Dutch driver Max Verstappen (Red Bull) today won the Formula 1 Grand Prix of Mexico, setting a new maximum number of victories in the same season (16) and equaling Alain Prost’s 51 victories in the sport.
The records just keep tumbling @Max33Verstappen
An incredible 16th win of the season #F1 #MexicoGP pic.twitter.com/q9XrlRcmhr
– Formula 1 (@F1) October 29, 2023
In a race marked by the crash of the Dane Kevin Magnussen (Haas), which forced the race to be interrupted, Max Verstappen left the second placed, the British Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), at 13.875 seconds, with the Monegasque Charles Leclerc (Ferrari). ) in third place, at 23.124 seconds.
Magnussen’s accident occurred on the 33rd of the 71 scheduled laps, when the left rear suspension broke and threw the Dane’s car into the protective wall, forcing a new start.
At this point, Verstappen led comfortably after making a very strong start, from third position, until he took the lead and passed Leclerc on the inside of the first corner.
The Mexican Sérgio Pérez (Red Bull), who needed a good result in front of his own crowd, also started well, from fifth place, next to Leclerc and Verstappen.
However, Pérez tried to turn too early and was eventually hit by the Ferrari, which found itself pressured by the two Red Bulls and eventually had to give up, damaging his single-seater.
“I was between the two Red Bulls and couldn’t go anywhere. It was a shame. I’m discouraged that I finished the ‘Checo’ race, but I didn’t have any chance,” the Ferrari driver explained at the end. the boos from the home crowd.
More calmly, Sérgio Pérez admitted responsibility for the accident. “I consider it a racing incident. As drivers we took the risk. I ran and paid the price,” he said.
When the race was stopped, Verstappen took the opportunity to fit new hard tires (he was already the first to stop to fit hard tires on lap 18), which allowed him to drive to the end.
At the restart, Hamilton, who had fitted medium tyres, passed Leclerc, who had hard tyres, and maintained this position until the end.
Verstappen, already champion before this race, maintained an unprecedented pace, gaining over 13 seconds from the Brit in just 35 laps and breaking the record for victories in the same season, which has belonged to him since 2022.
The 26-year-old Red Bull driver has achieved 16 victories in 19 contested races this season, 51 in his career, the same as Frenchman Alain Prost and two of the 53 of German Sebastian Vettel, who occupies third place on the podium of the most victorious.
Unreachable, at least for the time being, are Michael Schumacher’s 91 and Lewis Hamilton’s 103.
“We are having an incredible season, the speed of the car was very good. Because of the red flag we couldn’t show the speed we had,” said the Dutch driver, who achieved 491 points, 251 more than second-placed Sérgio Pérez. .
Hamilton’s second place, which also set the best lap of the race, allowed the Briton to close in and is now 20 points behind the Mexican, with three races remaining until the end of the season (Brazil, Las Vegas and Abu Dhabi).
Spaniard Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) finished fourth, ahead of Briton Lando Norris (McLaren), who started from 14th at the restart, dropped to 17th and ultimately finished more than half a minute behind the winner. A performance that earned him the prize for driver of the day.
Australian Daniel Ricciardo (Alpha Tauri) scored points for the first time this season and finished seventh, just 0.550 seconds behind Britain’s George Russell (Mercedes).
Among the constructors, Red Bull, which is also champion, has 731 points, compared to Mercedes’ 371 and Ferrari’s 349.
The Brazilian GP will follow next weekend, which will feature a sprint race on Saturday and the main race on Sunday.
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Source: DN
