was not what Verstappen needed it to be.