- Norris trails Verstappen by 57 points in title fight
- Dutchman second in qualifying, with British rival third
Max Verstappen edged out his title rival Lando Norris as Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz claimed pole position at the Mexico Grand Prix. Norris trails Verstappen by 57 points in the drivers’ championship with five races remaining and 146 points up for grabs and needs to start making major inroads into the Dutchman’s advantage.
McLaren failed in their bid to overturn Norris’s controversial penalty which demoted him behind Verstappen in Austin last weekend, a result the British driver labelled a “momentum killer” in his pursuit of a maiden title. And those hopes suffered a further blow as Norris could only finish third in qualifying for Sunday’s 71-lap race, a place behind his title rival and more than three-tenths off the pace of pole-sitter Sainz.