Mexican GP: Carlos Sainz wins as Max Verstappen hit with huge ...

Carlos Sainz took his first win in seven months after a dramatic grand prix which saw Max Verstappen pick up 20 seconds worth of penalties.

While polesitter Sainz’s race was relatively straightforward, behind him there was drama up and down the order with Verstappen tangling with title rival Lando Norris once again.

The Dutchman started the race in excellent fashion and led into Turn 1 but after a Safety Car caused by Yuki Tsunoda ended, Verstappen found himself vulnerable to a charging Sainz.

The battle with his former team-mate was but a sign of things to come as Verstappen and Lando Norris soon resumed their battle from last week’s United States Grand Prix.

Just as it was in Austin, it was Norris on the attack into Turn 4 but Verstappen did manage to keep it in the lines in his elbows-out defence of P3.

In an attempt to avoid contact, Norris cut the corner and came out ahead of the Dutchman who then proceeded to dive bomb down the inside of Turn 6 and send both drivers off the circuit.

It was a double move in quick succession which was viewed in a dim light by the stewards who handed Verstappen two 10-second penalties for his manoeuvres.

With such a hefty penalty, Verstappen was removed from win contention but even if he had avoided a time delay, the speed of both Ferraris suggested it was only ever going to end one way.

After some early aggression from team-mate Charles Leclerc, Sainz eventually pulled clear of the rest of the pack and led until the end of the 72-lap race. But while Leclerc looked on course to finish P2 and make it Ferrari’s first back-to-back one-twos since 2008, by lap 59, he had the McLaren of Norris in his rear view mirrors.

The two commenced battle but Norris’ job was done for him in lap 63 when Leclerc lost grip in Turn 17 and did incredibly well to avoid hitting the wall.

With the door open, Norris moved into P2 and set up a late chase to catch his former McLaren team-mate Sainz but the Ferrari man held on.

The action at the front end was not the only drama of the day with Tsunoda’s grand prix lasting just one turn as he made contact with Alex Albon in the opening stages. The Williams man was powerless to stop the crash with an Alpine on his right and Tsunoda on his left but Albon did not make it away unscathed either and also retired.

Sergio Perez picked up a penalty of his own with five seconds added due to the Mexican overstepping the mark on the starting grid. Perez later tangled with Liam Lawson, a man many expect will take Perez’s Red Bull seat, and the Mexican picked up damage in the tangle which compromised his race.

By the time Verstappen pitted and served his penalty in lap 28, it was only his team-mate and Lance Stroll behind him but the Championship leader began to climb up the order, making it to P9 by Lap 37.

Another man charging up the field was Oscar Piastri who looked to put his poor quali behind him by making it into the points but a gamble to go long on the mediums ultimately did not pay off and having pitted in Lap 41, the Australian was unable to catch Magnussen in seventh.

For the Mercedes, it was a familiar story of running behind the front-runners but George Russell picked up damage to his front wing and struggled with asymmetrical balance from that moment on.

More concerning for the Silver Arrows was that Lewis Hamilton, on the newer spec, could do nothing as Russell breezed past and the seven-time World Champion took a long time to catch his team-mate even with Russell’s damage.

For Norris, his podium meant he cut Verstappen’s Championship lead but the McLaren driver will have one eye over his shoulder at both Ferrari drivers with the Italian team the ones in form. With their double podium, Ferrari moved ahead of Red Bull in the Constructors’ Championship.

Haas enjoyed another excellent day with both Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg finishing in the points while Pierre Gasly rounded out the top 10.

Elsewhere, it was disaster for Fernando Alonso who marked his 400th race start with a mechanical retirement.

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