You'll have to forgive the headline; I used to work in financial services.
Lando Norris delivered the drive of an F1 champion at the Mexico City Grand Prix — or at least the drive of a champion in waiting.
The Briton wrestled control of the title fight back from Oscar Piastri for the first time since the Bahrain Grand Prix, over six months ago.
Of course, with only one more point than his McLaren team-mate — and the omnipresent and omnipotent threat of Max Verstappen — he is by no means guaranteed his maiden crown, but it showcased all the qualities he is so often accused of lacking.
It was a flawless weekend at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez for the now-10-time grand prix winner.
He was on the pace from the moment he took his MCL39 back from home hero Pato O'Ward for FP2, and he has shown considerable resilience to claw his way back to the summit after falling 34 points adrift with his retirement at Zandvoort.
If he does outlast Piastri and Verstappen over the final four rounds, his performance will be viewed as a pivotal moment in the battle for the title — but it was not the only turning point that took place at McLaren in Mexico City.
Piastri is an intelligent and receptive — and perceptive — driver, and his willingness to adapt on the fly, mid-round, underlines that. And it was already paying off by the time he reached the chequered flag.
Looming insecurity
On the latest episode of the RacingNews365 podcast, I called Norris' drive that of a champion, as I have above.
However, I also said something to the effect of: The lessons his team-mate learned in Mexico will make him a champion, be it this year or in the future.
With the 2026 regulations overhaul possessing the potential to turn F1 on its head, there is no guarantee McLaren will remain competitive next year.
There is, in essence, the distinct possibility that Norris and Piastri do not get the chance to fight for a championship again for the foreseeable future.
But I have long felt the latter is more likely to be graced with opportunities down the line, whereas I'm less sure that's the case for the former — and the progress he made in Mexico compounds that — not to mention that it's premature to write him off this year, too.
Previously in The Scoop
Difference in driving style
The nexus of Piastri's issue in Austin and Mexico City derives from his driving style. Both the Circuit of the Americas and the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez have low-grip surfaces, and he struggles to generate lap time when he needs to slide the car, which is required.
Norris, on the other hand, has a driving style that lends to such conditions. This provided the platform for his exceptional performance; his 30-second winning advantage is the largest in over two years.
The British driver is more delicate in approach, whereas his team-mate prefers to be more committed on entry to a corner, something that causes problems when more sensitivity and being attuned to the track are needed.
"He [Norris] was able to capitalise on the performance and the strength of the car, and in a way, these special, low-grip conditions fit perfectly and are a natural way of extracting lap time, which is almost opposite to Oscar's characteristics," McLaren team principal Andrea Stella explained on Sunday evening.
The Australian's form had already dipped, at least compared to Norris, in Baku and Singapore, but his strong recovery drive on the weekend to fifth shows he turned a corner between qualifying and the race — and it will hold him in good stead moving forward.
Piastri is an intelligent and receptive — and perceptive — driver, and his willingness to adapt on the fly, mid-round, underlines that. And it was already paying off by the time he reached the chequered flag.
Adding tools to the toolbox
Not many drivers would accept that they "needed to change pretty majorly" how they were driving over the course of a grand prix weekend.
Having lined up seventh, the 24-year-old dropped back to ninth in the opening phase. From there, he put together a determined performance to drag himself back up the order, the catalyst of which was some frank conversations with McLaren.
"After qualifying, we reviewed with Oscar extensively, from a data, comment, video point of view, and I think we extracted some important information in terms of how the car needs to be driven in these special low-grip conditions that we were facing in Mexico, to some extent similar to Austin," Stella revealed.
Piastri spoke about having to drive in a way that is "not particularly natural" to him, which was corroborated by his boss, and the pair both agreed it was about "adding some tools to the toolbox" for the final four rounds — and beyond.
"We identified a few things that we could do with the car and a few things that he could do with the driving, and I think Oscar should be very proud of himself, of how he has handled the transition," Stella added.
"We could see in the race that he was applying this. He definitely had a more competitive pace than in qualifying...
"But it's important for Oscar that we go through this kind of experience... because that's how you become the most complete version of a Formula 1 driver."
Piastri learned a lot in Mexico, mainly how to adapt his driving style to the conditions facing him. Stella called it an "investment", and it is.
The title fight is close, painfully so, and the threat comes from both inside the team and out, so whilst that investment might pay dividends in four rounds' time, it almost certainly will in the future.
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