Max Verstappen had a strong start from the front row of the grid, taking the lead from pole-sitter Carlos Sainz on the long run to the first corner. Lando Norris had a good slipstream from the two leaders ahead of him, but there was nowhere for him to go and he had to settle into P3 for the first corner. Sainz cut across the grass in the second corner, having been forced wide by Verstappen. He gave the lead back to Verstappen, not wanting to get a penalty for gaining an advantage.
Further back, Yuki Tsunoda attempted to make a brave move on the outside of the first corner. He was overtaking Alex Albon on the run to the corner, hanging right on the edge of the grass. Pierre Gasly moved slightly to the left in the braking zone, causing Albon to clip the rear wheel of the RB. This spun Tsunoda into the barriers, ending his and Albon’s race. The safety car was deployed.
There was further misfortune further down the grid, as home-favourite Sergio Perez was given a five-second penalty for a false start. He had parked too far forward outside of his grid slot. It’s a shame, as he managed to gain five positions down the main straight after an excellent start.
The race resumed on lap 7 with Verstappen still in the lead, but it was short-lived. Once the DRS was enabled, Sainz made a late lunge inside the first corner to take back the lead. He was so focused on the Red Bull in his mirrors that he nearly clattered over the kerbs in the second corner. Verstappen was livid over the team radio, expressing his frustration over an empty battery in his car.
This left the two championship rivals to fight over P2. With the championship battle heating up at last weekend’s United States Grand Prix, things were not about to cool down in Mexico. Norris put his car on the outside of Verstappen in turn 4, managing to get narrowly ahead at the apex but being forced wide by Verstappen. Norris cut across the grass to avoid a collision in turn 5.
The brawl continued into turn 7, with Verstappen making a reckless move up the inside of Norris, running both of them off the circuit. The Red Bull emerged ahead, but Charles Leclerc had already capitalized on the clash, promoting himself up to P2. The stewards, who were heavily criticized for not taking action in Austin, handed Verstappen two ten-second penalties: one for forcing a driver off the circuit and another for leaving the track and gaining an advantage.
Driving standards are likely to be a hot topic in weeks to come, particularly the “ahead at the apex” style of racing we have become accustomed to in Formula One over the past few years. The FIA has already vowed to revise the regulations, hoping to make changes before the end of the season.
The fourth corner turned out to be an area that would keep the stewards very busy. Perez tried to dive inside of Liam Lawson, but the RB rookie kept his foot planted and held the inside in turn five that followed. The two drivers touched, shedding some carbon fibre from the Red Bull side pod. This put Perez under pressure from Lance Stroll, who attempted to go around the outside of turn four the following lap, but was forced wide through the grass by Perez. The stewards noted both incidents, but no action was taken.
During all of this, Fernando Alonso parked his Aston Martin in the pit box, retiring from the race. This is certainly not how the Spaniard had hoped to spend his 400th grand prix, which is a record in Formula One history.
Back at the front, Verstappen was the first of the leaders to pit on lap 27, also serving his 20 seconds’ worth of penalties and rejoining in P10. Norris pitted on lap 31 and Leclerc responded by pitting the following lap to cover off any potential of an undercut. Norris hadn’t made much inroads on the Ferraris when he was stuck behind Verstappen on the opening stint. Sainz pitted from the lead after his teammate, his team denying his request to extend his stint further.
The second half of the race was less chaotic compared to the first half, but battles were brewing. Norris was slowly making progress in chasing down the Ferrari of Leclerc and both Mercedes drivers were permitted to race each other.
It was the battle for P2 that materialized first, as Norris came within DRS range of Leclerc with around ten laps remaining in the race. The pressure was mounting and Leclerc suffered a huge moment of oversteer when applying the power in the final corner. It took an amazing amount of car control to keep the Ferrari out of the barriers, but it cost him P2.
The Mercedes battle was closer, with the two teammates more or less in a race of their own in P4 and P5. Lewis Hamilton spent ten laps right on the gearbox of his teammate. It was a hard-fought but fair battle that ended with Hamilton taking P4 on the outside of the first corner on lap 66.
The Mercedes cars being so far behind allowed Leclerc to take a free pit stop on the penultimate lap to take away the fastest lap, but it was not uncontested. Perez, who was running at the back of the field, also pitted for a chance at the fastest lap. Despite setting his personal best lap of the race, Perez was unable to set the fastest lap.
But it was Carlos Sainz who earned the big prize of the weekend, getting to stand on the top step of the podium in front of the Mexican crowd. Lando Norris managed to close the gap to Max Verstappen on his quest to win the World Drivers’ Championship. A P3 for Charles Leclerc was enough to promote Ferrari to second in the World Constructors’ Championship ahead of Red Bull.
With the championship battle now at a boiling point, the season moves on to Brazil next week. The Brazilian Grand Prix will be held on November 3.
| Pos. | Driver | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 25 | ||
| 2 | 18 | ||
| 3 | 16 |  | |
| 4 | 12 | ||
| 5 | 10 | ||
| 6 | 8 | ||
| 7 | 6 | ||
| 8 | 4 | ||
| 9 | 2 | ||
| 10 | 1 | ||
| 11 | |||
| 12 | |||
| 13 | |||
| 14 | |||
| 15 | |||
| 16 | |||
| 17 | |||
| DNF | |||
| DNF | |||
| DNF |
| 1 | M. Verstappen | 362 |  | |
| 2 | L. Norris | 315 | -47 | |
| 3 | C. Leclerc | 291 | -71 | |
| 4 | O. Piastri | 251 | -111 | |
| 5 | C. Sainz | 240 | -122 | |
| 1 | McLaren | 566 | | |
| 2 | Ferrari | 537 | -29 |  |
| 3 | Red Bull | 512 | -54 |  |
| 4 | Mercedes | 366 | -200 | |
| 5 | Aston Martin | 86 | -480 | |
