5 Winners and 5 Losers from Mexico City

It was party time at Ferrari as Carlos Sainz secured his second win of the season and the Italian team’s second on the bounce in an enthralling Mexico City Grand Prix. But it wasn’t so fun for many of his rivals, including championship leader Max Verstappen. Lawrence Barretto picks out his winners and losers from the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez...

Winner: Carlos Sainz

Carlos Sainz delivered a masterclass of precision driving to dominate the Mexico City Grand Prix weekend from the very first lap of practice to the last lap of the race.

The Spaniard nailed two laps good enough for pole position in qualifying and while he lost the lead on the long drag down to Turn 1, he conjured up a superb move on Max Verstappen to retake P1 before driving away to take the win.

This is the first time he’s won more than once in a single season and comes after a P2 last time in Austin – having failed to finish higher than third in the previous 14 Grands Prix.

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO - OCTOBER 27: Race winner Carlos Sainz of Spain and Ferrari celebrates with his — Sainz secured his second win of the season in Mexico City

Loser: Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen arrived in Mexico City having won the last three races at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, but the chances of continuing that streak were low after what he described as a “useless” day of practice on Friday.

He delivered a sensational lap in qualifying to sneak second – and even briefly led, but then things started to go wrong.

Two successive incidents with title rival Lando Norris yielded two 10-second penalties that dropped him down the field. He could only recover to sixth and now leads by 47 points – the smallest gap since the Monaco Grand Prix in May.

EXPLAINED: Why the stewards decided to hit Verstappen with not one but two penalties in Mexico

Winner: Lando Norris

Ferrari’s supreme pace in Mexico meant Lando Norris’ hopes of a top-two finish looked bleak heading into the Grand Prix – but some smart racing against Verstappen gave him a shot at a very strong result.

The Briton piled on the pressure on Charles Leclerc, with the Ferrari driver making a mistake at the final corner to give up P2 and while the Monegasque nabbed fastest lap off Norris on the final tour, the McLaren racer still slashed 10 points out of Verstappen’s lead.

It was McLaren’s first podium in Mexico since Ayrton Senna finished third in 1991 and their 19th of the season – their biggest haul since 2007.

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO - OCTOBER 27: Second placed Lando Norris of Great Britain and McLaren talks to — Norris managed to cut Verstappen's championship lead by another 10 points, with 47 points now the gap

Loser: Sergio Perez

Sergio Perez’s home race in Mexico was an unmitigated disaster. The Red Bull driver was booted out of qualifying in Q1, as his team mate finished second quickest overall.

And while he showed impressive pace to rise up to the fringes of the top 10 in the opening stint, a collision with Liam Lawson caused damage to his sidepod and he faded to finish last of the classified finishers.

The Mexican has scored just seven points in three races and that low scoring streak has meant reigning world champions Red Bull have dropped to P3 in the constructors’ championship.

Winners: Ferrari

While Red Bull slide down the rankings, Ferrari are heading in the opposite direction with the Scuderia scoring their second successive double podium finish and back-to-back victories.

It’s their fifth win of the season, matching McLaren’s tally and leaving them just two short of Red Bull’s haul of seven.

They are now up to second in the constructors’ championship – 29 points behind McLaren with four Grands Prix and two Sprints to go.

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO - OCTOBER 27: Sergio Perez of Mexico and Oracle Red Bull Racing talks to the — Perez endured a nightmare home Grand Prix weekend

Losers: RB

RB were in contention to be top of the midfield in Mexico, echoing the strong form they displayed at the Mexican venue last year as Yuki Tsunoda looked strong across practice.

However, things started to unravel in qualifying when Tsunoda crashed on entry to the stadium section, bringing out the red flag and stopping team mate Lawson delivering a lap that would have been quick enough to reach Q3.

The race was equally challenging, with Tsunoda crashing out after a couple of seconds as Pierre Gasly squeezed Alex Albon who hit Tsunoda. Lawson clashed with Perez and Franco Colapinto and ended up P16.

Winner: Haas

Haas tightened their grip on P6 in the constructors’ championship as they scored their third double points finish of the season and fifth points-score in a row.

Kevin Magnussen drove a brilliant race to convert P7 on the grid into P7 in the Grand Prix for his best finish in more than two years (Bahrain 2022).

Nico Hulkenberg scored points for the eighth time this season and fourth time in a row if you include Austin’s Sprint. Collectively, they have pushed Haas 10 points clear of RB in the standings.

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO - OCTOBER 27: Yuki Tsunoda of Japan driving the (22) Visa Cash App RB VCARB 01 — Tsunoda crashed out at the race start

Loser: Fernando Alonso

Fernando Alonso’s 400th race weekend was not one to remember as he suffered his first DNF of the season.

The double world champion was running on the edge of the top 10 when the team told him to retire the car.

His last DNF came this time last year in Mexico City, the Spaniard retiring in similar fashion when he was called in to park the car in the garage.

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Winners: Pierre Gasly

Pierre Gasly ended a run of four races without a point as he finished 10th in the Mexico City Grand Prix.

The Frenchman qualified a strong eighth – in what was his second successive Q3 appearance – and while he didn’t have the pace to retain that spot, he showed enough performance in the updated Alpine to hold on in the top 10.