Lando Norris faced continuous boos from fans throughout the Mexican Grand Prix weekend, sparking questions about why the British driver’s strong race results were seemingly not well received by attendees. Despite mounting a dominant drive on Sunday—leading all 71 laps en route to his sixth race victory of the season—Norris found himself the target of a negative crowd.
The 25-year-old arrived at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez trailing Oscar Piastri by 14 points in the drivers’ standings. In the previous four race weekends, Norris had made significant inroads, clawing back 20 points on his teammate. However, despite this recent surge, the Mexican crowd appeared unwelcoming toward Norris during the event.
### Why Was Norris Booed by the Mexican Crowd?
The boos raised many eyebrows and quickly became a topic of discussion, even during the post-race press conference. According to an F1 insider on X (formerly Twitter), the Mexican crowd’s behavior was largely influenced by their support for Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri. But that was not the whole story.
A Mexican journalist pointed out that the negative sentiment toward Norris stemmed from the controversial team orders during the Italian Grand Prix, where Piastri was instructed to concede the runner-up position. Fans felt Norris had “unfairly” gained three points over his teammate due to this decision and expected Norris to give up those points. This perception led to the crowd’s distinct conduct throughout the race weekend.
### Norris Responds to Fans’ Perception at the Mexican GP
After Norris moved into the championship lead for the first time since the Saudi Arabian GP earlier this year—now sitting just one point ahead of Piastri—the boos continued. When informed about the fans’ reasoning behind their reaction during the post-race press conference, Norris offered a measured response.
“Sure. If they want to think that, then they certainly have the right to. They can think whatever they want,” Norris said. “From us as a team, of course, we try and do things fairly. That was the comment we made back then.”
He continued, “The same with two years ago in Budapest when I could have won the race and had to let Oscar back through and let him win the race he deserved to win. It was no different to that really. It was an incorrect decision that we made as a team to box him first or me first here. To be honest, if you want to have the three points, they can. They have the right to think whatever they want. Like Oscar deserved to win last year in Budapest, I deserve to be ahead in Monza. Simple as that.”
### Championship Standings Heat Up
Heading into the final four race weekends, Norris holds a 36-point advantage over Max Verstappen, as the three-way battle for the drivers’ title intensifies. With momentum on his side and a growing lead, Norris remains focused on maintaining his position and closing out the season strongly.
https://www.sportskeeda.com/f1/news-explained-why-lando-norris-booed-crowd-throughout-f1-mexican-gp-race-weekend