Max Verstappen won the Mexican Grand Prix, a tactical battle, the dullest race of the year, a triumph of speed and strategy by Red Bull, a personal milestone for the best driver in the world today, and more pain for Lewis Hamilton.
Verstappen’s triumph here at altitude inside Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez was the Dutchman’s 14th of a dominant season, putting him ahead of Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel, who won 13 each in 2004 and 2013 respectively.
He notched the record by rising above the tremors of the last few weeks, in which he and his team have felt vilified as a result of some bad accountancy that saw them fined £6million for breaching the 2021 cost cap.
Max Verstappen won the Mexican Grand Prix and in the process his 14th of the season
Red Bull had already been crowned the Contructors’ champions but sealed a P1-P3 finish
Sergio Perez finished on the podium at his home race for the second successive season
An ill-wind has blown their way, some of it fanned by Mercedes, who are still seeking revenge for Hamilton’s defeat in Abu Dhabi, so Verstappen and Red Bull were thrilled to stick up two-fingers at their detractors.
But, for Hamilton, the wait for a single victory goes on. He finished second after Mercedes’ tactics burned, a place ahead of Sergio Perez in the other Red Bull. George Russell was fourth for the Silver Arrows yet claimed the point for the fastest lap.
The die was cast early on. Theory had it that the longest run of the year into the first corner, of some 1,000 yards, would offer hope to those starting behind pole-man Verstappen by dint of the tow.
Verstappen was unstoppable in Mexico and proved himself the best driver in the world
Red Bull finished P1 and P3 in a dull affair in Mexico with Mercedes coming in P2 and P4
History backed up this school of thought: the last two editions of this race were won from third, last year by Verstappen.
But this time Verstappen, on soft tyres, turned the notion on its head. He charged off, showing a pace that Russell and Hamilton, on mediums, could not equal. He also braked late. Super late. He is now the master of the late brakers.
But why did Mercedes start on the slower mediums rather than press their claims at the one crucial point of the afternoon on soft rubber? Hamilton was at a loss to explain the choice, saying afterwards as he was heartily booed by the Red Bull faithful: ‘The Red Bulls were too fast and they had the better strategy. We should have started on the softs.’
A quiet race for Ferrari saw Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc finish in P5 and P6 respectively
Verstappen – on medium tyres – formed an unassailable lead over Lewis Hamilton on hards
By the end of lap one, Verstappen led by 1.3sec and all looked well set for victory in front of a noisy, passionate crowd that totalled 395,902 over the weekend.
In the early skirmishes Hamilton went past Russell as he ran over the kerbs. Perez, the local hero, overtook Russell, too.
Lap after lap, Hamilton kept Verstappen on his toes. The margin always stood at over one second and went up to just over two when Verstappen was chivvied along to extend his lead by race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase. On cue, Verstappen delivered, a sign of how he is driving like a Schumacher-esque machine.
The Mexican Grand Prix will be part of the Formula One circuit until at least 2025
There was an overwhelming support for Sergio Perez in the crowd as the sole Mexican driver
But, still, there was the faint idea that strategy could yet play into Hamilton’s hands if Mercedes managed a one-stopper (they did in Hamilton’s case, as it was to turn out) and Red Bull required a second re-shodding (they didn’t).
This is how it played out: Verstappen was complaining of his left front being dead moments before being summoned to the pits holding an advantage of 1.6sec over Hamilton to move on to mediums.
It was at the end of lap 25. The stop was good. Just 2.4sec. Hamilton, still out on the track, now led and calmly relayed to the pit wall that he felt comfortable on his tyres.
Hamilton could not gain on his rival after taking new tyres and by Lap 40 was nine seconds off
Both Mercedes drivers complained of the choice to take the hards with their rivals on mediums
Verstappen was not sitting so easy. ‘The shifts are f***** again,’ he exclaimed.
Hamilton was in after 29 laps and put on hards. He came out 5.7sec adrift of Verstappen.
It was now strategy versus strategy, a game of high speed chess which was initially difficult to call with certainty as it unfolded. How long and how well would the various tyres travel?
Meanwhile, in other news, Ferrari bungled Carlos Sainz’s stop. The press room broke out in mock applause. You wouldn’t trust the Italian team to make an espresso without dropping the cup.
Daniel Ricciardo sealed P7 for McLaren despite a 10-second penalty for causing a collision
Getting back to the battle at the front, by lap 40, Verstappen (mediums) led Hamilton (hards) by nine seconds, with Sergio Perez (mediums) 1.2sec further back but seven seconds ahead of Russell (hards, after a long first stint).
By lap 45, Verstappen’s lead was up to 10sec precisely. There was an inevitability about proceedings.
Nothing much was really happening out on the asphalt as Verstappen ruled. You could go for a snooze and miss nothing.
That was until Daniel Ricciardo tried ambitiously to thread his McLaren through on the inside of Turn 5 up against AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda. The Japanese driver momentarily went into the air, but drove back to the pits before retiring.
Fernando Alonso’s Alpine engine popped late on and a virtual safety car was introduced. It made no odds. The champion had done it, again, on this occasion by 15sec. And then he promised ‘more wins’ to come.
Fernando Alonso was forced to retire late on prompting the sole virtual safety care in the race
Yuki Tsunoda’s AlphaTauri was retired after a collision with Ricciardo damaged his front wing
