Automobile / Formula 1. Max Verstappen wins the Mexican Grand Prix ahead of Lewis Hamilton
Dutchman Max Verstappen (Red Bull) won the Mexican Grand Prix on Sunday, round 18 of 22 this season in F1, and increased his lead in the world championship over Briton Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), 2nd.
Sergio Pérez (Red Bull), 3rd, became the first Mexican to reach the podium in front of his home crowd. The French Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri) and the Monegasque Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) complete the Top 5.
For Verstappen, third on the grid behind poleman Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) and Hamilton, everything was decided at the start. Taking advantage of the aspiration offered by his predecessors to reach their level at the end of the first straight line, the Dutchman delayed his braking as much as possible and took control from the first corner.
In the process, Bottas, less well off, was hit at the rear by the Australian Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren). After spinning, the Finn found himself at the end of the pack, far from the Top 3 made up of Verstappen, Hamilton and Pérez. With Red Bulls being much faster, the leader was able to quietly widen the gap.
The general classification of the Mexican GP
1. Max Verstappen (NED / Red Bull-Honda) 305.354 km in 1 h 38: 39.086 (average: 185.716 km / h)
2. Lewis Hamilton (GBR / Mercedes) at 16.555
3. Sergio Pérez (MEX / Red Bull-Honda) at 17.752
4. Pierre Gasly (FRA / AlphaTauri-Honda) at 1: 03.845
5. Charles Leclerc (MON / Ferrari) at 1: 21.037
6. Carlos Sainz Jr (ESP / Ferrari) 1 lap
7. Sebastian Vettel (GER / Aston Martin-Mercedes) 1 lap
8. Kimi Räikkönen (FIN / Alfa Romeo Racing-Ferrari) 1 lap
9. Fernando Alonso (ESP / Alpine-Renault) 1 lap
10. Lando Norris (GBR / McLaren-Mercedes) 1 lap
11. Antonio Giovinazzi (ITA / Alfa Romeo Racing-Ferrari) 1 lap
12. Daniel Ricciardo (AUS / McLaren-Mercedes) 1 lap
13. Esteban Ocon (FRA / Alpine-Renault) 1 lap
14. Lance Stroll (CAN / Aston Martin-Mercedes) at 2 laps
15. Valtteri Bottas (FIN / Mercedes) at 2 laps
16. George Russell (GBR / Williams-Mercedes) 2 laps
17. Nicholas Latifi (CAN / Williams-Mercedes) 2 laps
18. Nikita Mazepin (RUS / Haas-Ferrari) 3 laps
Let’s give up:
Mick Schumacher (GER / Haas-Ferrari): collision, 1st lap
Yuki Tsunoda (JPN / AlphaTauri-Honda): collision, 1st lap
Esteban Ocon finished 13th
It was more complicated for Hamilton: with eleven laps to go, Pérez got back on his feet, hoping to take second place and valuable points in the championship. But the Mexican did not succeed. Another consolation for the Briton, his teammate Bottas, 15th, deprived Verstappen of the point of the best lap in the race.
The classification of the World Championship
1. Max Verstappen (NED) 312.5 pts
2. Lewis Hamilton (GBR) 293.5
3. Valtteri Bottas (FIN) 185
4. Sergio Pérez (MEX) 165
5. Lando Norris (GBR) 150
6. Charles Leclerc (MON) 138
7. Carlos Sainz Jr (ESP) 130.5
8. Daniel Ricciardo (AUS) 105
9. Pierre Gasly (FRA) 86
10. Fernando Alonso (ESP) 60
11. Esteban Ocon (FRA) 46
12. Sebastian Vettel (GER) 42
13. Lance Stroll (CAN) 26
14. Yuki Tsunoda (JPN) 20
15. George Russell (GBR) 16
16. Kimi Räikkönen (END) 10
17. Nicholas Latifi (CAN) 7
18. Antonio Giovinazzi (ITA) 1
19. Mick Schumacher (GER) 0
20. Robert Kubica (POL) 0
21. Nikita Mazepin (RUS) 0
Spaniard Carlos Sainz Jr (Ferrari) finished 6th, ahead of German Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin), Finn Kimi Räikkönen (Alfa Romeo), Spaniard Fernando Alonso (Alpine) and Briton Lando Norris (McLaren) ) which completes the Top 10.
German Mick Schumacher (Haas) and Japanese Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri) were forced to retire in the first lap after clashing with French Esteban Ocon (Alpine), who finished 13th. F1 travels to Brazil, to Interlagos, from next week, on again favorable ground, a priori, to Verstappen and Red Bull.
