A Formula One title seems within Max Verstappen’s reach after the Red Bull driver delivered a dominant performance on Sunday to win the Mexican GP. Verstappen has now solidified himself on top of the F1 standings with 312.5 points and has 19 points lead over Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes on the second.
Verstappen started the race from the third grid behind two Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas, but that proved to be no issue for the Dutchman. He managed to overtake both Mercedes drivers before Turn 1 and never looked back.
There was a mess behind Verstappen, however, as Bottas had his car spin after being pushed from behind by McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo. Meanwhile, Alpine’s Esteban Ocon got jammed between Alpha Tauri’s Yuki Tsunoda and Haas’ Mick Schumacher. Curiously, Ocon survived the crash and remained on the track while Tsunoda and Schumacher were forced to finish the race early due to damage to their cars.
After the safety car left the track, Verstappen confidently built his lead and was never in danger of having his position jeopardized by Hamilton behind him. The reigning F1 champion, however, had to work hard to keep his position as second Red Bull driver Sergio Perez constantly pressured him from the third.
Hamilton somehow managed to keep his position, but Perez will probably be happy with his effort as well. By finishing third, he became the first Mexican driver in the history of Mexican GP to climb on the podium.
