Max Verstappen fights back to third place after chaotic start in the Mexican Grand Prix

Max Verstappen recovered from a chaotic start to finish in third place at the Mexican Grand Prix on Sunday. The biggest development was Lando Norris shaking up the Formula 1 championship battle with a commanding win. The McLaren driver took over the top spot in the standings from teammate Oscar Piastri, who finished fifth.

Verstappen came within a whisker of snatching second place from Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari car at the high-altitude Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez circuit. Norris now leads Piastri by a single point and sits 36 points ahead of Verstappen after securing his sixth victory of the season.

Verstappen said on Saturday, after qualifying fifth, that he didn’t expect much from the race. His car lacked grip and kept sliding, he explained, adding that everything the team had tried to improve the Red Bull car had “failed."

But the four-time world champion launched a fierce attack at the start, attempting an outside pass into the first corner. With four cars jostling side by side, space quickly ran out, forcing Verstappen off the track and through the grass. Cutting across, he rejoined in fourth place ahead of George Russell.

A few laps later, Verstappen attempted to pass Hamilton, but the Briton refused to yield in their wheel-to-wheel duel. Both drivers went onto the grass, and Hamilton stayed ahead by cutting the corner. Verstappen lost speed in the process, allowing Oliver Bearman in his Haas to pass him. Hamilton received a ten-second time penalty for the move.

From there, Norris dominated. The Briton gradually pulled away from the rest. Charles Leclerc held a firm second place in his Ferrari, but after his pit stop, Verstappen found new pace on the soft tires and suddenly flew across the track. Norris was too far ahead, but the four-time world champion closed the gap to Leclerc lap by lap. In the final lap, Leclerc needed the help of the virtual safety car to barely hold off Verstappen.

In the end, Bearman, the 20-year-old newcomer, held off Piastri to take a remarkable fourth, marking another impressive milestone in his debut season.