MAX VERSTAPPEN has won the F1 Mexican Grand Prix to extend his F1 World Championship lead.
Valtteri Bottas led Lewis Hamilton in a one-two after qualifying but Verstappen managed to squeeze past both drivers at the start
And to make matters worse for Toto Wolff’s team, Valtteri Bottas spun after being tagged by Sergio Perez.
However the stewards have adjudged the move to be a racing incident and opted against punishing Perez in his home Grand Prix.
And Hamilton was almost pipped for second by the Mexican but crucially managed to hold Perez off for his World Championship campaign.
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PEREZ SUCCESS
Red Bull star Sergio Perez enjoyed tremendous success at the Mexico City Grand Prix.
Perez made history as he became the first Mexican driver to score a podium in his hometown.
The star driver was also named Driver of the Day.
More below:
TOTO WOLFF REACTS
“You have to congratulate Red Bull because the pace was just on another level.
“I don’t think we could have won the race even if we had stayed ahead in the first corner because they could have driven circles around the pit-stops.
“So in the end I think for Lewis’ [Hamilton] championship it was damage limitation, as for the constructor Valtteri [Bottas] spinning out Turn 1 was just very painful.
“I don’t know what they did wrong in qualifying and the pace came towards us, but this is the pace we’ve seen on Friday. It’s worse than we had hoped, but we have to take it on the chin”
MEXICO CITY GRAND PRIX
Has there ever been a more epic podium entrance than this?
Take a bow Max Verstappen:
PEREZ REACTS
“It’s an unbelievable day.
“Of course I wanted more, I wanted to get a one-two for the team but I didn’t have a single chance to get through.
“I could hear the crowd coming through the stadium section, it was pretty incredible”
GETTY IMAGES VERSTAPPEN REACTS
“The crowd is incredible, having Checo [Sergio Perez] as a team-mate coming here to Mexico is amazing.
“The start? It was nice three wide and it was all about just trying to brake as late as you can.
“I kept it on the track, came from third to first and that was basically what made my race because I could just focus on myself, and we had incredible pace in the car.
“There’s still a long way to go [in the championship]. It’s of course looking good but also it can turn around very quickly.
“I’m looking forward to Brazil, I also have very good memories there”
GETTY IMAGES HAMILTON REACTS
“Firstly congratulations to Max [Verstappen], their car is far superior this weekend and there was nothing we could really do about it.
“I gave it absolutely everything and it was a great fight with Sergio [Perez] at the end, I was able to at least get second.
“It shows how fast their car is when Sergio is that close behind me and able to follow that closely.
“He did a great job and he was applying that pressure and just kept going… I really enjoyed the race still”
GETTY IMAGES MEXICO CITY GRAND PRIX
Two Red Bull stars make the podium with Verstappen winning the race and Perez finishing third.
Hamilton made it to second place in a difficult track for Mercedes as Bottas only managed 15th place due to an unlucky start.
Gasly and Leclerc complete the top five
LAP 71/71
Bottas achieves the fastest lap, which means Mercedes do take some comfort.
That also leads to a point’s deduction for Verstappen, which means his championship lead is now 19 points.
Four more races remain!
LAP 71/71
Hamilton manages to finish second with over 16 seconds behind Verstappen.
Perez makes history as he becomes the first Mexican driver to score a podium here
MAX VERSTAPPEN WINS MEXICO CITY GRAND PRIX!!!
Verstappen completes an amazing performance at the Mexico City Grand Prix!
The Dutchman dominated the entire race even though he started third!
LAP 70/71
Final lap!
Perez needs to dig deep as it is now or never.
Hamilton still holds on!
LAP 69/71
Just two more laps to go!
Verstappen leads by over 16 seconds with Hamilton fighting hard to prevent a Red Bull one-two!
Perez is just over a second behind him
LAP 68/71
Hamilton clocks up a personal best.
The Mercedes star’s most realistic goal here is second place
LAP 67/71
Verstappen is leading by a whopping 19 seconds at the Mexico City Grand Prix.
Meanwhile, his Red Bull team-mate Perez is just two seconds behind second-placed Hamilton.
And Sainz as well as Gasly are fighting for fourth place
LAP 65/71
Mercedes have just pitted Bottas again in order to put soft tyres.
The Finn will be going for the fastest lap in order to take it off Verstappen
LAP 64/71
Hamilton continues as he say, “”The car is getting so hot… It’s overheating.”
Meanwhile, Perez backs off a bit as the dirty air is doing his tyres no good
LAP 62/71
Another concerning message by Hamilton who says, “Tyres are giving up”.
The British star was temporarily stuck behind Norris but immediately moved past him
LAP 61/71
The Mexico City crowd are on their feet as Perez is closing the gap with Hamilton as we are set for the final 10 laps.
The message from Red Bull is clear: “Pace is good, tyres are good, battery is good. Let’s get him”
LAP 58/71
Hamilton issues a concerned message as he informs through the radio that the “tyres are wearing”.
This is while, Perez cuts the distance to 1.5 seconds
LAP 57/71
Ferrari have made the swap!
Ferrari wanted Sainz to replace Leclerc because he has fresher tyres.
However, Gasly is 12 seconds ahead of them, therefore we’re talking about an ambitious plan here…
LAP 55/71
Oh boy, Perez is catching up to Hamilton.
The two drivers are only three seconds apart!
LAP 54/71
Ferrari have informed Leclerc to swap places with Sainz, who is sixth.
No response from Leclerc yet
LAP 53/71
Ricciardo and Bottas continue their rivalry as they battle for 12th place.
Meanwhile, it keeps getting better for Verstappen who clocked up his fastest lap
LAP 49/71
Verstappen is absolutely dominant with over 12 seconds separating him from second-placed Hamilton.
His Red Bull team-mate Perez is closing in with five seconds separating him from the British driver
Source: Motorsport - thesun.co.uk
