Mexican journalist explains Norris’ boos – but Lando doesn’t care

Lando Norris superbly dominated the Mexico City Grand Prix on Sunday, but the cheers of victory were mixed with a chorus of boos from the local crowd, and one Mexican journalist believes he knows why.

The McLaren driver celebrated a commanding win at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez that put him one point clear of his teammate Oscar Piastri atop the Formula 1 championship standings.

But the post-race atmosphere turned a bit sour when the usually vibrant Mexican crowd jeered Norris as he stepped out of his car for the post-race proceedings inside the Foro Sol stadium.

The 25-year-old Briton, however, took it all in stride – even managing to laugh off the moment.

“Oh, sour. I like sour sweets,” Norris joked in the post-race presser conference. “I don’t know why, to be honest. People can do what they want, honestly. They have the right to do it if they want to do it. So I think that’s sport sometimes.”

Rather than take offense, Norris said he found the moment oddly amusing.

“I don’t know why I can’t stop laughing when I get booed. I think it makes it more entertaining for me. So, yeah, they can keep doing it if they want. Of course, you don’t want it. I prefer if people cheer for me.

“But I don’t know. Who knows? Like I said, I just concentrate on doing my things. It was the same in, what, Monza and a few other places. So, yeah. I don’t know why. I just can’t stop laughing. So, if they want to continue they can.”

The light-hearted response showed a mature side of Norris, who’s learned to roll with the unpredictable tides of global fandom – even when the spotlight burns a little hotter.

Papaya Rules? Jalife Offers a Theory

Mexican motorsport journalist Carlos Jalife, from Fast Mag, offered his own explanation for the boos, suggesting that some fans might still be unhappy about how things unfolded earlier in the season at McLaren.

Referencing the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, where a slow McLaren pit stop had cost Norris track position to his teammate Oscar Piastri before team orders reversed their places, Jalife said:

“From the race that you stopped, they messed up your pit stop, and then you were given the place back that got the three points — the extra points. So basically, people feel that you’re being given the championship.”

The question drew a calm but firm response from Norris, who dismissed the notion of favoritism inside McLaren.

“Sure. If they want to think that, then they certainly have the right to — they can think whatever they want,” he said. “Yeah. I guess from us as a team, of course, we try and do things fairly.

“That was the comments we made back then. The same with, you know, two years ago in Budapest when I could have won the race and had to let Oscar back through and let him win a race he deserved to win. It was no different to that really.

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“It was an incorrect decision that we made as a team to box him first – and, or me first here. And, yeah, to be honest, if you want to have the three points, they can. But they have the right to think whatever they want.

“But, yeah, like Oscar deserved the win last year in Budapest, I deserve to be ahead at Monza. Simple as that.”

Unfazed, Focused, and Still Smiling

If Norris felt slighted by the crowd’s reaction or the implication that his title charge has been helped along, he didn’t show it. His ability to stay composed – and even laugh through the noise – hinted at the confidence of a driver who knows he’s earning his success the hard way, on track.

With four rounds remaining and a slender one-point lead over teammate Piastri, Norris heads into the final stretch of the season under pressure, but clearly unshaken by the noise around him.

As he proved both on the podium and in the press room, F1’s new championship leader isn’t just driving like a champion – he’s carrying himself like one, too.

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