Lando Norris was "ready for" F1 rival Max Verstappen's "dangerous" driving at Mexico GP

Lando Norris finished the Mexican Grand Prix in second place to gain 10 points on F1 title rival Max Verstappen who was sixth after 20 seconds worth of penalties

Lando Norris branded title rival Max Verstappen "dangerous" but had the last laugh by taking a chunk out of the Dutchman's championship lead.

With four rounds to go, the Brit is now 47 points behind and closer than ever to Verstappen who was slapped with 20 seconds worth of penalties as he duelled with his nearest challenger. Norris finished second behind Carlos Sainz who converted pole into his second victory of the season, while Verstappen laboured to sixth.

And the McLaren driver said he was simply grateful not to have been put into a wall as he and his title rival fought in the early stages. He said: "The first few laps, a lot of it was just trying to stay in the race and avoid any crashes.

"I knew what to expect. I did not want to expect such a thing, because I respect Max a lot as a driver, but I was ready for something like this. It was not very clean driving, in my opinion, but I avoided it and it was a good race."

The gap is still a significant one with four rounds remaining and Norris is not getting carried away despite a significant gain on the defending champion. He added: "I will just keep my head down and do my best. We are doing a very good job as a team. All we can do is focus on ourselves and we will keep pushing."

Verstappen insisted he was "not worried" about losing ground to Norris and said he refuses to "give up easily" when defending on track. Norris denied Ferrari a second one-two finish in as many Sundays as he took advantage of a late Charles Leclerc wobble.

But the Monegasque was grateful to avoid hitting the wall and contribute to another significant haul for the Italians. They have now leapfrogged Red Bull into second place in the hunt for the constructors' title and are just 29 points behind McLaren.

"The constructors' is still our target and, with weekends like this, we are getting closer," beamed Leclerc. And, for Sainz, it was mission accomplished in his quest to win again before handing his Ferrari seat to Lewis Hamilton.

"I really wanted this one, and needed it for myself. I wanted to get it done," the Spaniard smiled. "I have been saying for a while that I wanted one more win before leaving Ferrari. With four races left, I will enjoy it as much as possible and, if another one comes, I will go for it."

Hamilton completed a late overtake on team-mate George Russell as Mercedes stayed out of trouble to finish fourth and fifth. Home hero Sergio Perez's fortunes did not improve, though, as he picked up a penalty and damage and finished well outside the points, having qualified 18th.

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