Nasty Norris nickname retired by Italian media after Mexican GP masterclass

One Italian publication has suggested that a previous Lando Norris nickname be retired after his Mexican Grand Prix masterclass.

British star Norris set scintillating pace in qualifying at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, finishing over six tenths ahead of team-mate Oscar Piastri, and started the race on pole.

Norris then blew his rivals away from pole position, winning the race by over 30 seconds, while Piastri could only finish fifth.

The championship challenging Brit is now atop the drivers' standings, holding a one-point lead over Piastri with four race weekends to go, and a 36-point lead over four-time world champion Max Verstappen.

Following his brilliant performance, Sky Italia gave Norris a 10/10 in their report cards, and left a comment on his driving that suggests that Norris' previous nickname of 'Blando' may now need to be retired.

"He stops being bland, does everything very well and gets closer to the dream of the championship," the above publication said about McLaren's young star.

Norris cruises to victory

With Verstappen and Piastri starting the race in fifth and seventh respectively, Norris would have felt the pressure to take advantage during Sunday's race.

But even he couldn't have predicted such an easy ride to victory.

While his title rivals squabbled with the Ferraris and the Mercedes cars behind him, Norris opened up a huge gap on second-place Charles Leclerc, and never looked back.

With Verstappen setting brilliant pace on the soft tyres in the closing stages of the race, Norris was glad of such a huge lead which took the pressure off McLaren's strategy calls in comparison to Red Bull.

Norris now leads the championship, and is the favourite to take a maiden championship title when the season comes to a close in Abu Dhabi in December.

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