Carlos Sainz wins Mexico GP amidst drama; Norris narrows title gap to Verstappen
Mexico City — In a thrilling Mexico City Grand Prix, Carlos Sainz seized a dominant victory, marking his fourth win in Formula 1. Despite initially losing the lead to Max Verstappen, the Ferrari driver rebounded spectacularly to reclaim his position.
Sainz briefly ceded the lead to Verstappen during an eventful start. However, by Lap 9, Sainz had reclaimed the top spot. The race then took an intriguing turn as Verstappen became embroiled in a contentious battle with title rival Lando Norris, resulting in Verstappen receiving two 10-second penalties for his aggressive maneuvers against the Briton.
This allowed Charles Leclerc to slot into second, leading to a commanding drive by the Ferrari duo at the front. However, the steady race pace was interrupted in the latter stages when Norris managed to overtake Leclerc after the Monegasque driver went wide.
Norris then set his sights on Sainz, but time was not on his side. The McLaren driver ultimately settled for second place, 4.7 seconds behind Sainz. The result still marked a strong showing for Ferrari, with Leclerc securing the final podium position. Behind the leading trio, Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell engaged in a late-race tussle, with Hamilton ultimately coming out on top.
Max Verstappen, despite his penalties, delivered an impressive recovery drive to finish sixth, capping a challenging day for Red Bull. Haas had a fruitful outing, with Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg finishing seventh and ninth, respectively. They were split by Oscar Piastri of McLaren, who made an impressive climb from P17 to finish eighth. Pierre Gasly rounded out the top ten for Alpine.
Aston Martin's Lance Stroll crossed the line in 11th, followed by Alpine's Esteban Ocon in 12th. Williams driver Franco Colapinto initially placed 11th but was demoted to 14th following a 10-second penalty for causing a collision with Liam Lawson in the race's closing stages. Valtteri Bottas of Kick Sauber finished 13th, with Zhou Guanyu in 15th.
Lawson ended his race in 16th for RB, while Sergio Perez endured a disappointing home Grand Prix, finishing as the last classified driver in P17.
Fernando Alonso's landmark 400th Grand Prix weekend ended in retirement, adding to the casualty list, which included Alex Albon and Yuki Tsunoda. Both drivers were forced out of the race after an opening-lap collision that saw Tsunoda crash out at Turn 1, with Albon's Williams soon retiring.
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