Norris follows Sainz home to increase heat on Verstappen

Ferrari might have claimed an impressive win at the Mexico City Grand Prix but it was a race notable as Max Verstappen suffered a double blow of his own making and significantly adverse impact, his repeatedly uncompromising driving against the world championship rival Lando Norris deemed unacceptable and proving costly to his title charge.

- Giles Richards

Carlos Sainz took a commanding victory for Ferrari at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, a tour de force for the Spanish driver with his teammate Charles Leclerc in third that establishes the Scuderia as very much now a leading force on the grid who may yet play a significant role in the world championship.

Yet after their testy and controversial conflict at the last round in Austin once more it was Verstappen and Norris who were centre stage. Norris finished in second place for McLaren with Verstappen in sixth.

The result is vital for Norris as he attempts to catch the world champion and take the title fight to the wire, with a 10-point swing closing the gap to Verstappen from 57 to 47 points, with a further 120 still on the table. Lewis Hamilton and George Russell claimed fourth and fifth for Mercedes.

Verstappen can really only hold himself to blame for letting his rival back in the chase. The pair might have been set for a race-long battle, at least for the podium given how quick the Ferraris were but the points differential might have been minimised were it not for Verstappen insisting on being entirely intransigent in both his defending and attacking.