Even though Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris now drive for title rivals, they have carried over the bromance they developed during their time together at McLaren. Even today, they are very close, as evidenced by Norris’ post-Mexico GP activities.
Sainz won the outing at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, and his entire family was there to celebrate it with him. Norris—who finished P2—in the race, also joined in, becoming a part of the Spaniard’s closest circle for the evening.
In a post doing the rounds on Instagram, Norris could be seen celebrating with the Sainz family at a Mexican restaurant. It seemed to be a truly wholesome moment and a reminder that friendships sometimes exist beyond what happens inside the F1 paddock.
Sainz joined Ferrari after leaving McLaren in 2021 and has spent more time with his new teammate, Charles Leclerc since then. However, the Monegasque was notably absent from Sainz’s dinner, suggesting that Norris was the only non-family member present. Truly, their ‘Carlando’ bond is unlike anything else in F1.
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The Mexican GP was utterly dominated by Sainz, who, despite losing P1 at the start of the race, overtook Max Verstappen to reclaim it and then cruised to victory. “I’ve been saying for a while I wanted one more win before leaving Ferrari and to do it here in front of this mega crowd is incredible,” an emotional Sainz said after the race.
Norris, on the other hand, endured a challenging race, engaging in on-track scuffles with Verstappen that disrupted his rhythm and led to two 10-second penalties for the Dutchman.
In the end, after Leclerc’s late-race slip-up on the pit straight, the Briton swooped past the Ferrari driver to secure P2 and his 12th podium of the season.
McLaren and Ferrari show love to each other.
It wasn’t just the ‘Carlando’ bromance that fans enjoyed after the 71-lap Grand Prix at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, as there were fun moments after it involving both Ferrari and McLaren.
When the teams gathered for the customary post-race team photos McLaren CEO Zak Brown photobombed Ferrari’s celebration of their 1-3 finish. Meanwhile, Sainz showed some love for his old team by joining in on Norris’ P2 celebrations.
Carlos Sainz and Zak Brown swapping teams for the photoshoots pic.twitter.com/0iTsxXpHd7
— Autosport (@autosport) October 27, 2024
While it was all laughs and smiles in Mexico, the gloves will surely come off this weekend in Sao Paulo as F1 heads to Brazil for the final race of the Americas triple-header.
Ferrari is closing in on McLaren in the Constructors’ Championship standings, with wins in Austin and Mexico bringing them within just 29 points of the Woking-based team.
