Max Verstappen is unstoppable in Mexico and sets two records
Max Verstappen has won the Mexico City Grand Prix, his fourteenth Formula 1 victory of the year. The unstoppable Red Bull driver, who has already secured his second world title, now holds the record for most Grand Prix victories in one season.
He overtakes the Germans Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel, who each won thirteen times in a Formula 1 season. But it doesn’t stop there.
Max Verstappen also takes over Hamiton’s points record
The 25-year-old Verstappen also clinched seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton’s points record with his 34th Grand Prix victory. The Brit collected a total of 413 points in 2019, Verstappen came up with 416. The current season has two more races after Mexico.
Verstappen had the longed-for start at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. On the long straight, he was able to pick up enough speed from pole position to be first into the corner. Lewis Hamilton followed in his Mercedes and overtook his teammate George Russell. The Mexican crowd hero Sergio Pérez also overtook the Mercedes driver and moved up to third place in his Red Bull. This order after the first round remained until the end.
A terrific seventh double podium of the season 🏆🏆#MexicoGP pic.twitter.com/Th9NnDD9UB
— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) October 30, 2022
Verstappen changed the tires once on the high-altitude track and drove confidently to victory. It was the fourth time he won in Mexico. Hamilton finished second, 15 seconds back, with Pérez crossing the finish line 18 seconds back.
To drive fast
The Dutchman had to drive fast after that perfect start to keep Hamilton from staying too close behind. He prevented the Brit from opening his DRS to generate extra speed. That only just worked in the early stages because his arch-rival was driving a fast Mercedes. By the time the first pit stops after around 25 laps, Hamilton was 1.5 to 2 seconds behind.
After the tire change, the race was actually already decided. The Limburger kept his tires under control in the thin air and was able to gradually pull away from Hamilton, who also made a pit stop, but could not match the speed of the Dutchman. The seven-time world champion struggled most notably with Pérez, who was constantly hot on his heels but still unable to attack in front of tens of thousands of mad Mexicans.
Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc’s Ferraris were not seen at the Mexico City race. They drove blandly around in fifth and sixth place and drove an average of one second per lap slower than Verstappen.