Max Verstappen, the champion from Red Bull, secured a remarkable 16th Formula One win in a single season at the Mexican Grand Prix on Sunday, surpassing his own record of 15 victories set in the 2022 season.
This achievement adds to the list of records for the Dutch driver, who earlier in the season established a new milestone with 10 consecutive F1 wins, surpassing the four-time champion Sebastian Vettel, who has since retired.
“We are experiencing an incredible season, the pace of the car was very, very good,” Verstappen remarked.
Although Verstappen began the race in Mexico from the third position, he had a remarkable start and overtook pole-sitter Charles Leclerc of Ferrari to take the lead.
During a standing restart following a red flag period caused by a significant crash involving Kevin Magnussen of Haas, Verstappen had no trouble keeping Leclerc at bay.
“We attempted a different strategy from everyone else, but due to the red flag, we couldn’t showcase it,” the race winner noted.
Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton finished in second place, while Leclerc completed the podium in third.
Hamilton expressed his gratitude to the enthusiastic crowd, saying, “A big thank you to this incredible crowd, I love coming to this city. This is a great result considering we started sixth, it’s been a difficult couple of weeks, and to bounce back from last week – well done to the team.”
Verstappen clinched his third consecutive title earlier in the month at the Qatar Grand Prix, and Red Bull secured their second consecutive constructors’ championship. Both driver and team have dominated the season.
However, Sergio Perez, in the other Red Bull car, did not have the same successful season as his teammate and faced a significant setback in his home race.
The Mexican driver attempted to take advantage of the rivalry between Leclerc and Verstappen at the start but collided with the Ferrari and was sent into the air.
Perez returned to the pits immediately, but the mechanics soon realized that the car was beyond repair, and he was forced to retire in front of his home crowd.
“I had nowhere to go, I was between the two Red Bulls, and unfortunately, I touched Checo, but I had nowhere to go. It’s life, of course I’m disappointed, but I didn’t do it on purpose, and I had nowhere to go,” Leclerc said.
The race was halted for approximately 25 minutes on lap 34 after Magnussen’s crash. The driver was unharmed, but his car sustained heavy damage and needed to be recovered.
Carlos Sainz in the other Ferrari finished fourth, with Lando Norris of McLaren right behind in fifth. Norris had an exceptional race, climbing through the grid after starting in 17th place.
George Russell of Mercedes took sixth place, followed by Daniel Ricciardo in seventh, while Oscar Piastri in the other McLaren, Alex Albon of Williams, and Esteban Ocon of Alpine completed the top 10.
Formula 1’s next destination is São Paulo for the Brazilian Grand Prix on November 5.
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