Further Lando Norris booing incident uncovered after Mexican Grand Prix
McLaren driver Lando Norris on the podium at the 2025 Mexican Grand Prix
David Croft, the Sky F1 commentator, has revealed that Lando Norris was booed by the crowd prior to Sunday’s Mexican Grand Prix as well as during the post-race celebrations.
Norris secured his sixth victory of the F1 2025 season in Mexico last weekend, dominating from pole position to win by more than 30 seconds.
David Croft: Lando Norris booed during pre-race drivers’ parade at Mexican GP
The British driver’s first win since August’s Hungarian Grand Prix saw him return to the top of the drivers’ standings for the first time since April.
Norris holds a one-point lead over McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri ahead of the final four races, with Red Bull driver and reigning four-time world champion Max Verstappen 36 points behind in third place.
With the traditional post-race interviews taking place in the stadium section at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, Norris was on the receiving end of a hostile reception as he addressed the sizeable crowd immediately after the race.
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The booing of Norris continued during the podium ceremony.
Croft was filming a piece to camera for Sky F1’s pre-race coverage in the stadium section during the drivers’ parade.
And he revealed that boos were audible when Norris passed through ahead of the race.
Appearing on Sky F1’s coverage of the Mexican Grand Prix, he said: “The crowd in the stadium loved to see Max Verstappen. They loved seeing Charles Leclerc.
“When I was up there as the drivers were coming through on the track parade, there were a few boos for Lando Norris.
“There were a few more boos there [during the post-race interviews] as well.
“What have the Mexican crowd got against Lando Norris, I wonder?”
Croft’s co-commentator, the former HRT and Lotus Racing F1 driver Karun Chandhok, admitted he was mystified by the local crowd’s reaction to Norris.
He added: “I’m trying to work it out. Did he have a rivalry with [Mexican F1 driver Sergio] Perez?
“I don’t know. I genuinely don’t know.
“I hate booing anyway. Wherever it happens on this planet, I hated it when people were booing Max in certain races.
“I think it’s just wrong. Lando has done an outstanding job and that should be applauded.”
Speaking in the post-race press conference, Norris claimed to have been left amused by the reception he received during the post-race celebrations.
Asked if the crowd’s hostile reaction had soured his win, Norris told PlanetF1.com and other media outlets: “Oh, sour. I like sour sweets.
“I don’t know why, to be honest. People can do what they want, honestly.
“They have the right to do it if they want to do it, so I think that’s sport sometimes.
“I don’t know why I can’t stop laughing when I get booed. I think it makes it more entertaining for me.
“So they can keep doing it if they want. Of course, you don’t want it. I prefer if people cheer for me.
“But I don’t know. Who knows? Like I said, I just concentrate on doing my thing.
“It was the same in Monza and a few other places. I don’t know why.
“I just can’t stop laughing, so if they want to continue they can.”
More on Lando Norris and McLaren from PlanetF1.com
Put to him by a local reporter that the Mexican crowd’s boos stemmed from the perception that he is “being given the championship” following McLaren’s request for its drivers to swap positions at the Italian Grand Prix, Norris insisted that the fans “can think whatever they want.”
He said: “Sure. If they want to think that, then they certainly have the right to. They can think whatever they want.
“I guess from us as a team, of course, we try and do things fairly. That was the comment we made back then.
“The same with two years ago [sic] in Budapest when I could have won the race and had to let Oscar back through and let him win a 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 [at Monza this year].
“And to be honest, if you want to have the three points [Norris gained over Piastri after McLaren’s team orders drama in Italy], they can.
“But they have the right to think whatever they want.
“But Oscar deserved the win last year in Budapest, I deserves to be ahead at Monza.
“Simple as that.”
Additional reporting by Elizabeth Blackstock
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