Lando Norris ‘on a different level’ after statement F1 victory

Lando Norris’s dominant victory at the Mexico City Grand Prix showed that he is operating on “a different level”, according to Johnny Herbert.

The McLaren driver claimed a commanding lights-to-flag win, his sixth of the 2025 season, to retake the lead of the world championship from teammate Oscar Piastri by a single point with four events remaining.

Norris aced the start, avoided the chaos behind him, and controlled the 71-lap race in Mexico City to land the latest blow to Piastri’s stuttering title charge.

And Herbert believes Norris’s latest F1 win shows how much he has improved.

“The statement that said to me that he’s on a different level now. He felt so relaxed over the whole weekend. That is something we haven't probably heard before, and we probably haven't seen before,” Herbert told AdventureGamers.

“The particular moment which demonstrated that, was his start. It was flawless. It's the best start we've seen Lando Norris ever do. It was perfect. It has been an area where he has been really struggling.

“That shows that sometimes if you have that ability to just sort of shake your hands, get rid of that pressure that is there before the start and just do your bit, you're able to capitalise on doing the start like he did.

“He went on from there to totally controlling the race and was never under pressure. To deliver that in the way he did was perfect timing. That was a real statement for what might come for the rest of the championship.

“But is it a given now that he's sorted all the issues that he had? Oscar is the one who seems to have all the issues, and he's now got to try and work it out. It shows that everybody is going through the same issues, they’re all struggling in their own way, all having their problems.

“But Lando with the McLaren seemed to be perfectly at home at a track obviously that he's very comfortable with as well and he dealt with all the booing that was going on at the same time which is always a ridiculous thing that happens.”

Has Norris put self-doubts behind him?

Herbert also reckons Norris is more assured and confident in himself and his performances.

“With Norris self doubting himself earlier in the season, I think he has put this behind him, at least from what we saw in Mexico. Doubt will always creep in when things aren't quite going the way you either expect it,” he added.

“And the biggest hurdle you have to get over is the feelings that you're having with the car when it doesn't quite feel where it needs to be. You've got to be able to battle that mentally and physically to overcome it.

“You need confidence. I don't think confidence has probably always shone through. But that's his character, his character is not so much showing inner confidence.

“You do with Oscar. Oscar you can't read. It's a powerful thing at the same time because you don't know if he's in a good place or a bad place.

“It's only the comments which have started to emerge which indicate how he is thinking. It began at Silverstone where he wasn’t happy during and after the race.

“Comments started to come out. That was something we hadn't seen before, but that’s only human nature.

“Sometimes you try and clam up and not tell the world that's going on and maybe that's possibly been a weakness for Lando. Lando's always been so open, saying ‘I've done this wrong, or that wrong, I shouldn't have done this.’

“In contrast, Oscar has always been trying to hold it internally, but he has got to a point where he does that openly now, talking about it. He’s felt that has been something that works for him.

“The most important part of the weekend for me was how relaxed Lando was. That’s going to give him way more speed and opportunity to produce the goods.

“If he has sorted out his starts as he showed in Mexico, at this time in the championship, he's put himself in a very good place. That one little moment could be the game changer, that he has sussed it and cracked it.

“He hadn't cracked it for quite a while and now he's been able to do that.”