Another Mexican Grand Prix is in the books, another Max Verstappen victory at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez and, for the second year in succession, the Mexico City track has played host to the Dutchman securing a new record for victories in a single Formula 1 season. Really, Verstappen won two races last Sunday – the 71-lap GP effectively split in two almost equal parts by Haas driver Kevin Magnussen’s big crash. Once again, Verstappen looked effortlessly better than the rest. But is there a case to be made that Verstappen might have had to work harder had just a few things gone differently in what ultimately turned out to be his fifth Mexican F1 win? Was there a rival who could have beaten him on the day?
Well, at least four drivers had the chance to put pressure on the eventual winner. But, for various reasons, all were thwarted. Which isn’t to say Verstappen contributed little to his success, for this was a day when he repeated his magnificent start from 2021 here. This time, the long run to Turn 1 allowed him to pass two Ferraris instead of a Mercedes duo, and he stole the lead beautifully on the inside line at the first corner rather than the outside. And this was exactly where his first potential rival fell.
Perez: goes for home glory, crashes out
As good as Verstappen’s first start was last Sunday, it wasn’t even the best example from a Red Bull driver. That came from his teammate, home hero Sergio Perez. He started fifth after yet another underwhelming qualifying session, but immediately made amends, reacting to the lights going out, in front of his adoring home crowd, in just 0.23 seconds. This was 0.02s up on Verstappen.
That got Perez immediately ahead of Daniel
