Norris flies to pole position as Ferrari surprises in Mexico as news of team investigations hit the paddock – Lando Norris produced a commanding performance to secure pole position for the 2025 Mexico City Grand Prix. The McLaren driver, who is currently second in the World Championship standings, delivered a near-perfect qualifying session at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, achieving a fastest lap time of 1 minute 15.586 seconds.
He will start Sunday’s race ahead of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, who secured Ferrari a strong front-row position. From the start of qualifying, Norris looked in complete control.
Dominant display from Norris
His final lap in Q3 was over two tenths of a second faster than Leclerc’s best and more than three tenths of a second faster than Hamilton’s. George Russell followed in fourth place, 0.484 seconds behind Norris, while Max Verstappen had to settle for fifth place in his Red Bull. The defending champion struggled to find the right balance and was never truly in contention for pole position.
Championship leader Oscar Piastri had an uncharacteristically difficult session and finished in eighth place. The Australian finished 0.588 seconds behind his teammate and complained of a potential powertrain issue over the team radio. McLaren confirmed that they were investigating the problem, but provided no further details.
Q1: Tight battle at the top
Norris was quickest in Q1, setting an early pace of 1:17.147. George Russell trailed by just 0.047 seconds, followed by Leclerc and Verstappen in third and fourth place. Piastri, however, could not match his teammate’s form, ending the opening phase in twelfth place, nearly three-quarters of a second slower.
Lewis Hamilton and Gabriel Bortoleto both had moments at the entrance to the stadium section, sliding wide and hitting the high kerb. Norris improved to 1:16.899 on his second run to stay ahead, while Piastri climbed to fifth but remained behind. There was a surprise when rookie Isack Hadjar briefly topped the times with a 1:16.733, before falling back.
Nico Hülkenberg just scraped through to Q2 for Sauber, finishing fourteenth; his teammate Bortoleto missed out by less than two tenths. Also eliminated were Alexander Albon, Pierre Gasly, Lance Stroll and Franco Colapinto; the latter ran wide over the Turn 3 kerb on his final attempt.
Aston Martin breaches F1 cost cap rules
In Q2, Verstappen and Piastri struggled
Norris led the way again in Q2 with a time of 1:16.252, comfortably ahead of Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. Verstappen could only manage fourth, half a second down, while Piastri could do no better than tenth on his first run, complaining about strange power delivery through Turn 5.
As conditions improved, Verstappen temporarily moved up to second place, but both Hamilton and Russell recorded faster times. Piastri improved, but was still only seventh, over half a second behind his teammate. Nico Hülkenberg ended up in thirteenth place and failed to advance. Those eliminated included Yuki Tsunoda, Esteban Ocon, Fernando Alonso and Liam Lawson, who failed to complete a clean lap.
Q3: Norris seals the deal
Charles Leclerc was the first to strike in Q3, putting Ferrari on provisional pole with a time of 1:15.991. Norris trailed by less than two tenths of a second, while Hamilton was third. Verstappen and Piastri followed, but could not match the leading pace.
During the final runs, Verstappen briefly took the top spot, but then Norris delivered a flawless lap to reclaim pole position with a time of 1:15.586. Leclerc and Hamilton moved up to second and third place, while Verstappen dropped to fifth behind Russell. Piastri was unable to recover and finished eighth, marking a challenging session for the championship leader.
With Norris back on pole and both Ferraris close behind, Sunday’s race promises to be a pivotal moment in the 2025 title fight.
Meanwhile, rules violation under scrutiny
Behind the scenes in Mexico, investigations have reportedly been launched against at least one Formula 1 team for potentially breaching the sport’s financial regulations. The matter concerns an alleged significant breach of the ‘Cost Cap Rules’ that govern team spending during a season.
Aston Martin has also come under scrutiny, though its case appears to be far less serious, involving a simple administrative oversight, TJ13 reported on this recently.
An unknown team is under investigation
According to several British media news sources, the FIA is investigating an unnamed Formula 1 team for exceeding the cost cap during the 2024 season. While the governing body has yet to confirm the details, reports suggest that the team in question has already entered discussions with FIA auditors after discrepancies were discovered in its submitted financial statements.
The FIA’s Cost Cap Regulations were introduced to ensure fair competition and financial sustainability within Formula 1. For the 2024 season, the limit was set at 165 million US dollars, covering most operational expenses throughout the year. The alleged violation suggests that one team may have significantly overspent, potentially breaching the framework designed to level the playing field between larger and smaller teams.
The scale of the infraction and the identity of the team under investigation remain unclear. However, the ongoing discussions between the FIA and the suspected team suggest that the matter is being taken seriously. The governing body usually takes several months to verify each team’s accounts before publishing its annual compliance report, which has not yet been released this year — a delay that has fuelled speculation.
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Aston Martin has a separate issue:
Alongside this investigation, Aston Martin has also been found to have fallen foul of the same financial rules. In this case, however, the breach is described as minor and purely procedural. The team reportedly missed a deadline for submitting its financial documents, but did not exceed the spending limit itself.
As a result, Aston Martin is expected to face either a small fine or an official warning, rather than any sporting penalty. Such administrative errors are not uncommon, particularly given the complexity of the FIA’s reporting requirements, which demand precise detail from all ten Formula 1 teams.
Lessons from the Red Bull case
The ongoing speculation has inevitably revived memories of Red Bull’s breach of the cost cap following the 2021 season. That incident, which came to light a year later, resulted in a fine of several million euros and reduced wind tunnel testing time for the team’s 2023 campaign. This served as a warning to other teams about the importance of adhering to financial limits.
Should a similar or larger violation occur in 2024, the FIA could impose harsher penalties, potentially including financial sanctions, sporting restrictions or points deductions. The governing body has repeatedly emphasised its commitment to enforcing the cost cap system to preserve the sport’s integrity and competitive fairness.
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Amid FIA silence, speculation grows
Observers had already begun to suspect that all might not be well when the FIA delayed releasing its financial audit results. These findings are typically made public by early autumn, confirming which teams have complied with the regulations. This year’s delay has raised eyebrows across the paddock.
Sauber team principal Jonathan Wheatley summed up the growing anticipation, telling PlanetF1 that ‘the delay has shown quite clearly that some teams, or even just one team, are in trouble’. His comments highlight the tension surrounding the FIA’s next announcement, which could have significant implications for the final standings of the 2024 championship — or for the reputations of those involved.
As Formula 1 awaits clarity from the governing body, the focus remains on transparency and accountability. Whether the violation proves to be a simple accounting error or a deliberate overspend, the outcome will test the FIA’s ability to enforce its rules consistently and maintain trust in one of motorsport’s most scrutinised systems.
MORE F1 NEWS – Piastri struggles continue at crucial Mexico weekend
“Dun-dun… dun-dun… dun-dun……duuuunnnn-duun-dun-dun-dun-dun-dun-dunnnnnnnnnnn…” That if you didn’t realise was the phonetic representation of the Jaws movie theme tune. And the Red Bull team of old would’ve been blasting it out from a sub-woofer in their garage to unnerve their McLaren rivals.
But now even a bit of fun over some tape stuck on the wall is frowned upon and described as unsporting. Team boss Laurent Mekies when asked about the Red Bull mechanic who attempted to remove Lando Norris’ marker from the pit lane wall in Austin, claimed the fun and games would be back “under control” this weekend.
Yet there’s a mood in the paddock air which believes Verstappen is very much in the fight for the 2025 drivers’ championship. Oscar Pastry in the FIA press conference admitted he had been somewhat taken back with the Red Bull driver’s resurgence…READ MORE ON THIS STORY
With over 30 years of experience in Formula 1 as an insider journalist, I have built trusted connections across the paddock, from race engineers and mechanics to senior team figures. At The Judge 13, I and a handful of trusted colleagues share exclusive Formula 1 news, expert analysis and behind-the-scenes stories you will not find in mainstream motorsport media.
Thiago Treze is a Brazilian motorsport writer at TJ13 with a background in sports journalism and broadcast media, alongside an academic foundation in engineering with a focus on Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). This combination of technical knowledge and editorial experience allows Thiago to approach Formula 1 from both a performance and narrative perspective.
At TJ13, Treze covers driver performance, career developments, and key storylines across the Formula 1 grid, while also analysing the technical factors that influence competitiveness. This includes aerodynamic development trends, simulation-driven design approaches, and the engineering decisions that shape race weekend outcomes.
His reporting bridges the gap between human performance and machine development, helping readers understand how driver execution and technical innovation interact in modern Formula 1. Coverage often connects on-track events with the underlying engineering philosophies that define each team’s approach.
With a global perspective shaped by both journalism and technical study, Thiago also focuses on Formula 1’s international reach and the different ways the sport is experienced across regions.
Treze has a particular interest in how Computational Fluid Dynamics and aerodynamic modelling contribute to car performance, offering accessible explanations of complex technical concepts within Formula 1.
