Norris dominates in Mexico to take championship lead

McLaren's Lando Norris took the championship lead for the first time since April with a dominant victory in the Mexico City Grand Prix.

Norris was serenely out of reach of some compelling battles and incident behind him as he kept the lead from pole position into the first corner and controlled the race from there.

Norris leads the championship by just one point from team-mate Oscar Piastri, who fought back from seventh on the grid to finish fifth.

Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who finished third just behind Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, is 36 points off the lead with four races to go.

A virtual safety car in the final two laps robbed the race of a grandstand finish, with Verstappen right behind Leclerc and Piastri chasing the Haas of Oliver Bearman, as it prevented overtaking just as both were moving into position to challenge.

Bearman's fourth place, though, was just reward for an outstanding drive from British rookie Bearman.

The key stories of a dramatic race were:

Norris' concern before the race was that starting from pole with nearly 800m to run to the first corner, he would be vulnerable to either Ferrari driver, with Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton starting second and third.

But Norris judged the run down to Turn One to perfection as Leclerc and Hamilton also had to worry about an attack from Verstappen on the outside.

Norris held the lead as chaos broke out behind him and soon started to edge away.

He was never remotely under threat and ended up winning by 30 seconds.

It capped a strong run of races since he retired with a fuel-line failure from the Dutch Grand Prix at the end of August.

Piastri won that race and left the Netherlands 34 points in the lead - an advantage Norris has wiped out in five races.

More to follow.