Lando Norris gave a significant boost to his championship chances Saturday by taking pole position for the Mexican Grand Prix while title rivals Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri qualified in fifth and seventh, respectively.

Norris is 14 points adrift of Piastri in the standings but will move ahead of his McLaren teammate if the two cars finish where they start in Sunday's race.

Norris' lap, which was 0.262 seconds clear of Charles Leclerc 's Ferrari in second, also helps to counter the momentum of Verstappen, who has finished ahead of both McLarens at the past four races and is 40 points off Piastri.

No driver has won in Mexico after qualifying outside the top three since Alain Prost (13th) in 1990.

Reacting to his pole position on McLaren's team radio, Norris said: "What a la

See Full Page