Sainz delivers stunning victory in Mexico City

Carlos Sainz claimed a remarkable victory at the Circuit de Hermanos Rodriguez, securing his fourth Formula 1 career win ahead of Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc, who completed the podium. The race, filled with intense battles and strategic manoeuvres, saw Max Verstappen hit with a penalty that compromised his chances despite starting from pole position.

Qualifying

The weekend’s qualifying session set the stage for an exciting race. Verstappen dominated most of the session but it was Spaniard Carlos Sainz who took pole. Sainz put in a great lap, showcasing the massive leap in technical development from the Scuderia in recent races, where teammate Charles Leclerc could only manage fourth. This was a stark contrast to home favourite Sergio Pérez, who was hoping for a strong home performance in front of the passionate Mexican crowd. However, the Red Bull number two failed to make Q2, lining up an embarrassing P18.

Oscar Piastri also shocked viewers as the Aussie failed to make the top 15 in Q1, leaving him in P17 for Sunday’s race. With both 2nd drivers out in Q1 from the main two teams, it was a head-to-head brawl between Verstappen and Norris.

It was drama for championship leader Verstappen, however, as he had his laptime deleted for exceeding track limits at Turn 2 and had it all to do with just one lap left in the session. He did well to line up P2 but failed to convert that lap into a pole with two tenths of a second separating him and pole sitter Sainz. Verstappen crucially lined up ahead of Norris in P3.

Verstappen-alty

It was a disappointing race for Max Verstappen as he was the recipient of two ten-second penalties, which inevitably hampered his chances of a podium. The Red Bull driver fought hard with Sainz for the lead, which he ultimately lost on Lap 9. A lap later, Verstappen was attacked by the McLaren of Lando Norris, who he pushed off the track as he defended P2. This led to a near-miss collision with Norris as Verstappen dove down the inside of the chicane section of the track. This manoeuvre earned Verstappen a ten-second time penalty along with another one as the Dutchman refused to give the position back following the move.

The ten-second time penalty moved Verstappen down to P17, where he had to fight back to the top. He tried his best but could only manage P6 at best, with Kevin Magnussen in seventh catching him at the end of the race. A lot of social media reactions berated Verstappen’s move, labelling him with his former ‘Mad Max’ moniker.

This disappointing result led to a ten-point swing in Norris’ favour, which is vital with just a handful of races to go.

A swansong victory for ‘El Matador’

It was potentially a final win for Carlos Sainz in scarlet red as he drove a brilliant race to take a second win of the season. The Ferrari driver has been wanting ‘just one more win’ for the team before he departs for Williams for the 2025 season, and it seems as though his wishes came true.

Charles Leclerc, last-time winner in Austin, struggled to keep up with speedy Sainz. The 27-year-old capitalised on the skirmishes between Norris and Verstappen to claim P2, with Norris eventually passing the Monegasque for second position, strengthening his championship position by an extra three points.

Sainz on what could be his final win in red:

***“Everyone knew I wanted one more race win with Ferrari”***

Sainz has taken a much more aggressive position over the course of this season with a stunning victory in Australia following an appendicitis surgery just a few weeks prior. Although the Spaniard is over 50 points behind his teammate in the championship, his final season in red has definitely been his finest.

400 but not out

It was a soul-crushing way to commemorate Fernando Alonso’s 400th race in Formula One, as the 43-year-old retired from the race with brake issues on Lap 15. But even before any action had started, the Aston Martin driver’s milestone weekend was in danger as he missed his Thursday media duties due to an illness, which he recovered from by Friday for free practice.

Alonso doesn’t have the best luck when it comes to milestone Grand Prixs, retiring from his 300th race at the 2018 Canadian Grand Prix and at his 200th race in Malaysia in 2013.

The trajectory of Aston Martin has been extremely demoralising given Lawrence Stroll’s ‘five-year plan’ to make the Silverstone-based team into a championship-winning outfit. The team has failed to score points in the last two races now, with the most recent points finish coming in Singapore, courtesy of Alonso’s eighth-place finish. Whether the team can finish the season with a bang remains to be seen, especially with Adrian Newey joining the team early next year.

Final Race Classification

1 - Carlos SAINZ

2 - Lando NORRIS

3 - Charles LECLERC

4 - Lewis HAMILTON

5 - George RUSSELL

6 - Max VERSTAPPEN

7 - Kevin MAGNUSSEN

8 - Oscar PIASTRI

9 - Nico HULKENBERG

10 - Pierre GASLY

11 - Lance STROLL

12 - Franco COLAPINTO

13 - Esteban OCON

14 - Valtteri BOTTAS

15 - ZHOU Guanyu

16 - Liam LAWSON

17 - Sergio PEREZ

DNF - Alexander ALBON

DNF - Fernando ALONSO

DNF - Yuki TSUNODA