Hamilton and Verstappen clash in Mexico as late VSC sparks debate

The Mexican Grand Prix has delivered a new championship leader, with Lando Norris now topping the Drivers’ standings by a single point over his teammate — with four races and two Sprints still to go.

The Brit made the most of McLaren’s superiority around the Mexican circuit, unlike his teammate, who — just as in Austin — could do no better than fifth and this time lost the lead in the championship.

Max Verstappen now sits 36 points off the lead. Despite gaining four points on the championship front-runners, his failure to win leaves him facing a tougher chase in the final stretch of the season.

Another major talking point in Mexico was the collision between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton. The latter cut across Turn 3 after a hard-fought battle with the Dutchman and was handed a 10-second penalty as a result.

It was a controversial decision that ultimately ruined the seven-time world champion’s race — up until that moment, he had been firmly in contention for what would have been his first podium with Ferrari.

Plenty of attention was also given to Oliver Bearman’s superb performance — finishing fourth and spending much of the race dreaming of giving Haas its first-ever Formula 1 podium. However, the Brit still managed to keep Oscar Piastri behind him for the entire race and finished not far from the podium positions.

Another highly debated moment came with the late Virtual Safety Car, which denied fans what could have been an exciting fight for second place between Verstappen and Leclerc.

The FIA later felt compelled to issue a public clarification, explaining the incident at Turn 1 involving a dangerous near miss between Liam Lawson and several marshals crossing the track.