© Getty ImagesBulls Master Mexico With Double PodiumMax and Checo make history in Mexico with win and P3.
MaxVerstappenroaredtohisninthwinoftheyearwithapowerful,controlleddrivetovictoryattheMexicoCityGrandPrix,asSergioPérezputinabrilliantperformancetotakethirdplacebehindMercedes’LewisHamiltonandclaimtheTeam’sthirddoublepodiumfinishoftheyear.
Max Makes History With P1 In Mexico City© Getty Images
When the lights went out Max got a good start from third place on the grid and on the long run to turn one, he got a powerful tow from Hamilton. He drew alongside the Brit and as they went into the first corner he braked later and hung on around the outside to take the lead. His rise to the front was aided by Valtteri Bottas spinning out in his Mercedes midway through the corner after the Finnish polesitter was tagged by McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo.
The incident allowed Checo to slip through to third place ahead of AlphaTauri's Pierre Gasly, though the Mexican had to take evasive action to avoid Bottas.
Further back, AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda and Haas’ Mick Schumacher were involved in a collision and with the cars stranded at the side of the track the safety car was deployed. When racing resumed soon after, Max comfortably held his advantage as the safety car left the track and he quickly settled into his first stint.
By lap 19, the Dutch driver had pulled out an almost seven-second gap to Hamilton. Checo stuck close to the Mercedes driver, maintaining a two-second deficit as the race edged into the pit window for a one-stop race.
Max Leading The Home Race© Getty Images
At the end of a long first stint, Hamilton was the first to blink and he headed towards the pit lane at the end of lap 29. He took on hard tyres in a 2.4s stop and re-joined in P5, behind Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
The Monégasque driver made his visit to the pit lane on the next lap and then Gasly pitted from third place. That freed Hamilton and he began setting purple laps. On lap 32 he was 17 seconds behind second-placed Sergio.
Max then made his sole pit stop at the end of lap 33, taking on hard tyres in a rapid 2.2 seconds. That promoted Checo into the lead of his home grand prix, claiming history by becoming the first Mexican to lead a lap at his home race. When Max re-joined in second place, he was 7.5s clear of Hamilton in third.
Sergio extended his stint to the end of lap 40 and after a quick switch to hard tyres he returned to the track in third place, 9.9s behind Hamilton, but with tyres that were 11 laps newer. The Mexican quickly began to eat into the deficit and by lap 50 he was six seconds adrift of the Briton.
Checo Chasing The Lead On Mediums© Getty Images
At the front, Max was racing serenely towards the flag and on lap 53 he set the fastest lap of the race with a time of 1:18.999. That opened the gap to Hamilton to 13 seconds and the Dutchman then began to manage his pace as he marched to his 19th career win and his third in Mexico City overall – the most by any Formula One driver.
Behind him, Checo was furiously tearing through the gap to Hamilton and by lap 56 the Mexican was 2.8s behind the Mercedes driver. Over the course of the next 10 laps, he gradually reeled in the Mercedes and in a nail-biting finish began to exert strong pressure on the Hamilton.
But despite a speculative look to the outside of the Mercedes in turn four on the final lap, Checo couldn’t find a way past and Hamilton took second place ahead of the Red Bull Racing Honda driver who became the first Mexican to score a podium finish at his home race.
Checo Celebrating His Home Race Podium© Getty Images
Behind Checo, P4 went to AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly and the Frenchman’s well deserved 12 points put the Italian squad level with Alpine on 106 points in the battle for fifth place in the Constructors’ Championship.
Ferrari took fifth and sixth places with Charles Leclerc ahead of Carlos Sainz, while Sebastian Vettel took P7 for Aston Martin. Kimi Räikkonen scored four valuable points for Alfa Romeo with eighth place, ninth place went to Alpine’s Fernando Alonso and the final point on offer went to McLaren’s Lando Norris.
Max’s win means he now has a 19-point lead over Hamilton with four races remaining. The double podium finish means the team is now just a single point behind Mercedes in the Constructors’ Championship.
Mexico City Grand Prix 2021: Race
Checo Enjoying The Teams Celebrations© Getty Images
Down To Turn 1 At Mexico City© Getty Images
Nip and Tuck Through Turn 1© Getty Images
Max Claims Win In Mexico City© Getty Images
Checo Soaking The Home Race Atmosphere© Getty Images
The Bulls At Their Home Race In Mexico© Getty Images
Checo Working The Track On Mediums© Getty Images
Checo On Full Send At Home Race© Getty Images
Simply, Simply Lovely© Getty Images
Max Creates History With P1 Win© Getty Images
It was an incredible day for the team and also for the fans, to have Checo on the podium here in Mexico at his home Grand Prix was great.
“It was an incredible day for the Team and also for the fans, to have Checo on the podium here in Mexico at his home Grand Prix was great, so it couldn’t have been better. I knew the start was very important today, we were three wide at one point and I was on the more ideal race line so I could brake later and get into the lead.
After that I could do my own thing, the pace was very good today so I could just keep building and creating a gap, the pit stops were seamless and the car was good throughout the race which was crucial today. Checo, for the last few races has really picked it up, he’s been up there and he was really pressuring Lewis today towards the end. I’m still not thinking about that trophy, we’ll try again in Brazil and just keep pushing.”
Checo Makes History With Podium Finish© Getty Images
“This is a great result for my country, I really wanted more but unfortunately we didn’t get that. It was so messy in turn one so to avoid incident there was critical and then I wanted second place, but we didn’t get the chance because it is just so difficult to overtake around here. I was really close to getting Lewis but the Mercedes are so quick on the straight lines so I didn’t get a opportunity to go for it but I gave my best.
I could feel the fans energy when I was going through the stadium sector and I was thinking about how many people were here for me, I could actually hear the crowd when I was driving through Foro Sol. I wanted more but I am just very happy to be on the podium of my home country, the Mexicans were so happy today.
We are so competitive as drivers that when we finish third we aren’t happy but today I had to enjoy it, everyone who has been there since the start with me was there at the end of the race and that was an amazing moment for me. I think today we were the fastest Team but that is going to swing around for the remainder of the season, so we just have to keep our focus and keep pushing.”
Christian Horner Ready For Next Race© Getty Images
It was a flawless performance from the entire team, from drivers to pitstops to strategy to reliability, it was a really strong team performance.
“Today was a big race and a big team win. It was a flawless performance from the entire team, from drivers to pitstops to strategy to reliability, it was a really strong team performance. Max was phenomenal again today, he found some space at turn one, and I have to say Bottas was very fair and allowed him enough space, and Max made the most of it and was then able to control the race.
It’s the first time Honda have had a driver win nine races in a year, as Max was tied with Senna on eight, so that’s a great achievement for him and Honda. What a weekend it has been for Checo, the first Mexican to lead the home Grand Prix and first to finish on the podium, his third in as many races, is really special. He’s found his confidence in the car and his performances are getting stronger and stronger, it’s exactly what we were hoping for from him.
Next up is Brazil where it’s a sprint race and we still haven’t won a sprint race weekend yet. We saw how competitive Mercedes were this weekend, particularly in qualifying, so we are taking nothing for granted. There are still 107 points available, it’s a long way to go and there’s a lot of racing left.”
MexicoCityGrandPrixRaceTop10
| Position | Driver | Team | | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| Max Verstappen | Lewis Hamilton | Sergio Pérez | Pierre Gasly | Charles Leclerc | Carlos Sainz | Sebastian Vettel | Kimi Räikkönen | Fernando Alonso | Lando Norris |
| Red Bull Racing Honda | Mercedes | Red Bull Racing Honda | AlphaTauri | Ferrari | Ferrari | Aston Martin | Alfa Romeo | Alpine | McLaren |
