Image source, Getty Images
Image caption, Lando Norris is currently 14 points behind Oscar Piastri in the world championship standings
Lando Norris has a tantalising prospect heading into the Mexico City Grand Prix – if the race ends as qualifying did, he will be leading the world championship for the first time in six months.
The McLaren driver trails team-mate Oscar Piastri by 14 points heading into the race, but Norris starts on pole with the Australian down in seventh.
So the reward for one of the qualifying laps of the season could be a significant statement of intent with just four grands prix remaining after this one.
Arriving in Mexico, all the talk was about Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and his remarkable run of form.
The Dutchman had taken three wins and a second in the past four races, reducing his deficit to Piastri from 104 points to just 40.
But, like Piastri, Verstappen has also had a difficult weekend, his seemingly unstoppable momentum stalled by a puzzling lack of grip.
If Norris wins the race, Piastri would have to move up to fourth from his grid spot to retain even a slender lead. No easy task when the Australian has been lacking pace all weekend.
But Norris is taking nothing for granted – and he knows that Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes’ George Russell in the spots immediately behind him don’t have the jeopardy he does, so can play with risk in a more extreme way.
Sitting with Leclerc and Hamilton in the post-race news conference, Norris said of Verstappen and Piastri: “You’re talking about – along with these guys here – two of the best drivers on the grid. So I don’t think you can ever put it past them to come back through.
“From my side, our race pace has always been very strong this season, so I’m still expecting Oscar to come back through and race well. He normally does. So, let’s see. That is my expectation.
“And same with Max – when has he ever not been on the attack and come forward?
“Hopefully I can just stay ahead on lap one, and then these guys can hold everyone else up for me.”
Norris got himself on to the front of the grid with what he called “an incredible lap”.
Leclerc had been fastest on the first runs in the final session and his lap was so impressive that when Norris finished his final run, although he knew it had been good, even he thought: “If I’d get ahead of Charles, I’d be pretty happy.”
In fact, he had beaten the Ferrari by a healthy 0.262 seconds for his first pole since Belgium in late July.
Norris added: “When I saw [one minute] 15.5 on my dash, it put a pretty big smile on my face because it was one of those la
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