Dutch Formula 1 driver champion Max Verstappen made history when he defeated Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes driver and former world chmpion to win the Mexican Grand Prix on Sunday. This triumph came after an exciting strategic duel at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
Verstappen, who already has the world championship, finished ahead of Hamilton, and Sergio Perez, his teammate from Red Bull.
The young Dutchman now holds the record for the most victories in a single Formula One season, surpassing Sebastian Vettel and Michael Schumacher, who each had 13 victories in 2004. (2013)
Red Bull picked a soft-medium tyre strategy at the circuit for Max and won the race by about 15 seconds over Hamilton, who was left to wonder why Mercedes switched their starting pair of mediums for hard tyres.
Perez gave the home crowd something to cheer about in third after making a late attack on Hamilton, while Mercedes’ George Russell, who started behind his teammate, finished well behind in fourth.
Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc finished in fifth and sixth place, respectively, ahead of Daniel Ricciardo of McLaren, who surged to seventh late in the race on soft tyres and maintained that position despite receiving a 10-second time penalty for a collision with Yuki Tsunoda. Ferrari had a lacklustre race.
After Fernando Alonso of Alpine retired late, Esteban Ocon finished eighth. Lando Norris of McLaren and Valtteri Bottas of Alfa Romeo, who was unable to match his qualifying performance, completed the points.