Lando Norris has vowed to take a title-defining victory at the Mexico City Grand Prix on Sunday night as his main rivals were left mystified by their lack of pace.
The British driver produced the most dominant qualifying performance of his career to take pole position from Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, with Max Verstappen starting fifth and championship leader Oscar Piastri starting seventh after qualifying almost six tenths slower than his team-mate.
Norris trails Piastri by 14 points in the drivers’ standings and, if he wins on Sunday, his McLaren team-mate will need to finish at least fourth to maintain the lead in the title race.
And Norris was brimming with confidence as he looked ahead to Sunday’s race.
“I’m here to win,” he said.
“I’m looking forward to it. I know I’m going to have some fast guys behind me.
“It’s a long run down to Turn One. The race pace from the Ferraris is usually very strong.
“I expect a fight, I don’t expect it to be easy. Eyes ahead and I want to see how much I can win by.”
Piastri says lack of pace ‘a mystery’
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella told Sky Sports F1 after the race that Norris was faster than Piastri in “pretty much every corner” at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
The Australian driver, now at risk of relinquishing a title lead he has held since April, cut a frustrated figure on Saturday night and insisted he was mystified by his lack of pace.
Please use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Highlights from qualifying for the Mexico City Grand Prix
“It all feels ok, there’s just no pace, which is a bit of a mystery,” he shared Sky Sports F1.
“It’s been pretty much the same hole all weekend so we’ll look at where it went wrong. Obviously it’s a bit frustrating.
“Not much has changed in terms of how I feel in the car. It’s just this weekend and last weekend it felt like the pace hasn’t come.
“I’m not 100 percent sure why yet, so we’ll do some digging.”
Please use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Oscar Piastri is frustrated by the lack of pace in his car
Piastri’s best chance to make up places may come in the long term at the first corner and he will be hoping for a tow as he lines up behind Norris, Hamilton and Verstappen on the left side of the grid.
“It will be an opportunity to make some progress,” he admitted. “We’ll see what I can do.”
Verstappen: Everything we tried didn’t work
Verstappen entered the weekend in the best form of the three title hopefuls, looking to repeat a spectacular weekend in Austin last week and make further inroads into the 40-point deficit he has in the drivers’ standings.
But like Piastri, he has endured a frustrating lack of pace with Red Bull unable to compete with the ferocious Norris.
“If we knew that, we would change it, and unfortunately we don’t,” he said Sky Sports F1.
“We’ve tried so many things and it hasn’t been good. It’s not the lack of trying, it’s not finding it.
“We went into qualifying to try something again and we didn’t get it quite right in some corners. It made it better in some places but in other areas more difficult and it didn’t allow me to push.
“I knew from the first lap of Q1 that it wasn’t going to be. Basically everything we tried didn’t really work.”
Please use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Max Verstappen says he has no chance of winning places in Sunday’s race
However, he does not share the same optimism as Piastri that he can manage in the attack to the first corner.
“There’s not really a recovery drive when you don’t have any pace,” he added.
“I need people to retire before me to move forward.
“Every lap I drove this weekend has not been good. On the short track or on the long track it never felt in the window and it’s not going to suddenly change for the better tomorrow.”
Sky Sports F1’s Mexico City GP schedule
Please use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Look back at some of the most dramatic moments that have taken place at the Mexico City Grand Prix
Sunday, October 26
18.30: Grand Prix Sunday: Mexico City GP build-up*
20:00: MEXICO CITY GRAND PRIX*
22:00: Checkered flag: Mexico City GP reaction
*also on Sky Sports Main Event
Formula 1’s thrilling title race continues at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez for the Mexico City Grand Prix on Sunday with the lights out at 20.00, live on Sky Sports F1 and Sky Sports Main Event. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime