Norris dominates in Mexico and beats Piastri in the title fight

The virtual safety car brought on by Carlos Sainz's retirement on lap 70 of 71 prevented us from witnessing position swaps for second and fourth place, which would have added drama to an incident-filled race and altered the close race for the drivers' championship.

Lando Norris put in a flawless performance, taking pole position and leading every lap of the Grand Prix to score 25 points and reach 357 points, one more than his teammate Piastri, with four races remaining.

The Englishman capitalized on his pole position with a perfect start, preventing any threat from his pursuers who, in their attempt to overtake him at the end of the long straight, triggered a series of track exits while fighting for second place.

Norris closed the first lap with a lead of almost two seconds over Leclerc, which increased to 8.6 seconds by lap 20 and continued to increase until he took the checkered flag with a 30.2-second advantage over Leclerc. The MCL39 he drove dominated the field with a performance similar to that shown in the first half of the championship.

Leclerc was favored by the appearance of the virtual safety car, preventing Verstappen from overtaking him for second place on the final lap. The Dutchman had closed the gap from 13.5 seconds on lap 49 to less than a second by lap 69.

Something similar happened when Piastri passed Russell for fifth on lap 60, the gap to Bearman was 3 seconds, which he reduced to 0.840 thousandths of a second by lap 68.

Bearman drove the race of his life, managing the performance of the surprising Haas to be named Driver of the Day by the television audience. However, the virtual safety car was decisive in preventing Piastri's final attempt to snatch fourth place. Had he succeeded, the Australian would have remained at the lead of the drivers' championship by one point.

Antonelli and Russell swapped places once the Englishman failed to overtake Bearman after seeking permission to do so, finishing in sixth and seventh places respectively.

Hamilton had a race of shocks from the start. The ten-second penalty he received for improperly overtaking prevented him from improving his eighth-place finish, after starting in third place, his best qualifying position of the season.

Ferrari's 22 points, thanks to Leclerc's second-place finish and Hamilton's eighth-place finish, catapulted them into second place in the constructors' championship, ahead of Mercedes by just one point. The fight for second place in the constructors' championship is now in addition to the fight for the drivers' championship.

Ocón confirmed Haas's spectacular performance by crossing the finish line in ninth place. The American team's 14 points moved them into eighth place in the constructors' championship, ahead of Kick Sauber by two points.

Bortoleto added another point in his first year in F1, reaching 19 points, keeping him ahead of Colapinto, his South American rival, who has failed to score points despite the high expectations he has generated so far this season.

The obvious performance gap between Norris's and Piastri's cars went beyond the discomfort the Hermanos Rodríguez circuit represented for Oscar. Not to mention the two occasions during the season when the team ordered Oscar to cede his position to Lando. McLaren ultimately managed to place its favorite at the top of the drivers' championship.

Max's strong race to finish third brought him to within 35 points of Oscar and 36 of Lando. Red Bull decided the RB21 could fight, and proved it with the results obtained in the last five races, forcing McLaren to react, as Norris did in Mexico.

The four remaining Grands Prix in Brazil, Las Vegas, Qatar, and Abu Dhabi, combined with the two short races in Brazil and Qatar, represent 116 units, enough to close the current season with maximum public interest.

Norris isn't guaranteed the title despite having McLaren's backing, Piastri keeps his aspirations alive after going from being the pursuer to the pursuer, and Verstappen knows how to handle the pressure to close down any advantage, no matter how impossible it seems.

We're in for a finale we haven't seen in years. Enjoy the outcome even if your favorite isn't crowned.