Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen continued to dominate on Sunday to take the win at the 2023 Formula 1 Mexican Grand Prix.
It was the 2023 world champion's 16th win of the season, which is a new F1 record (Verstappen also held the previous record of 15, which he set last season). The new record is the second set by Verstappen this season; he also set the record for consecutive wins, racking up an impressive 10 wins earlier in the year.
Second place in the race held at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez went to Mercedes-Benz AMG's Lewis Hamilton, followed by Ferrari's Charles Leclerc in third.
Red Bull's Sergio Perez crashed out on the first lap, while McLaren's Lando Norris drove brilliantly to finish fifth after starting 17th on the grid. Another standout performance came from AlphaTauri's Daniel Ricciardo who finished seventh. It was only his second race following a wrist injury that caused him to miss several races.
Sunday's race started with Leclerc on the pole position and teammate Carlos Sainz joining him at the front of the grid. Verstappen was behind and made brilliant use of the slipstream effect to pull ahead of the Ferrari drivers and take the lead by the first corner. Perez, starting fifth, also attempted to pass the Ferrari drivers and in the chaos made contact with Leclerc and ran off the track. Damage to his car ended the race for Perez.
Lewis Hamilton at the 2023 Formula 1 Mexican Grand Prix
Verstappen then started to build a gap, but on lap 19 his tires were fading and he came into the pits, returning in seventh place behind Mercedes' George Russell. With fresh tires, Verstappen was able to easily pass those ahead of him and by lap 31 was in the lead again following Leclerc's decision to pit.
The race then looked set until a couple laps later when Haas' Kevin Magnussen suffered a suspension failure that caused him to veer off the track in Turn 8 and slam hard into the barriers. The safety car was called out, at which point Verstappen came into the pits.
The race was soon red-flagged due to debris on the track and the damaged barriers. It finally resumed 20 minutes later with a standing start, and Verstappen pulled away immediately while Leclerc was slowed trying to fend off Hamilton. Leclerc eventually lost second place to Hamilton on lap 40 and failed to recover the lost spot by the end of the race.
Following the weekend's action, Verstappen's unbeatable tally in the 2023 Drivers' Championship grows to 491 points. Perez remains in second with 240 points and Hamilton is third with 220 points. In the Constructors' Championship, Red Bull, which has already won this year's title, sits on 731 points. Mercedes is second with 371 points and Ferrari is third with 349 points.
The next race on the calendar is the Brazilian Grand Prix this coming weekend.
2023 Formula 1 Mexican Grand Prix
Below are the full results from the 2023 Formula 1 Mexican Grand Prix:
1) Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
2) Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-Benz AMG +13.875 seconds
3) Charles Leclerc, Ferrari +23.124 seconds
4) Carlos Sainz, Ferrari +27.154 seconds
5) Lando Norris, McLaren +33.266 seconds
6) George Russell, Mercedes-Benz AMG +41.020 seconds
7) Daniel Ricciardo, AlphaTauri +41.570 seconds
8) Oscar Piastri, McLaren +43.104 seconds
9) Alexander Albon, Williams +48.573 seconds
10) Esteban Ocon, Alpine +62.879 seconds
11) Pierre Gasly, Alpine +66.208 seconds
12) Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri +78.982 seconds
13) Nico Hulkenberg, Haas +80.309 seconds
14) Zhou Guanyu, Alfa Romeo +81.676 seconds
15) Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo +85.597 seconds
16) Logan Sargeant, Williams – DNF
17) Lance Stroll, Aston Martin – DNF
NC) Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin – DNF
NC) Kevin Magnussen, Haas – DNF
NC) Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing – DNF
