Sergio Perez lasts just 14 seconds in home race as Max Verstappen wins in Mexico

By Sports Desk October 29, 2023

Max Verstappen equalled Alain Prost’s tally of 51 victories with an emphatic triumph at the Mexican Grand Prix – as Sergio Perez’s home race came to a sorry end after just 14 seconds.

Verstappen’s remarkable winning sequence, which now includes a record 16 in one season, continued in the breathless Mexico City air following two pulsating starts after Kevin Magnussen’s high-speed crash resulted in a reg flag at the midway stage of Sunday’s 71-lap race.

Verstappen mastered both getaways to draw alongside four-time world champion Prost, with only Lewis Hamilton (103 wins), Michael Schumacher (91) and Sebastian Vettel (53) ahead of the all-conquering Dutchman in Formula One folklore.

Hamilton impressed to finish runner-up, ahead of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. Lando Norris drove from 17th to fifth, passing George Russell with four laps remaining on a strong afternoon for the Brit, in an event that Perez will want to forget.

As Verstappen sliced through the middle of pole-sitter Leclerc, and his Ferrari team-mate Sainz on the 830 metre charge to the opening bend, 130,000 Mexican hearts sank when an over-eager Perez crashed into Leclerc.

Perez, who started fifth, ran line astern with Leclerc and Verstappen as the trio stamped on the brakes from 200mph for the opening bend – and Perez, occupying the racing line, sensed his opportunity for glory. But his banzai move was badly misjudged.

The 33-year-old turned into Leclerc, and was sent airborne before landing back on four wheels and spinning into the run-off area. Perez limped back to the pits but the damage sustained to his machine left his race in tatters.

Perez banged his steering wheel with both hands in frustration. Children were left seeking comfort from their parents in the grandstands.

Perez’s Red Bull mechanics attempted a quick fix to get their man back on track. But after a handful of laps they conceded defeat. Perez departed his Red Bull cockpit to watch team-mate Verstappen gallop to victory.

Question marks hang over Perez’s future at Red Bull. He has one year to run on his deal, but the paddock is awash with rumours that he could be replaced next year.

Daniel Ricciardo is mooted as a possible candidate, and Perez’s first-corner disaster – coupled with the Australian out-performing his modest AlphaTauri machinery to take the chequered flag in seventh in just his fourth comeback race, will do little to dampen the speculation.

Perez last won a race in Azerbaijan on April 30, and his failure to finish at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez leaves his second place in the championship under threat from Hamilton. Indeed, the seven-time world champion reduced the gap from 39 points to 20 with his strong display.

For Verstappen, this was his 32nd victory – remarkably the same tally double world champion Fernando Alonso has managed throughout his entire career – from his last 41 appearances, dating back to his controversial triumph over Hamilton in Abu Dhabi in 2021.

Hamilton, who has not won a race during that period, crossed the line a close second to Verstappen in America a week ago before he was disqualified for running his Mercedes too close to the floor.

He started sixth here, swiftly promoted one position after Perez’s crash. On lap 11 he blasted past Ricciardo for fourth.

Verstappen gave up his lead on lap 19 after he stopped for new rubber, with Hamilton in five laps later. Then on lap 34, the race was suspended.

Magnussen lost control of his Haas at 130mph through Turn 8. The Dane ended up in the wall following a suspected rear suspension failure. He swiftly emerged from his cockpit before his mangled machine caught fire.

The safety car was deployed but with significant damage to the tyre barrier, repairs were required, and the race was halted, leading to a 22-minute delay.

“That’s a joke,” complained Verstappen. “A red flag for what?”

The drivers lined up on the grid for the second standing start of the afternoon with Hamilton the sole man in the top five on the quicker, medium rubber.

But it was Verstappen who produced another scintillating getaway to leave the others trailing in his wake.

He set about building his gap, with Hamilton intent on taking Leclerc for second, and on lap 40, he did just that following a bold and gutsy move.

On the fastest straight of the year, Hamilton jinked to Leclerc’s right, dropping two tyres on to the turf and kicking up dirt at 225mph, before holding his nerve under braking for the first corner to make the move stick.

The British driver nursed his tyres to finish runner-up to Verstappen, 13.8 sec back.

Prost was 38 when he claimed his 51st and final win 30 years ago. Verstappen turned 26 only last month, with Vettel’s 53 triumphs now on his radar before the close of the year with races in Brazil and Las Vegas to follow ahead of the final round in Abu Dhabi on November 26.

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    On a dramatic weekend in Brazil, Norris reduced the Dutchman's advantage to 44 points by winning in the Sprint race, but that victory proved to be in vain. 

    Despite starting 17th on the grid, Verstappen regained his sizeable margin with a stunning wet weather performance, and can clinch a fourth world title in Sin City this weekend. 

    When asked what he had learned from this season, Norris said: “That I have what it takes. It’s the first time in the last six years of F1 that we’ve had a chance to fight at the front.

    "This is our, and my, first opportunity to do so, and my first opportunity to see where I stand.

    “I definitely was not at the level I needed to be at the beginning of the year, even [after beating Verstappen to a maiden win] in Miami.

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    “I’ve been very happy with how the last few months have gone, honestly. I wouldn’t change many things that have happened.

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    “But, for the first time, I’m confident to say I have what I think I need to fight for a championship. It doesn’t mean I’m complete, it doesn’t mean I’m perfect.

    "When you’re competing against drivers who are close to that, like Max, you have to be close to perfect if you want to challenge him.”

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  • Hamilton 'still loves' Mercedes and will give everything in final races Hamilton 'still loves' Mercedes and will give everything in final races

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    Max Verstappen explained that his quest for a fourth world championship title has seen him race "on the limit" ahead of this weekend's Las Vegas Grand Prix. 

    Verstappen has the chance to become one of the greatest to grace the sport under the bright lights of Sin City this weekend, should he finish ahead of McLaren's Lando Norris. 

    Though the world championship isn't officially decided yet, after a phenomenal wet weather performance in Brazil last time out, Verstappen is within touching distance. 

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    Should he emerge victorious on Sunday, he would become the sixth driver in history to win at least four world titles, after Michael Schumacher (seven), Lewis Hamilton (seven), Juan Manuel Fangio (five), Alain Prost (four) and Sebastian Vettel (four).

    "Of course, the championship is in the back of my mind, naturally," he says. "But I will always try to get the best result out of it first and then see what’s possible.

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    Despite a fourth title almost being sealed and 62 wins already in the bag, Verstappen has revealed that he plans to explore the world of motorsport before he retires. 

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    "It is not like when I started in F1. I had that target, seven titles, 100-plus wins. At the time, Michael (Schumacher) was the record-holder. It’s not how I see life any more.

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    DRIVERS TO WATCH

    Max Verstappen – Red Bull

    Verstappen has the chance to become only the third driver in the competition’s history to break the 3,000-point barrier (2,979.50 currently), something only Hamilton (4829.50) and Vettel (3098) have achieved.

    The Dutchman has scored 72.24% of Red Bull's points in 2024, the widest gap to the second driver of any team this season in Formula One (44.49 – 27.76% for Sergio Perez). On the other hand, Mercedes is the team with the smallest percentage difference between its drivers in terms of total points (0.52 - George Russell's 50.26 and Hamilton's 49.74).

    But, if either Verstappen or Perez achieve the fastest lap at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Red Bull (99) will become the fifth team in Formula One history to achieve 100 fastest laps after Ferrari (263), McLaren (170), Williams (133) and Mercedes (109).

    Oscar Piastri – McLaren

    Piastri has scored points in 23 consecutive F1 grand prix. It is the seventh-best historical run in the competition (also 23 for Fernando Alonso between Europe 2011 and Hungary 2012) and the best of any McLaren driver.

    The Australian is the only driver on the grid to have finished 100% of races in 2024. Not only is this the longest current run, but if he finishes in Las Vegas, it will be the 11th longest streak in Formula One history, equalling Perez's record between France 2022 and Singapore 2023 (26).

    However, Piastri will be aiming to return to the podium places having gone three races without a top-three finish since ending the Singapore Grand Prix in third. It is his worst streak since the first seven races of the season.

    CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS

    Drivers

    1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) – 393
    2. Lando Norris (McLaren) – 331
    3. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) – 307
    4. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) – 262
    5. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) – 244

    Constructors

    1. McLaren – 593
    2. Ferrari – 557
    3. Red Bull – 544
    4. Mercedes – 382
    5. Aston Martin – 86

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