Polesitter Carlos Sainz lost the lead of the Mexico City Grand Prix to Max Verstappen at the start but quickly recaptured the advantage and pulled away for a smooth win Sunday (Oct. 27) at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. Sainz’s retaking of the lead on lap 9 put him safely ahead of a skirmish between Verstappen and Lando Norris that resulted in 20 seconds’ worth of penalties for the Red Bull driver, as well as universal scorn from everyone who’s not on the Red Bull payroll.
“Honestly, I really wanted this one,” Sainz said after the race. “I really needed it also for myself. I’ve been saying for a while I want one more win before leaving Ferrari, and to do it here in front of this mega crowd, it’s incredible.
“Now with four races left, I want to enjoy as much as possible, and if another one comes, I will go for it.”
Norris finished second after pouncing on a Charles Leclerc mistake late in the race, and chopped 10 points off of Verstappen’s (who finished sixth) championship lead. Leclerc finished third as Ferrari continued to eat into McLaren’s Constructors’ Championship lead, which is now just 29 points.
Lewis Hamilton made a late pass to grab fourth from his Mercedes teammate George Russell. Russell was fifth, Verstappen was sixth, while the Haas duo of Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg, in seventh and ninth, respectively, sandwiched McLaren’s Oscar Piastri in eighth. Alpine’s Pierre Gasly took the final point in 10th.
In the drivers’ standings, Verstappen leads Norris by 47 points, 362 to 315. Leclerc is in third, only 24 behind Norris, with Piastri 40 behind Leclerc.
In the constructors’ standings, McLaren leads Ferrari, who were third coming into Mexico City, by 29 points, 566 to 537. Red Bull is in third, 25 points behind Ferrari.
The Race
It was a drag race between Sainz and Verstappen down the long run to turn 1 while Norris looked for an opening to challenge. Verstappen took the lead and ran wide, forcing Sainz to cut the corner. Further back, Yuki Tsunoda crashed in the first corner after contact from Alexander Albon, who was squeezed to the right by Esteban Ocon. The safety car was immediately deployed.
Sergio Perez moved up five places at the start, from 18th to 13th, but was being investigated for a false start. A quick investigation resulted in a 5-second penalty, as Perez started too far forward on the grid. It seemed Perez was bound and determined to make…
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