F1 News, Reports and Race Results

Norris ignores booing after dominant win: 'Keep to myself'

Lando Norris chose to focus on his dominant drive to victory after receiving substantial booing from the Mexican Grand Prix crowd, a reaction that disappointed many.

Norris was dialled in right from the moment he first stepped into his McLaren MCL39 for FP2 on Friday, as he took pole position in qualifying with a lap almost three tenths of a second quicker than Charles Leclerc in P2.

The British driver got off the line well on Sunday, maintaining the lead of the race on the opening lap and eking out a sizeable advantage as the Grand Prix progressed.

When the 25-year-old came into the pits for fresh tyres on lap 35, he was still in first position. He eventually crossed the line over 30 seconds ahead of anyone else.

The Crowd Turns on the Championship Leader

The podium was rounded out by the Ferrari of Leclerc and Max Verstappen for Red Bull. Norris' nearest rival in the Drivers' Standings, his teammate Oscar Piastri, struggled all weekend long and saw the chequered flag in P5.

This means Norris now leads the Championship on 357 points, just a single point ahead of Piastri. Verstappen is a further 35 points behind on 321.

The Briton may have been expecting cheers from the Mexican crowd, but instead took off his helmet to a whole lot of booing in the grandstands as he took to the microphone.

He started off by reflecting on his light-to-flag victory: "I love it. What a race. I could just keep my eyes focused and forward and focus on what I was doing.

"A pretty straightforward race for me which is just what I was after. A good start, a good launch, a good first lap and I could go from there.

"I got a much better launch than the guys around. It's my first win in Mexico and a beautiful one to get," Norris exclaimed.

With the boos continuing, the McLaren driver revealed his mindset going into the final few rounds of the season, taking a jab at the negativity surrounding him.

He said: "It's one weekend at a time. I'm happy, I'm focused on myself.

"I keep my head down, I ignore all of this, keep to myself. It's working at the minute, so I'm happy."

Pundits Baffled by the Booing

With Norris driving flawlessly throughout the weekend and making the Championship all the more exciting as it reaches its climax, the pundits for Sky Sports F1 were confused as to exactly why the crowd expressed their distaste towards the British driver.

Karun Chandhok expressed: "I hate booing. Whenever it happens, I hate it. When people booed Max at certain races.. it's just wrong.

"Lando did an outstanding job and that should be applauded."

His fellow presenter Jamie Chadwick echoed his thoughts, stating: "I hate it. I hate booing for anyone.

"Cheer louder for the person you want to support, but don't boo anyone. What Lando did today doesn't deserve any boos. He put on a masterclass.

"Okay, he was off in the distance so it wasn't the most exciting race for everyone to watch, but that needs to be applauded, not booed," concluded Chadwick.

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James Fiorucci

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