Red Bull Motorsports
F1
Masterful Max Verstappen makes it a Mexican hat-trick
The Red Bull Racing Honda star won in Mexico for the third time in four visits to extend his World Championship lead, while team-mate Sergio Pérez joined him on the podium.
Before he became a bona-fide Formula One world championship contender, Max Verstappen always had an affinity for the Mexican Grand Prix. Back in 2017, the Dutchman took what was just his third career victory at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodriguez and he added another for his fifth F1 win two years later.
But in 2021? The Verstappen who won Sunday's instalment of the race is a different driver altogether. The Red Bull Racing Honda star took his ninth victory of what is turning into a career-defining season, a 19th career win that extended his championship lead to 19 points. Mexico may have missed out on a spot on the 2020 calendar, but Verstappen hit the target again on its return to build a sizeable advantage with four races remaining this season.
There was plenty to cheer for the Sergio Pérez fans in attendance, too. A crowd of more than 372,000 packed the circuit across the three days and they headed into the Mexico City evening in a mood to party after their home hero finished third, the first time a Mexican driver has stood on the podium at his home Grand Prix.
Verstappen won for the third time in Mexico
© Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool
The return of the Mexican Grand Prix to the calendar didn’t produce a thrilling race – Verstappen comfortably led for 65 of the 71 laps, only ceding the lead to Pérez for six laps after making his sole pit stop for the race on Lap 34. But the Red Bull Racing Honda driver didn't mind that at all as the team clawed its constructors' championship deficit back to a single point due to Mercedes having just one car in the points. (Reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton finished second.)
Here's how an afternoon of crushing dominance played out for Verstappen in Mexico City.
Turn 1, job done for Max
That Verstappen won in Mexico again wasn't hard to envisage given his form at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodriguez in the past. How he got there, after Sunday's pleasure washed away Saturday's pain, was less expected.
Looking to be a nailed-on favourite for qualifying after showing his pace in practice, Verstappen was only third on Saturday after Mercedes locked out the front row of the grid. Both the Dutchman and Pérez were left ruing their final laps being compromised after Yuki Tsunoda (Scuderia AlphaTauri) ran off the circuit in front of Pérez as a result of throwing up dust at an inopportune moment.
With the Autódromo Hermanos Rodriguez having the longest distance from the start to the first corner of any track this season (1,063 metres), action straight from the start was always likely and Verstappen was at the centre of that action as he braked late around the outside of the first corner, got into Turn 2 in the lead, and simply disappeared as chaos ensued behind him.
It was quite straightforward, so that was nice
Verstappen nailed the first corner, and wasn't seen for dust thereafter
© Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool
Pole-sitter Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) was clipped by the McLaren car of Daniel Ricciardo. After that the Finnish driver spun 180 degrees and Verstappen didn't need a second invitation to take advantage.
Once Verstappen got to the front, it seemed only a matter of what the final margin over the rest would be – and by the chequered flag, he had more than 16 seconds in his pocket over his pursuers.
"It was three wide and it was all about trying to brake as late as you can," Verstappen said of his first-corner move.
"I kept it on the track and went from the third to first, and that was basically what made my race. I could just focus on myself, and we had incredible pace in the car so I could do my own thing. It was quite straightforward, so that was nice."
Verstappen increased his championship lead for the third race in a row, which left Red Bull Racing Honda team principal Christian Horner in a far better frame of mind than he was 24 hours earlier.
"We're just delighted with that," Horner said.
"There's still a long way to go, but it's an important win. The start was crucial, and Max – he took the chance, he was left the space and he went for it. That was the decisive moment.
"We were pretty disappointed yesterday but with the benefit of the tow, we'd convinced ourselves it was the better place to be. But they still needed to make it work.
"Today has been a massive day. Yesterday was a bit of a surprise and it felt like we underperformed, but ironically it worked out pretty well for us."
Checo's history-making home run
It was nearly the picture-perfect afternoon for Red Bull Racing Honda under sunny skies in Mexico City, with Pérez just missing out on securing a first 1-2 for the team in 2021 after hunting down Hamilton late in the race with fresher tyres. But the Mexican played his part in helping the team get back onto almost even terms with Mercedes, and his third podium in a row showed that he's well and truly found his feet in his first year alongside Verstappen.
In the end, Pérez finished just over a second behind Hamilton, but was thrilled after a history-making afternoon where he became the first Mexican to lead his home GP and the first to stand on their home podium.
It was pretty enjoyable
Pérez threw everything at Hamilton in the closing stages
© Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool
"It's an unbelievable day," a near-speechless Pérez said afterwards, as the crowd chanted "Checo, Checo" and his family celebrated beneath the podium.
"Obviously I wanted more, I wanted to get the 1-2 for the team, but I didn't have a single chance to get through. Still, I gave my full heart for these people. I could actually hear them – it was pretty enjoyable.
"I was giving my best – if I'd even had a small chance I would have gone for it. I think today we were the fastest car, so we have to keep our heads down and keep pushing."
Horner felt that Pérez's impact on the season stretches far beyond what he's contributing to the team's trophy cabinet of late.
"Checo drove a great race today," Horner said.
"He's found his form the last three or four races, and that's just presenting us with so many more options. He's totally in tune with that, he's asking all of the questions of the car as well, and it's probably the best team spirit we've ever had in this team."
Gasly scored fourth, Tsunoda was squeezed out
A way behind the podium trio – a long way behind – was AlphaTauri's Pierre Gasly, who finished fourth to be the final car on the lead lap after a error-free performance.
The Frenchman was an assured fifth in qualifying, kept his nose clean on Lap 1 and finished 63 seconds behind Verstappen to bank 12 valuable world championship points, comfortably having the measure of Ferrari duo Charles Leclerc (fifth) and Carlos Sainz (sixth) over the 71 laps.
It was nice to drive the car so to finish P4, I'm extremely happy with that
Gasly had an assured run to a strong fourth place
© Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool
"The start was quite hectic and we had to go through the grass to avoid Sergio and a crash, but afterwards the pace was incredible," he said.
"The whole race was quite lonely but I could pull away from Ferrari quite smoothly – it was nice to drive the car so to finish P4, I'm extremely happy with that."
If Gasly's race was made at the first corner, team-mate Yuki Tsunoda's was ruined there – from ninth on the grid, he was the innocent victim of a series of cars trying to avoid Bottas' Mercedes stopped in the middle of the track and was hit by the Alpine of Esteban Ocon, ending his maiden race in Mexico after a matter of seconds.
Point denied, points gained
Bottas finishing 15th after qualifying on pole continued a curious tradition in Mexico, with the past four pole-sitters at the circuit not even finishing on the podium. But Bottas did take the fastest lap of the race on the final lap after being pitted for fresh tyres to steal a world championship point away from Verstappen, which was a small crumb of comfort after an afternoon that promised much more.
Elsewhere, Daniel Ricciardo's first-lap incident and failure to score points in 12th – allied with Lando Norris finishing just 10th for McLaren – saw Ferrari leapfrog the British team into third in the constructors' championship, after Leclerc and Sainz combined to score 18 points for the Scuderia.
New name, old favourite
The full-throttle run to the end of the season – the final four races come in just five weeks – continues as F1 returns to the Autódromo José Carlos Pace for the São Paulo Grand Prix (November 14), rebranded from the Brazilian Grand Prix as part of a new five-year contract with Formula One after missing out last year.
Also missing the undulations and atmosphere of Interlagos in 2020? That's Verstappen, who won the most recent race in Brazil in 2019 and has three podiums in five starts at the track, including one of his most memorable displays when he took third in atrocious conditions in 2016, a drive that marked him out as the star he was to eventually become.
Pérez almost shared the podium with his current team-mate on that sodden Sunday in 2016 by finishing fourth for Force India, while the Mexican fought from a lowly 15th in qualifying into the points with ninth at Interlagos last time out two years ago.
