Jacques Villeneuve makes his pick for championship favourite out of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri

McLaren star Lando Norris dominated the 2025 Mexican GP, taking the pole position and winning the race by over 30 seconds over Charles Leclerc in P2. Oscar Piastri started P7 and finished the race in P5, conceding the title lead to his teammate. Former F1 champion Jacques Villeneuve came out after the race in Mexico and made his pick for the title between the McLaren drivers.

Oscar Piastri has been in subpar form since the last few F1 races, as he retired in Azerbaijan and failed to make the podium in Singapore, the US, or the Mexican GP. Coming into the Mexico City GP, Lando Norris trailed the championship lead by 14 points.

As the Briton won the Mexican GP, and his teammate only finished P5, Norris took the championship lead by 1 point. Max Verstappen finished on the podium, leaving his gap to the championship leader to only 36 points.

F1 Grand Prix Of Mexico City 2025 - Source: Getty

1997 F1 champion Jacques Villeneuve came out after the Mexican GP and spoke about Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri, and Max Verstappen’s form as he then went on to discuss the title chances of the three championship contenders.

“Lando's on a roll. He should be able to carry this on. Piastri lost the lead of the championship, Max is a few points closer and Brazil next is a race Max loves. It's not the right time to have low form for Oscar. The drivers are tired, the season is long. When you have an issue like this earlier in the season, you are full of energy, you recover, you have the summer break. Now you don't”, said Jacques Villeneuve. (via Sky Sports)

With four races remaining in the season, including 2 sprint race weekends, Max Verstappen needs to outscore Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri by an average of 9 points each weekend to win his fifth F1 title.

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“Drove like a World Champion”: Jacques Villeneuve hails Lando Norris' Mexican GP performance

Lando Norris missed the FP1 session to give way to Pato O’Ward. Norris trailed Verstappen in the FP2 session. Going into FP3, the Briton came out as the fastest driver. While Oscar Piastri struggled in qualifying, Norris took the pole position with ease.

The Briton got a great start off the line, got in the lead, and didn’t look back. Jacques Villeneuve spoke about the Briton’s performance at the Mexican GP, as he said,

“He did not put one foot wrong all weekend. He showed strength that we normally see in Max. We saw it last year at times, it's just mid-season that was disappointing. He was barely on Piastri's level. Lando drove like a world champion or someone who wants to win a world championship.”

The Brazilian GP is up next, which has been a happy hunting ground for Max Verstappen in the past.

Edited by Pranay Bhagi