Carlos Sainz wins Mexican Grand Prix as penalties for Max Verstappen cut into championship lead

(CNN) — Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz won his second race of the season and the fourth of his Formula One career on Sunday, taking the checkered flag first at the Mexican Grand Prix.

The Spaniard qualified on pole position, but initially lost the race lead to Drivers’ Championship leader Max Verstappen, who started second. He was forced to wait for his opportunity in the opening laps as a collision between Williams’s Alex Albon and RB’s Yuki Tsunoda brought out a safety car.

However, Sainz snatched his chance on lap nine as he drove down the inside of Verstappen’s Red Bull to move up to P1 and did not look back. The rest of the race was relatively comfortable for the 30-year-old as all of the drama unfolded behind him.

“It’s incredible to see this crowd, I’ve been feeling their support all week,” he said in his post-race interview. “I feel like I have a lot of fanbase here in Mexico and they gave me a lot of strength to do the weekend that I’ve done.”

Sainz is currently fifth in the drivers’ standings, with the win adding to the victory he took in Australia earlier this year. He is set to leave Ferrari at the end of this season, with the Italian team confirming in February that he would be replaced by seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton in 2025. Sainz later announced that he will be driving for Williams next season.

“Honestly, I really wanted this one. I really needed it also for myself – I wanted to get it done,” the Spaniard said. “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!”

McLaren’s Lando Norris came home to take second place, with the Brit involved in a couple of chaotic moments.

Norris qualified third and closed up to the back of title rival Verstappen after Sainz had taken the lead. He attempted to overtake the Dutchman on lap 10, but Verstappen took a very wide line at Turn 4, forcing Norris onto the grass.

The McLaren driver came out in front of the three-time champion after cutting the corner before the pair clashed again. Verstappen attempted to retake P2 going into Turn 8 but ran wide again, this time taking both drivers off the track as Sainz’s teammate Charles Leclerc scampered past both drivers into second.

Both incidents were investigated by the stewards, with Verstappen being handed two separate 10-second penalties for forcing a driver off the track and leaving the track and gaining an advantage.

He served the penalties during his pit stop on lap 27, as Red Bull mechanics stood by the car for what felt like an eternity as they waited for the 20 seconds to expire before servicing the car.

This removed Verstappen from podium contention and he eventually finished the Grand Prix in sixth place.

Norris said after the race that he “knew what to expect” from the Dutchman and described his rival’s driving as “not very clean,” though the championship leader was keen to move on.

“At the end of the day, if you agree with it or not, it doesn’t matter because the penalties are given,” said Verstappen. “That was also honestly not my biggest problem of the race, my biggest problem was that we just had no pace. Just struggling a lot on the tires, couldn’t really attack, and I couldn’t follow Ferrari and McLaren.”

Norris overtook Leclerc for second late on in the race, as the Monegasque driver had a huge wobble at the final corner that almost sent him into the barriers. Leclerc did take P3 to secure Ferrari’s second double-podium in as many weeks.

With the result, Norris now trails Verstappen by 47 points, having started the day 57 behind. With only four races left in the season, McLaren and Norris will need a few more races to swing heavily in their favor if they are to succeed in unseating Verstappen as World Drivers’ Champion.

The race did have a significant impact on the Constructors’ standings, however – Ferrari is now second behind McLaren as Red Bull’s Sergio Pérez failed to score points at his home Grand Prix.

F1 caps off a triple-header with the Brazilian Grand Prix this Sunday in São Paulo.

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