Max Verstappen expanded his figure as one of the greats of Formula 1 by establishing a new record for history: his 16 victories, with the one achieved in the Mexican GP, are the new record for most wins by a driver in a season, with a brutal effectiveness of 84.2% (16 in 19 races), shattering his own mark of 15 in 22 in 2022. And there are still three races left to raise the bar further...
An outrage that results in the overwhelming superiority of the Dutchman and his Red Bull, which once again saved all the unforeseen events.
The start couldn't have been hotter and more spectacular. With the two Ferraris starting from the front row -Leclerc on pole-, it was the Red Bull of Checo Pérez, starting from the fifth paint, who encouraged the start by sneaking in from the outside. The Mexican, the Monegasque and Verstappen entered the first corner in parallel from the right. Sainz stayed behind as a privileged spectator.
As it could not be otherwise due to the laws of physics, the three cars did not fit in the angle funnel and the Mexican's car was the one left over. He collided with Leclerc, who acted as a catapult, and ended up flying off the track. Checo's painful abandonment in his home grand prix.
Verstappen took control, insatiable, by taking the inside and braking later in the first corner. He was the smartest once again. The two Ferraris were greyhounds in pursuit, but very far from the start, 2.2s Leclerc and 3.3s Sainz on the fourth lap.
Leclerc's curse with pole positions was thus fulfilled: in the last 11 that he has had in his hands, he has not been able to convert any of them into victories. Since Australia 2022 he has not won a race starting first.
With Verstappen adding tenths of advantage to his red pursuers with each lap (4.3s he had already put on Leclerc in 15 laps and 7s on Sainz), the only animation came from Hamilton when he progressed from 6th to 4th place after overtaking to the surprising Ricciardo. The Englishman, with great pace, threatened Sainz's third position.
For his part, Alonso, who had started 13th on the grid, was wandering around in 16th position, even surpassed by his teammate Stroll, who had started from the pit-lane.
The pit stops were opened by Red Bull with Verstappen (v. 20/71), to cover an alleged undercut by Leclerc. Ferrari chose to give its two drivers maximum track time. Sainz stopped on lap 31 and reappeared on the track, losing position with Hamilton, who was already third, while Leclerc stopped a lap later and kept second place, although he was already a world away from the Dutchman, more than 16 seconds away. The race was sealed with 48 laps left…
When the Mexican GP was going to take the path of tedium, Magnussen broke the rear steering, crashed violently against the wall (v. 33/71), destroyed the Haas - the Danish driver was unharmed, without a scratch - and steering race declared a red flag to be able to fix the protections: the race was suspended and there would be a new start from the grid. "I don't understand this red flag," lamented Verstappen, who saw his ride towards his 16th victory halted.
It was a second chance for the Ferraris, Leclerc second and Sainz fourth, and for Hamilton, third, the only one with a medium tire among those in front.
Nothing changed in the second start, with the top four maintaining the same positions. The one who won the most was Russell, who rose from 7th to 5th place.
Mercedes went on the attack, to eat the Ferraris. Hamilton struck down Leclerc with the DRS (v. 40) and challenged himself to try to catch Verstappen, whom he had 3.5 seconds behind with 30 laps to go. It was soon seen that he would never reach the rear of the Red Bull under normal conditions: in just six laps the three-time champion had moved 6 seconds away... Race over: the Dutchman's 16th victory of the year was a reality.
Fernando Alonso ended his terrible Mexican GP with abandonment due to a breakdown on lap 48, when he was running last. It is the second consecutive race in which the Asturian retires, in a deep performance slump with Aston Martin (his last podium was in the Netherlands seven GPs ago).
