Max Verstappen wins the Mexico GP at a canter, ahead of Lewis Hamilton in second and Sergio Perez in third. The home crowd had plenty to cheer about, with Sergio Perez becoming the first ever Mexican on the podium at the Mexican GP.
Max Verstappen Wins in Mexico
It was a dream start for Verstappen, who said after qualifying, that third is the best place to start, and he certainly proved that to be true. He picked up a very handy slipstream from Valtteri Bottas. Then he took the long way round both Mercedes to take P1.
After turn one on lap one, it was a dream race for Verstappen. He was able to waltz off into the distance doing his own thing. He didn’t even have to worry about losing the lead due to the dominant nature of the win.
Max Verstappen wins in Mexico, extending his championship lead to 19 points. Can Lewis Hamilton turn that around? It’s looking increasingly unlikely with each passing race. Despite a torrid race for the Silver Arrows, they hold a slender point advantage in the Constructors’ Championship.
Valtteri Bottas Nightmare
After an unforgettable Saturday, it was a Sunday to forget for Valtteri Bottas. Daniel Ricciardo clipped him in turn one, spinning the Finn around. Both drivers ended up at the back of the pack and Bottas just couldn’t pass Ricciardo.
Things went from bad to worse for Bottas. Coming into the pits on lap 42, he was stationary for 11.7 seconds. The stop was reminiscent of the disastrous one in Monaco earlier in the season. Bottas’ race was a frustrating one, looking at the back of Ricciardo’s car for the majority of proceedings.
With six laps to go, Mercedes took the decision to call Bottas in for softs, to steal the fastest lap. Although he won’t get the bonus point as he finished outside the top 10, it was still vital. It took a point away from Max Verstappen and Red Bull to minimise damage in both championships.
They then couldn’t make an impression, being caught up with leader Verstappen (a lap behind). They had to bring Bottas in again to try and get ideal position for the fastest lap, which they did secure.
Lewis Hamilton Left Frustrated
After seeing his rival take the lead at turn one from one place behind, it was a painful race for Hamilton. He was losing half a second a lap to Verstappen in the opening exchanges and could never get close to the Dutchman.
In similar fashion to the USGP, a battle between Mercedes and Red Bull went down to the final lap. Lewis Hamilton, the hunter in America, became the hunted in Mexico to Sergio Perez. Thankfully for Lewis, like Max in America, he was able to hold onto the position under pressure on the final laps.
Driver Reaction:
Max Verstappen was full of praise for the fans: “It’s incredible. Having Checo as a teammate coming here to Mexico is amazing. The fans here are incredible. They love F1.”
Lewis Hamilton limited the damage to Verstappen: “I gave it absolutely everything, even had a great fight with Sergio. I’m really grateful to at least get second. I really enjoyed the race still.”
Sergio Perez was left wanting more to reward his home fans: “Obviously I wanted more, today I wanted to get the 1-2 for the team. I wanted to give my heart for the people; I could actually hear them when I was going through here!”
Final Classification:
🏁 RACE CLASSIFICATION 🏁
It's another solid performance for Verstappen 💪#MexicoGP 🇲🇽 #F1 pic.twitter.com/hHdXt9pILm
— Formula 1 (@F1) November 7, 2021
Main Image Credit: Embed from Getty Images
