On Sunday, at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City. Formula One World Driver’s Championship leader Max Verstappen extended his lead to reigning Champion Lewis Hamilton to 19 points with just four races to go in the 2021 season.
The Red Bull star took the lead from Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas on turn 1 and never looked back onto his 11th win of the season. He only briefly lost his lead when he pitted on the 34th lap of the Grand Prix, giving teammate Sergio Perez the lead of the race. Perez became the first Mexican driver to lead a lap in the Mexican Grand Prix, which he did until lap 41 when he pitted for new tires.
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Although, this was no sure thing that the Red Bull drivers would dominate the race. On Saturday during qualifying, Mercedes had their first front-row lockout of the 2021 season (after having 12 in the 2020 season) on a track that typically favours the Red Bull machinery. Bottas has a great first lap in Q3 of qualifying with a 1:15.875 to take pole position. Teammate Lewis Hamilton had a scorcher of his own with a 1:16.020 putting him 2nd on the grid. The result was shocking as Red Bull dominated free practise 2 and 3 and the early going of qualifying on Saturday. With Red Bull’s Verstappen and Perez locking out the 2nd row with times of 1:16.225 and 1:16.342, respectively.
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The rest of the grid lineup like so: Pierre Gasly (Alpha Tauri), Carlos Sainz (Ferrari), Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren), Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin), Kimi Raikkonen (Alfa Romeo), Antonio Giovinazzi (Alfa Romeo), Fernando Alonso (Alpine), Nicholas Latifi (Williams), Mick Schumacher (Haas), Nikita Mazepin (Haas), George Russell (Williams), Yuki Tsunoda (Alpha Tauri), Lando Norris (McLaren), Esteban Ocon (Alpine), and Lance Stoll (Aston Martin). The latter five started from the back because they each had penalties for their engine or gearbox.
The thrill of Bottas’ surprise pole position was brief as Verstappen swooped around the outside of both Mercedes into turn 1 of the opening lap. Then things got even worse for Bottas. He was taken for a spin by McLaren’s Ricciardo, causing Bottas to be spun and facing the wrong direction and a dangerous obstacle in between turns 1 and 2 for opposing cars. Thankfully everyone in this incident was left uninjured, Bottas able to rejoin after the dust had settled. The mayhem didn’t end there, though, as the Alpha Tauri of Yuki Tsunoda was sent in the air sideways and landing on the bollard. After bumping with Alpine’s Esteban Ocon, who slowed down to avoid colliding with Bottas further down the grid between turns 1 and 2 as well. Tsunoda wasn’t the only victim, as the Haas of Mick Schumacher had to retire as well because the other side of Ocon clipped him. These incidents caused a lap 1 safety car to be deployed. So that Tsunoda and Schumacher’s cars could be removed from the track.
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Bottas pit stopped for hard tires during the safety car period, and Ricciardo pitted for hard tires and a new front wing. The racing Stewards opted not to take any action over the lap 1 incidents. The safety car lasted until lap 5, when Verstappen then started the race back up. Verstappen led comfortably and by lap 21 had built a seven-second lead over rival Hamilton in second. By lap 27, the other Red Bull Perez was within two seconds of Hamilton. Mercedes decided to pit Hamilton on lap 30.
On lap 34, Verstappen pitted, giving Perez the lead of the race. Setting the Mexican fans into an eruption of cheers as Perez became the first Mexican driver to lead a lap in the Mexican Grand Prix. Verstappen regained the lead on lap 41 when Perez pitted for hard tires. Hamilton was then sandwiched between the two Red Bulls again, exactly nine seconds between each driver. Verstappen took hold of the fastest lap on lap 52. On lap 60, Perez was just one second behind Hamilton and began his attack.
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Hamilton struggled to lap Lando Norris, preventing him from taking advantage of the Drag Reduction System (DRS) on the straights to help his defence against Perez, who used DRS. Ultimately in the final eleven laps of the race, Perez was unsuccessful in trying to overtake Hamilton. Although he would still break a record, becoming the first Mexican driver to get on the podium in a Mexican Grand Prix.
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Pierre Gasly would have a calm and relaxed drive into fourth place, cementing himself as one of the most consistent drivers on the grid and a typical lock for a top 6 finish. The Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz would finish in that order in P5 and P6. With Ferrari briefly ordering Leclerc to let Sainz pass in an attempt to take a run at stealing P4 away from Gasly. Ultimately, providing null and the drivers exchanging places before the checkered flag. Ferrari also took over sole possession of P3 in the Constructor’s Championship after being tied with McLaren. Apart from the battle for P1, this will be the closest battle heading into the season’s final races.
Sebastian Vettel, Kimi Raikkonen, and Fernando Alonso finished P7, P8, and P9, respectively. They were giving fans a reminiscent old-school finish. Raikkonen is entering the final four races of his career after announcing he will retire at the end of the season. He was able to have one last battle with the two other elder statesmen on the grid. Rounding out the points was one of the youngest drivers on the grid Lando Norris. He had an incredible drive considering he started P18 due to an engine penalty.
With five laps remaining, Mercedes’ Bottas attempted to take the fastest lap and was going to until Verstappen held him up. Then, heading into the stadium section of the track, causing Bottas to abandon and pit for new tires and another attempt. Finally, Bottas was able to do on the race’s final lap, and he set a new track record with a 1:17.774.
The rest of the grid finished like so: P11 Giovinazzi, P12 Ricciardo, P13 Ocon, P14 Stroll, P15 Bottas, P16 Russell, P17 Latifi, P18 Mazepin, DNF Schumacher, DNF Tsunoda.
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The next Grand Prix is on November 12-14 in Brazil. It will be critical to both World Championship, as will every race here on out as Mercedes leads Red Bull by one point and Verstappen leads Hamilton by 19.