Excitement and intrigue followed Sunday’s race from start to finish. Next up is the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, with the weekend kicking off on Friday.
MEXICO CITY, Mexico—Taking the lead early in the race and keeping until the very end, Carlos Sainz had no trouble in winning his second grand prix in a year as the Spaniard went on to take the checkered flag by over four seconds over McLaren’s Lando Norris with Charles Leclerc in his Ferrari third.
Sainz passed the series leader and Red Bull driver Max Verstappen on lap nine and never had any challenges for the rest of the race. Although Verstappen had an early lead, Sainz’s Ferrari showed pure speed on the straights and could control the race with no difficulties.
Carlos Sainz: Honestly, I really wanted this one, and I really needed it for myself and wanted to get it done. I’ve been saying for a while that I wanted one more win before leaving Ferrari, and to do it here in front of this mega crowd is incredible. Now, with four races left, I want to enjoy it as much as possible, and if another one [win] comes along, I’m going to go for it. I’ve been feeling the support of the Mexican fans all weekend, so I guess Spanish-speaking helps. It felt like after Checo [Sergio Perez], they were probably supporting me.
But while Sainz had no trouble, the rest of the field was battling it out, as both Norris and Verstappen were locked in a tussle early in the first few laps. Norris first went offline only because Verstappen pushed him off on lap ten at turn four. Only four corners later did both go off again when Verstappen tried to go on the inside of the Briton, pushing both off the track and gaining an advantage.
But Norris was not surprised. “I knew what to expect,” he said. “I respect Max as a driver, but I was ready to expect something like this. I think this is not very clean driving, but I avoided it, and it was a good race.”
For his part, Verstappen denied anything about the incident. “The problem is that we are too slow, and that’s why I’m being put in those positions; that is my problem,” Verstappen said. But the offshoot of the battle between the drivers allowed Charles Leclerc to pass them and take second behind his teammate Sainz.
Norris complained that Verstappen was driving dangerously and requested that the team protest Verstappen’s driving, which they received as Verstappen was not only issued one penalty of ten seconds. Minutes later, he received another one, meaning the Dutchman had to stop for 20 seconds on his first pit stop. Those penalties ruined his race, and even though Verstappen managed to make up some time, he never could catch the top three for the rest of the race.
The Mercedes duo of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell had more of a cleaner battle, but the seven-time world champion ended up winning and took fourth while Verstappen settled finally for sixth. Haas F1 had a great day, finishing both cars in the top ten, with Kevin Magnussen seventh and Nico Hulkenberg ninth. The second McLaren of Oscar Piastri moved up from 16th place at the start to finish eighth. The final point position went to Pierre Gasly in the Alpine.
If this was not exciting enough, the upcoming race for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, which includes a sprint race, will follow next weekend at the Interlagos Circuit in Brazil.
