Feature

F1i's Driver Ratings for the 2019 Mexican GP

Lando Norris (Retired, L48): 7/10
After a string of recent solid successes for McLaren, Mexico was probably their worst race of the season so far. It was particularly unfair on Lando Norris, who despite trailing his team mate on Friday and Saturday had nonetheless improved his position in each successive practice session before managing to join Sainz on the fourth row of the grid for the start of the race. Another fast start saw him use his soft tyres to get the better of the medium-shod Valtteri Bottas, and Max Verstappen's clash with Lewis Hamilton then put Norris up to sixth place by the end of the first lap. It's hard to know how he could have fared for the rest of the afternoon: even before his early pit stop on lap 13 he had started to lose positions, with the MCL34 seemingly struggling for pace in the high altitude. But it was the stop itself that proved the end of the affair when the left-front wheel was improperly attached. Although Norris stopped in time to avoid a penalty and allow the McLaren mechanics to hare down pit lane to retrieve the stricken car and correct the mistake, he was left a lap down and firmly at the back by the time he resumed. He stayed there for the next 35 laps before the team bowed to the inevitable and allowed him to retire.

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.

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