NORRIS IN TOP GEAR FOR FINAL STRAIGHT

Brit halts Verstappen's title charge to nab pole position in race for line

- BY HARRY SMITH

RIDING THE WAVE Lando Norris won in Mexico to grab the No.1 spot in the F1 title standings with just four rounds to go

IF timing is everything in sport, then Lando Norris is entering the 2025 season home straight at the perfect moment.

For four successive races, McLaren's Brit racer was forced to choke on Max Verstappen's dust, watching the four-time world champion ~ the most intimidating man on the grid - take three wins and a second while playing mind games with his rivals.

In Italy, Azerbaijan and the USA, the Dutchman took the chequered flag to raise the spectre of a fifth crown, hunting down the McLarens of Norris and Oscar Piastri, who appeared to be in a two-horse race.