Carlos Sainz wins Mexico GP as Lando Norris and Max Verstappen renew hostilities
Carlos Sainz started the Mexican Grand Prix on pole and had the pace in his Ferrari to convert it into his second win of 2024, but the main incident was another furious duel between Lando Norris and Max Verstappen
by Daniel Moxon · The MirrorCarlos Sainz secured a second Ferrari victory in as many Sundays as Lando Norris again clashed with "dangerous" title rival Max Verstappen.
Seven days on from their furious fight in Austin, when Norris lost ground to his title rival because of a penalty picked up while they duelled, it took just a handful of racing laps of the Mexican Grand Prix for them to be at each other's throats again.
Sainz secured his second victory of the season, despite having lost the lead to Verstappen on the first lap. But he quickly got back ahead, leaving the Red Bull racer with title-chasing Norris on his tail.
And that was when the fireworks went off. Verstappen braked late to force the Brit off track before they both went wide again a few corners later as the championship leader did everything to keep his nearest challenger behind.
"This guy is dangerous," bellowed Norris over the radio, furious at Verstappen's antics. And the stewards concurred, slapping the triple F1 champion with 20 seconds worth of penalties for two separate infringements. "That is fine, then," was his sarcastic reply to being informed of that punishment.
Their battle opened the door for Charles Leclerc to move past both of them while the squabbled. Both Norris and Verstappen had predicted Ferrari would have the strongest race pace anyway and they were proven right as both red cars sped off into the distance. But Norris did catch up to Leclerc late on and swept past when the Monegasque lost control and almost crashed with nine laps to go.
When Verstappen headed to the pit lane for a tyre change, he was stationary for so long that he lost places to Norris, both Mercedes cars and the yet-to-pit pair of Liam Lawson and Oscar Piastri.
It was a wretched day for Red Bull in general. Verstappen finished sixth and lost ground to Norris in the drivers' title race, while home hero Sergio Perez's weekend went from bad to worse. He qualified down in 18th and immediately picked up a penalty of his own for starting ahead of his slot on the grid.
The under-pressure 34-year-old then suffered damage as he battled with potential replacement Lawson and finished a long way off the points. Another impressive Ferrari showing saw the Italians leapfrog Red Bull into second place and underlined their status as serious contenders for the constructors' title.
It was also a day to forget for Fernando Alonso, whose 400th F1 race entry ended just 16 laps in with Aston Martin concerned about a brake cooling issue. Team-mate Lance Stroll finished outside the top 10, meaning the Silverstone-based squad left Mexico City empty handed.
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