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Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz secured an emotional victory at the Mexico City Grand Prix after Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, the current Formula One leader, received two penalties for clashes with title rival Lando Norris, finishing in sixth place.
McLaren’s Norris, who described Verstappen as “dangerous” during the race, claimed second place, reducing Verstappen’s championship lead from 57 points to 47, with just four races left in the season.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc finished third after being overtaken by Norris with nine laps remaining, preventing Ferrari from securing a one-two finish.
However, Leclerc did earn a bonus point for the fastest lap. The win marked Ferrari’s first victory in Mexico since 1990 and was the fourth win of Sainz’s career.
“I really wanted to win this one. I needed it for myself. I said I wanted one more win for Ferrari and to do it here with this mega crowd is incredible,” said Sainz, who will be leaving for Williams at the end of the season.
Verstappen, after receiving two 10-second penalties, had to fight back from 15th place despite starting in second position alongside pole-sitter Sainz. Though Verstappen had dominated previous races in Mexico, winning five of the last six editions, he has now gone 10 races without a win. However, he remained unfazed.
“The biggest problem that I have is that today was a bad day in terms of race pace,” said Verstappen.
Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell finished fourth and fifth after a spirited duel in the race’s final stages.
Kevin Magnussen secured seventh for Haas, while Nico Hulkenberg finished ninth, with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri taking eighth.
Alpine’s Pierre Gasly claimed the final point by finishing 10th, closing the gap to Williams in the battle for seventh in the constructors’ standings.
McLaren still leads the constructors’ championship, holding a 29-point advantage over Ferrari.
Verstappen initially took the lead from Sainz on the first straight but quickly lost it again after the safety car period ended on lap six.
Sainz reclaimed the lead three laps later using DRS. He ultimately finished 4.705 seconds ahead of Norris, while Leclerc was 34.387 seconds behind after a late pit stop for fresh tires to secure the fastest lap.
Verstappen was at the centre of controversy after being penalised for forcing Norris off the track during their battle, continuing tensions from their previous encounter in Texas.
“I was ahead the whole way through the corner,” said Norris over the team radio after being forced off at turn four on lap 10. “This guy is dangerous. It’s the same as last time. I’ll be in the wall in a minute.”
They clashed again at turn seven on the same lap, and Verstappen was ruled to have gained an unfair advantage by leaving the track.
“I respect Max as a driver, but I was ready to expect something like this and this is not very clean driving in my opinion,” Norris said later.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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