Spaniard Carlos Sainz picked up his second win of the season Sunday at the Mexico City Grand Prix, coming home in 1:40:55.800 to help Ferrari narrow its deficit in the Formula 1 constructors’ standings.
Sainz, who will move from Ferrari to Williams next year, won this grand prix by 4.705 seconds over title contender Lando Norris of Great Britain. Charles Leclerc of Monaco finished a distant third, but he and Sainz helped Ferrari move past Red Bull Racing for second in the team standings, 29 points behind McLaren as the season winds down.
“Honestly I really wanted this one. I needed it for myself, I wanted to get it done,” said Sainz, who won the Australian Grand Prix earlier this year and now has four grand prix titles to his name.
“I’ve been saying for a while I wanted one more win before leaving Ferrari and to do it here in front of this mega crowd is incredible. Now four races left I want to enjoy as much as possible, and if another one comes I will go for it.”
The drama between Norris and championship leader Max Verstappen continued as Verstappen received two 10-second penalties for aggressive moves while battling Norris for placement. The Dutchman finished the race sixth.
Last week at the U.S. Grand Prix in Austin, it was Norris who was penalized for completely driving off the track to pass Verstappen. On Sunday, Verstappen forced Norris off the track on the 11th lap and eventually fully drove off the track himself in order to pass.
“This guy is dangerous, I just had to avoid a crash. It’s the same as last time,” Norris told McLaren over the radio.
Norris is Verstappen’s closest challenger in the drivers’ standings, gaining 10 points on him Sunday to pull within 47. Verstappen is vying for his fourth straight F1 championship but hasn’t won a grand prix since late June.
“I just keep my head down,” Norris said. “I’m doing my best. We’re doing a good job as a team. We were probably quickest in the end. We keep our head down, that’s what I can do for now. Focus on ourselves, we keep pushing.”
–Field Level Media
