The McLaren star produced an “incredible” lap in qualifying to snatch top spot on the grid ahead of the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, with title rivals Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri starting down in fifth and seventh place respectively.
Verstappen has won three of the last four Grands Prix and is fast closing in on the McLaren pair of Piastri and Norris, who have come to blows repeatedly as they battle for a first drivers’ title.
Piastri currently sits top of the pile, 14 points clear of his team-mate, though Verstappen is looming large in the rear-view mirror. He trailed by 104 points just five rounds ago, but he has now trimmed the difference to just 40 points.
He will need to be effectively flawless in the final five rounds of the season to keep his dreams of a fifth world title alive, and Mexico has proven a happy hunting ground for him in the past. He has won more races there than at any other circuit besides Spielberg.
The mood in the McLaren garage is rather tense after Piastri and Norris collided at the first corner of last week’s sprint race in Austin, forcing both drivers to retire.
Norris recovered to finish second on Sunday as Piastri slumped to fifth. This weekend could prove pivotal for their title fight, which is set to go down to the wire – provided they can hold off Verstappen.
The Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez Grand Prix circuit measures 4.304km and features 17 turns. Valterri Bottas set the race lap record in 2021 with a time of 1min 17.774sec. The race will consist of 71 laps.
Mexico City Grand Prix starting grid
1. Lando Norris (McLaren)
2. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
3. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)
4. George Russell (Mercedes)
5. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
6. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)
7. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
8. Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls)
9. Ollie Bearman (Haas)
10. Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull)
11. Esteban Ocon (Haas)
12. Carlos Sainz (Williams)*
13. Nico Hulkenberg (Kick Sauber)
14. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
15. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)
16. Gabriel Bortoleto (Kick Sauber)
17. Alex Albon (Williams)
18. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
19. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
20. Franco Colapinto (Alpine).
