Is there any more meaningless and, frankly, insulting cliché in sport than to claim a competitor was victorious against their opponents because they “wanted it more”?
To say that a driver on the Formula 1 grid is not motivated by an all-consuming desire to succeed and prove themselves to be the best in the world is to dismiss the intense commitment, sacrifice and pressure they must endure simply to reach the world championship to begin with.
Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen’s immense success over the last decade is testament to their talent, their techniques and their teams. But that does not mean their rivals have not spent every waking moment of their lives longing and striving to join them – just ask Fernando Alonso.
Ahead of the 2024 Mexican Grand Prix, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz Jnr and Red Bull’s Sergio Perez could not have been much further apart from each other on the grid, but the pair were united in their desire for a strong race on Sunday. Sainz, on pole, was desperate to secure a fourth victory before leaving Ferrari. Perez started down in 18th, carrying the hopes of his entire nation upon him, and needing to justify his continued place in one of the best cars on the grid.
At nearly 800 metres from pole position to the first corner, the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez boasts the longest start run of any circuit on F1’s calendar. With the two leading drivers in the world championship, Max Verstappen and Lando Norris, immediately behind him on the grid, Sainz knew trouble would be chasing him from the moment the lights went out at the start.
At the back of the grid, Perez was eager to take full advantage of the generous pit straight ahead of him to gain positions at the start. So eager, in fact, he failed to stop inside his grid slot at the end of the formation lap, earning a five-second penalty before the starting lights had even begun to cycle on. It hadn’t seemed possible that he might slip up earlier in the race than last year, but he did.
When the race began, Verstappen was the first of the front row starters to 100kph. By the time their speeds had doubled, the Red Bull’s front axle was already alongside the Ferrari’s. With Verstappen to the inside, he appeared to have the dominant position approaching the first corner.
With Norris thinking of his championship challenge behind the pair and playing it safe, Sainz took the room available to the left to try and fight…
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