Max Verstappen believes “it’s going to be tough” to retain his Formula One drivers' championship crown after finishing behind Lando Norris at the Mexico City Grand Prix.

The Red Bull driver could only finish third in Mexico after a late virtual safety car kept him behind Charles Leclerc, while Lando Norris cruised to victory as he moved to the top of the drivers’ standings.

Verstappen is now 36 points behind Norris with four weeks to go, two of which will also feature sprint races, with Oscar Piastri also one point back from his McLaren team-mate.

Despite believing he had a chance to win the title after his victory at the United States Grand Prix, Verstappen does not feel as optimistic following his most recent result.

“I lost 10 points to Lando, so as I said before the weekend, everything needs to go perfectly to win,” said Verstappen.

Fought to the very end #F1 || #MexicoGP  pic.twitter.com/FCqNCCr2Pf

— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) October 27, 2025

“And this weekend didn't go perfect. So that's your answer. I think it's going to be tough, but let's see what we can do on other tracks.

“I hope, of course, we won't experience a weekend like this again, but it still shows that we're not quick in every scenario. And that's what we need to understand, I think, a bit better.”

The next two race weekends will take place in Brazil and Las Vegas respectively, before the final two grands prix in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.