GP Mexico 2024: Easy victory for Sainz, “fire” in the constructors’ championship

A fantastic Carlos Sainz took victory at the Mexico City Grand Prix, leaving Lando Norris behind, with the other Ferrari, that of Charles Leclerc, climbing to the third step of the podium, setting fire to the constructors’ championship, as the Italian team rose to second place, closing in on McLaren.

It was the Spanish driver’s 4th career victory for the Italian team and 2nd in 2024, and he sealed it despite losing the lead to Max Verstappen at the red lights. The Dutch Red Bull driver made a stunning start and initially moved into first place, but Sainz grabbed the position back on lap 9.

The drama unfolded in the following laps as Verstappen battled hard with title rival Lando Norris, with the Red Bull driver’s moves penalized by the stewards with two 10-second penalties.

The Verstappen-Norris battle allowed Charles Leclerc to move up to second and from there the Ferrari duo enjoyed an unassailable lead. However, in the latter stages of the race, Norris’s performance picked up significantly and he managed to overtake Leclerc and take 2nd place – after a big moment for the Monegasque at the final corner of the Autodromo Hermanos Rodríguez circuit.

From that point, Norris tried to close the gap on Sainz, but the Briton saw the checkered flag nearly 5s later than the Spaniard. Behind Leclerc were the two Mercedes drivers, with Lewis Hamilton finishing 4th and George Russell 5th, with the two having a multi-lap battle that eventually saw the seven-time world champion emerge victorious.

After the 20-second penalties, Verstappen made a recovery effort and could only manage to cross the finish line in 6th place on a difficult day for Red Bull as his teammate managed no better than 17th and last place in his hometown race.

Moving on, it was a stunning Sunday for Haas as Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg finished 7th and 9th respectively, adding significant points to the American team.

Oscar Piastri finished between them, with the McLaren driver qualifying despite starting 17th on the grid, while Pierre Gasly took the final point for Alpine, rounding out the top 10.

Race guide

What a weekend for Carlos Sainz in Mexico City. Yesterday, his first pole position of the season and today a great move by Max Verstappen for his second win of the year. His days at Ferrari may be coming to an end, but the Spaniard is certainly showing them what they will be missing out on when he leaves for Williams in 2025. This also brought him the public vote as driver of the race.

More specifically, the 30-year-old Spaniard collected 27.2% of the votes, followed by Lando Norris (12.3%), Max Verstappen (9.2%), Franco Colapinto (8.1%), and Charles Leclerc (7.4%).

Fastest lap

Charles Leclerc set the fastest lap of the race, and took the extra point. The Monegasque stopped the clocks in 1:18.336 on the 71st and final lap of the race, with Sergio Perez following on the same lap with a time of 1:19.209. Next was Liam Lawson with a 1:19.502, Lando Norris with a lap of 1:19.691, and Oscar Piastri with a 1:20.064.

Next match

Without any interruption, Formula 1 continues its journey on the other side of the Atlantic and from Mexico it is moved a little further south, as the next Grand Prix will be held in Brazil and the Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace circuit in Interlagos, São Paulo, between 1 and November 3.

Results

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