Mercedes' front-row wall proves no deterrent for Max Verstappen, who surged into the lead on lap one and then ran away with the race; Lewis Hamilton races well to second and stay ahead of the second Red Bull of Sergio Perez, who still sends Mexican crowd wild with first home driver podium
By James Galloway
Last Updated: 07/11/21 9:51pm
Max Verstappen secured a dominant win in the Mexico City GP to take a potentially significant victory in his quest to end Lewis Hamilton's reign as world champion, opening his title lead to 19 points with four races to go.
Hamilton just held off Sergio Perez, Verstappen's team-mate, for second place against a clearly-faster race car but first and third still represented a big comeback result for Red Bull after they were surprisingly outqualified by Mercedes on Saturday.
Verstappen made light work of the Valtteri Bottas-Hamilton front row by strongly slipstreaming past both on the outside at the start, decisively claiming a lead he never relinquished outside of the pit stops.
He won by 16.5s for a record third victory in Mexico and a ninth win of a 2021 season where the momentum increasingly looks to be with the 24-year-old Dutchman in his blockbuster fight with Hamilton for the drivers' crown.
"You just have to congratulate Red Bull because their pace was on another level," said Mercedes boss Toto Wolff to Sky F1. "In the end for Lewis' championship, it was damage limitation."
Hamilton said: "Congratulations to Max, their car is far superior this weekend and there was nothing we could really do about it."
To compound first-lap matters for Mercedes, polesitter Bottas was spun around into the first corner by McLaren's Daniel Ricciardo which dropped him to the back of the field.
A delay at his second pit stop then dropped the luckless Bottas conclusively out of points contention, although one solace for Mercedes was that the position at least allowed them to complete an inconsequential late pit-stop for fresh tyres to take the fastest lap bonus point away from Verstappen.
Four to go: How it stands in the title chases
| Drivers' | Points |
| 1) Max Verstappen | 312.5 |
| 2) Lewis Hamilton | 293.5 |
| Constructors' | |
| 1) Mercedes | 478.5 |
| 2) Red Bull | 477.5 |
That also kept them ahead of Red Bull in the Constructors' Championship, although the gap is down to a single point with races in Brazil, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi to come in the next five weeks.
Perez ran longer than Hamilton before his sole pit stop but could not quite make his tyre advantage count to secure Red Bull a one-two. Nonetheless, to the absolute delight of the huge local crowd, he became the first Mexican to finish on the podium at his home event in the 21 editions of the race stretching back to 1963.
AlphaTauri's Pierre Gasly took a brilliant fourth ahead of the Ferraris, who briefly switched the order of their drivers late on to try and put pressure on the Frenchman. But it was to no avail; the previous order was put back with Charles Leclerc in fifth ahead of Carlos Sainz.
However, it was still a good day for the Scuderia as with McLaren scoring only one point with Lando Norris, who raced back well from a penalised 18th on the grid, the Italian team reclaim third in the Constructors' Championship.
Former world champions Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin), Kimi Raikkonen (Alfa Romeo) and Fernando Alonso (Alpine) raced solidly across the 71 laps to improve on their starting positions and all take home useful points.
Mexico City GP Result: Top 10
1) Max Verstappen, Red Bull
2) Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
3) Sergio Perez, Red Bull
4) Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri
5) Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
6) Carlos Sainz, Ferrari
7) Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin
8) Kimi Raikkonen, Alfa Romeo
9) Fernando Alonso, Alpine
10) Lando Norris, McLaren
'It could be a defining moment in the championship'
If there ends up being a single weekend that encapsulates the unpredictable twists and turns of an engrossing season, then perhaps it will go down as this one at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
Dominant on Friday, but downbeat by the end of Saturday, Red Bull capped the ultimate Mexico rollercoaster by delivering the kind of front-running form they were always expected to show on a circuit that has historically suited their car and engine's strengths.
Although disappointed to miss out on pole, Verstappen said that the third place he was starting in was actually better than had he been second where Hamilton was.
The opening seconds of the race underlined that belief, as he took the tow of the two ahead.
"It was a brave, brave move around the outside of the Mercedes'," said Sky F1's Jenson Button. "He knew where to brake, he'd been braking there all through the weekend, and it was a lot easier on the racing line.
"But he had the confidence to turn in and know they were not going to tap him on the rear. It was a great move and it could be a defining moment in this championship."
Sure-footed on the brakes to claim the lead, a victorious Verstappen said afterwards: "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."
More to follow…
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2021-11-07 21:01:26Z
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