Hannah Ifri
Carlos Sainz claimed his fourth career victory at the Mexican Grand Prix, thrilling a packed audience at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. Despite the early chaos of lap one, which saw him briefly lose his lead to Max Verstappen, the Ferrari driver maintained commanding control over the race, ending Verstappen’s winning streak on this iconic track. Impact’s Hannah Ifri has the full story.
This weekend’s Grand Prix unfolded at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City, the highest-altitude circuit on the F1 calendar at over 2,200 metres above sea level. The track’s thin air presents unique challenges, affecting car performance and placing extra demands on cooling systems, making it a formidable test for both drivers and engineers.
Local hero Sergio “Checo” Pérez faced investigation for a jump start
The race opened dramatically with an early retirement for Yuki Tsunoda, who collided with Alex Albon, bringing out the safety car for a few laps as the track was cleared. Meanwhile, local hero Sergio “Checo” Pérez faced investigation for a jump start in front of his home crowd, resulting in a five-second penalty. As racing resumed, Verstappen initially led with the fastest lap, while Sainz fought his way back to reclaim the lead.
With Sainz creating a comfortable seven-second gap ahead of Verstappen, an intense battle unfolded between Norris and Verstappen, culminating in two separate clashes. Verstappen received penalties totalling 20 seconds, allowing Charles Leclerc to slip past both drivers into second place.
The penalty saw Verstappen, who started in P2, fall to P15, though he began climbing back through the field. In the midfield, Oscar Piastri, who had an uncharacteristic P17 start after missing Q1 for the first time this season, found himself racing behind Williams rookie Franco Colapinto, who was making only his fifth F1 start.
Verstappen made a determined recovery
Verstappen made a determined recovery, overtaking Lawson, Piastri, and Magnussen to ultimately finish P6, securing six points towards his World Drivers’ Championship lead. After this race, he leads by 47 points over runner-up Lando Norris. In the Constructors’ Championship, McLaren holds a slim lead, while Ferrari’s recent resurgence has pushed them past Red Bull to claim second place. With a strong 1-2 finish last week in Austin, Ferrari now trails McLaren by just 29 points, keeping their championship hopes alive heading into Brazil.
As Piastri was instructed to pursue Verstappen, Norris set his sights on overtaking Charles Leclerc for second place. This quickly unfolded as Leclerc spun off track, nearly causing both drivers to exit the race.
In an intense final phase, Mercedes permitted their drivers to battle without restrictions, resulting in a thrilling 12-lap duel. Lewis Hamilton ultimately claimed P4, executing a skilful overtake on George Russell along the inside line, though they both remained over 40 seconds behind the third-place finisher.
With only two laps remaining, Carlos Sainz held a 4.7-second lead over Norris and crossed the finish line to win the Mexican Grand Prix. His teammate, Charles Leclerc, clinched the DHL Fastest Lap, while Sainz was awarded Driver of the Day.
Next week, the drivers head to Brazil to conclude the Americas’ triple-header.
Hannah Ifri
Featured image courtesy of Zu Photography via Unsplash. Image use license found here (Unsplash). No changes were made to this image.
In article image 1 courtesy of @f1 via Instagram. No changes were made to this image.
For more content including uni news, reviews, entertainment, lifestyle, features and so much more, follow us on Twitter and Instagram, and like our Facebook page for more articles and information on how to get involved.
For further sports content and ways to get involved, follow @ImpactSport on Twitter and Instagram, and like the Impact Sport Facebook page!
