Ferrari wins again!! After dominating at Austin, Ferrari came to the Mexican GP looking to do the same. Although they just missed out on another 1-2 finish, Carlos Sainz dominated at the front and won the race. But the race could not have gone worse for Red Bull and Max Verstappen.
Ferrari wins again at the Mexican GP
Starting from pole position, Carlos Sainz was easily one of the favourites to win the race. The United States GP and the practice sessions before the Mexican GP proved that Ferrari had the race pace to win. But threat was expected from Max Verstappen and Lando Norris.
Off the start, Verstappen was able to get the jump on Sainz and take the lead. However, a safety car was deployed in the opening lap which prevented Max from extending his gap to Sainz. As the race resumed, Sainz immediately started to put pressure on Verstappen to take back the lead. On lap 9, Sainz executed an impressive overtake down the inside on turn 1 that gave him back the lead.
SMOOTH OPERATOR SAINZ SAILS TO VICTORY IN MEXICO!
Norris finishes in P2, with Charles Leclerc taking P3.#F1 #MexicoGP pic.twitter.com/YcXYNTJvt0
— Fastest Pitstop (@FastestPitStop) October 27, 2024
Thanks to Ferrari’s strong race pace, the Spaniard was able to pull away from Max to retain the lead. A couple of laps later, Lando Norris and Verstappen were so focused on their battle that they forgot about Leclerc who was right behind and was able to get ahead of them. After this move, it looked like it was going to be another 1-2 finish for Ferrari.
However, on lap 63, Leclerc lost rear group while being chased by Norris. This sent the Ferrari driver off the track on the final corner. But luckily he was able to recover and get back on track. However, he had lost the position to Norris.
At the end of the day, a double podium and a victory are still good results for Ferrari. After the Mexican GP, the Prancing Horses have taken 2nd place in the Constructors’ Championship from Red Bull.
Max Verstappen get “Outstanding Penalty”
After losing the lead of the race to Carlos Sainz on lap 9, Lando Norris was next in line, looking to get ahead of the Dutch driver. But Verstappen was not keen on letting his Championship contender through.
On lap 10, Norris had an opportunity to overtake while coming out of turn 4 and into the chicane. But Verstappen ran him straight off the track and into the grass. As the McLaren driver felt he was ahead at the apex before being forced out, he decided to stay ahead of Max.
“Outstanding penalty.”
😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/cdOh2nvyQM
— tami. (@Vetteleclerc) October 27, 2024
A couple of corners later, Max attempted to get past Norris down the inside, and once again, Max pushed Lando off the track. This warranted investigations from the FIA for both these incidents.
The FIA decided to give Verstappen a 10-second time penalty for forcing another driver off the track on turn 4. Later, the FIA gave another 10-second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage on turn 8. So a 20-second time penalty for Max Verstappen at the Mexican GP. During the race, F1 TV presented a graphic labelling Verstappen’s penalties as “Outstanding Penalties”.
After the race, Lando Norris gave his thoughts on Verstappen’s defence.
“I knew what to expect [from Verstappen]. This is not very clean driving in my opinion, but I avoided it and it was a good race.”
🚨 | The FIA has corrected Max Verstappen’s 10 second penalty for forcing another driver off the track.
He now also gets 2 penalty points added to his license (which brings him to a total of 6 over a 12 month period).#F1 #MexicoGP pic.twitter.com/K6GvMP1Zq1
— Fastest Pitstop (@FastestPitStop) October 27, 2024
The Red Bull driver ended up finishing the race in 6th, earning only 8 points while his Championship contender, Lando Norris scored 18 points. Verstappen’s lead in the Drivers’ Championship has now been cut down to 47 points.
Home Hero, Sergio Perez disappoints at Mexican GP
While the top 4 battled for the podium positions throughout the race, the home hero, Sergio Perez had a horrible race. His struggles started from Saturday when he got knocked out of the first qualifying session. He had to start all the way down in 18th position for Sunday’s Grand Prix. But given that he was in a Red Bull, the team expected him to fight his way up. But then, reality kicked in.
Perez could not have had a worse home Grand Prix. Right at the beginning, he got a 5-second penalty after starting outside his starting spot. Throughout the race, Perez was stuck battling with the mid-field teams such as VCARB, Sauber, and Williams. The Mexican driver ended up finishing 17th. This was the last position at the race as 3 drivers retired from the race.
Lawson overtook Sergio Pérez, and didn’t have the nicest of hand signals towards the Mexican driver as he went past him
😬#F1 #MexicoGP pic.twitter.com/gBZC1HtF3t
— Fastest Pitstop (@FastestPitStop) October 27, 2024
His teammate also did not have the best of races this weekend as mentioned above. But even with a 20-second penalty, Max managed to finish 6th. Perez could not even finish in the points.
Now, the question has to be asked: Should Red Bull retain Checo for its 2025 campaign? Please post your thoughts in the comments section below.
