It was a record-setting day for Max Verstappen and Oracle Red Bull Racing as he romped to a 16th Formula 1 victory on the season in the Mexico City Grand Prix, the most in one season by any F-1 driver.
Verstappen outpaced the field with Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton finishing runner-up, over 13 seconds behind Verstappen’s winning machine.
“To be honest, we of course are experiencing an incredible season,” Verstappen said. “And today of course we had to start P3, but I think the pace of the car was very, very good.
“We tried to do a different strategy to everyone else and unfortunately with the red flag we couldn’t really show it. Nevertheless, on those hard tires at the end, I think we were very, very strong.”
Hamilton raced his way from sixth on the grid to his fifth podium of the season in second.
“It’s a great result considering we started from P6 and amazing day for the team,” Hamilton said. “We pushed hard and I’m proud of the whole team for all their work. It’s been a difficult couple of weeks for us so it’s great to finally bounce back. The car felt much better today, and the pace was strong.
“Today was about the balance of the car and managing the tires and we managed to do that well. We dug really deep this weekend to improve the set-up and get it right and the result today shows the hard work everyone in the team has put in to achieve that. Now I can’t wait to get to Brazil and hopefully continue with the strong pace of the car.”
Polesitter Charles Leclerc led on the initial start alongside Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz, but Verstappen got the best of the Ferrari’s as he stole the lead away by turn one.
As Verstappen began to get into a rhythm, Leclerc made contact with Red Bull’s Sergio Perez which ended his race on home soil at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
Despite the contact, Leclerc earned a podium in third,
Shortly after the Leclerc and Perez scuffle, Haas F-1’s Kevin Magnussen had a nasty crash in turn eight. He was able to walk away as the red flag displayed early.
The ensuing restart saw Verstappen escape again with Hamilton vaulting above Leclerc for second. The race ran uninterrupted for the rest of the 71-lap race.
Sainz crossed the finish line in fourth with McLaren’s Lando Norris notching a fifth-place result. Mercedes driver George Russell ended his day in sixth.
It was a surprise run for AlphaTauri’s Daniel Ricciardo as he claimed points in seventh.
“There’s a lot of emotions, and I’m definitely feeling better than good,” Ricciardo said. “Two starts on this track hold your breath because it’s such a long run until turn one, and anything can happen. The first start, we went into turn one fourth and came out of it fourth as well, so I was happy.
“For the second start, I knew the red flag would hurt our race, but I’m happy to hear that Kevin (Magnussen) wasn’t injured after the big crash he had. Restarting on the hard compound, with others opting for the medium tire, and only losing one position, was close to the best scenario, and we did well.
“We tried to settle into our rhythm, where I had a little fight with Norris but then let him go,” Ricciardo continued. “We thought if he could catch George (Russell), he’d bring him closer to us, and he did. On the last lap, we got close but didn’t quite make it. Regardless, to be fighting with a Mercedes at the end is exciting.
“Overall, it was a good weekend during which we scored six important points. Now let’s keep the ball rolling.”
Oscar Piastri finished eighth, followed by Alexander Albon and Esteban Ocon.
The remaining Haas F-1 entry piloted by Nico Hulkenberg placed 13th.