FORZA FERRARI! SAINZ HEADS 1-3 FINISH IN RED Verstappen takes double hit after new clash with Norris
Mexico City, Sunday October 27 – Carlos Sainz took a brilliant victory for Ferrari at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in the Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix 2024 Presented by Heineken that carried on the controversy between the two drivers fighting for the World Championship. The race had an attendance of 154,142 fans this Sunday and 404,958 during the three-day event.
The 30-year-old Spaniard claimed his fourth F1 race win, recovering from a slow getaway from pole position to take the lead on lap nine of the 71. He finished in a time of 1 hour 40 minutes 55.880 seconds, 4.705 seconds ahead of title-chasing Lando Norris’s McLaren, with Charles Leclerc over half a minute behind in the second Ferrari. Leclerc set the fastest lap of 1:18.336 (197.794 km/h) on the final lap.
This is the first time Sainz has won more than one race in a single F1 season and a special moment as he prepares to leave Ferrari and join Mercedes in 2025. “Gracias Mexico!” he said. “It’s incredible to see this crowd, I’ve been feeling their support all week. 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.”
Five-time Mexico winner Max Verstappen’s Red Bull led by the first corner after starting second. “I was a bit annoyed at the start, having lost position to him,” Sainz added. “I said, I need to surprise him one way or another because Max is super-difficult to pass. It was a bit far back, but I said, I have nothing to lose, I’m just gonna send one down the inside.”
Ferrari’s first victory in Mexico since 1990 was overshadowed when Norris and Verstappen became involved in a major incident for the second race in a row. On lap 10 Verstappen twice forced Norris wide, first into Turn 4 and again at Turn 7, where Leclerc passed them both. Verstappen received two separate 10-second penalties, meaning he could finish no higher than sixth, allowing Norris to close the gap between them to 47 points with four races remaining.
“It was a very tough race,” Norris said. “I respect Max as a driver, but I was ready to expect something like this – not very clean driving in my opinion. But I avoided it, and it was a good race.” As for his title chances, Norris was non-committal: “I just keep my head down. That’s all we can do for now, just focus on ourselves.” Eighth place for Oscar Piastri helped McLaren extend their lead in the Constructors’ Championship as Ferrari moved into second place ahead of Red Bull.
To add fuel to the Red Bull flames, Sergio Pérez was handed a five-second penalty for a false start: the Mexican had placed his car too forward in its grid box at the start. Checo too was then involved in drama when he tried to force his way past Liam Lawson’s RB and was taken wide by the New Zealander.
“I don’t get it,” said Pérez after finishing 17th and last. “He just went for the incident, damaging both of our races. I picked up damage to my sidepod and floor. It was an incident that was totally avoidable. I had the corner, he went off completely and then just went straight – it was such a surprise to see him there!”
Despite a disastrous home weekend, Pérez remains upbeat about his return. “I will be back next year,” he said, “and I will try for the victory – that is my dream.”
Mercedes duo Lewis Hamilton and George Russell were fourth and fifth, while Haas enjoyed another superb weekend. Kevin Magnussen was seventh and Nico Hülkenberg ninth to consolidate the small American team’s sixth place in the Constructors’ Championship.
At the first corner of the race Alex Albon’s Williams, squeezed left by Pierre Gasly’s Alpine, clipped Yuki Tsunoda’s RB and sent the Japanese driver into the wall, bringing out the Safety Car for six laps. Only one other driver retired: Fernando Alonso, in his 400th Grand Prix weekend, had to pull out after 16 laps with a brake issue.
Earlier in the weekend the 43-year-old Spaniard had called AHR’s GNP Seguros Stadium “one of the most iconic places where you can drive an F1 car”. The Mexico GP underlined the message on the new roof of the GNP Seguros Stadium itself: “Vivir es incréible!”
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