Carlos Sainz has sealed an assured victory within the Mexico Metropolis Grand Prix, the Ferrari driver bouncing again after initially shedding the result in Max Verstappen to attain a shocking fourth win in Method 1.
Verstappen had initially moved into first place throughout an eventful begin, however Sainz snatched the place again on Lap 9. Drama then unfolded within the laps that adopted as Verstappen engaged in a scrap with title rival Lando Norris – resulting in Verstappen receiving two 10-second penalties for his strikes on the Briton.
That melee allowed Charles Leclerc via into second, and from there the Ferrari duo loved a largely unchallenged drive on the entrance – till Norris managed to chase Leclerc down within the latter phases and take second place after a large second for the Monegasque.
Whereas Norris tried to chop into Sainz’s lead, the Briton in the end ran out of time and needed to accept second as his former workforce mate claimed the win by 4.7s. Leclerc made it a double Ferrari podium in third, forward of the Mercedes pair of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, the seven-time world champion successful out in a late-race intra-team struggle.
After that 20-second penalty, Verstappen put in a restoration drive to cross the road in sixth on what was a troublesome day for Crimson Bull. Behind him, it was a greater Sunday for Haas as Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg ended the occasion in seventh and ninth respectively.
