Mexico City Grand Prix: Max Verstappen wins from Lewis Hamilton

Verstappen moves up of Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel for fig of races won successful a season

Red Bull's Max Verstappen broke the grounds for wins successful a play with a comfy and controlled triumph successful the Mexico City Grand Prix.

It moves the Dutchman wide of Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel, who won 13 races successful 2004 and 2013.

Red Bull's Sergio Perez took 3rd up of Mercedes' George Russell.

Mercedes had hopes of winning the contention aft qualifying adjacent down Verstappen successful 2nd and 3rd places.

But, connected divergent tyre strategies, aboriginal committedness faded aft the pit stops and Verstappen moved into a contention of his own, leaving Hamilton to fend disconnected Perez for runners-up spot.

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How did Verstappen's triumph unfold?

Red Bull started connected the 'soft' tyre and Mercedes connected the 'medium', and the question was however the antithetic strategies would play out.

Verstappen managed to clasp the pb into the archetypal country - lone the 2nd clip that has happened for the rod antheral successful 5 races successful Mexico - portion Hamilton snuck past Russell into 2nd astatine the 2nd turn, followed by Perez 2 corners later.

Hamilton tracked Verstappen intimately successful the archetypal stint, and it was wide Red Bull were feeling the unit from the Mercedes.

But the hostility dissipated soon aft Red Bull stopped for tyres connected thigh 25, fitting the mediums, followed by Hamilton 4 laps later, fitting the hards.

Hamilton was present acceptable to spell to the extremity without different stop, and the question was whether Verstappen could bash the same.

It soon became evident that the hard was not a bully tyre, arsenic Hamilton, who emerged 6.5 seconds down Verstappen, began dilatory to driblet distant from the Red Bull.

Hamilton repeatedly complained astir his tyres lacking performance, and was reassured by his engineers that the mediums would driblet distant towards the extremity of the race.

But they hung connected conscionable fine, and Verstappen took different untroubled win.

"In hindsight, possibly not the close tyre choice," Mercedes squad brag Toto Wolff said implicit the vigor to Hamilton connected the slowing down lap.

Hamilton said successful the post-race interviews that helium thought Mercedes should, similar Red Bull, person started connected the soft.

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Could Mercedes person gone different way?

The leaders' pit stops promoted Russell into the lead, and helium asked his engineers to permission him retired and alteration to the brushed tyres for a sprint aboriginal successful the race.

But the engineers decided that was not a bully program and they brought Russell successful for his halt 5 laps aft Hamilton, resuming successful 4th place, wherever helium stayed to the end.

There volition inevitably beryllium questions arsenic to whether Mercedes would person been amended disconnected to travel Russell's suggestion.

It would person meant making up a batch of crushed and leaving him 3 cars to overtake for the win, but successful the worst lawsuit script helium would person been nary worse than fourth, and determination was imaginable summation successful taking the risk.

This was demonstrated by Daniel Ricciardo, who did spell for the medium-soft strategy, and made up a batch of crushed successful doing so, moving up from retired of the apical 10 to decorativeness seventh, and champion of the midfield down the 2 uncompetitive Ferraris of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc, 1 his champion drives of a disappointing year.

The Australian was fixed a 10-second punishment for colliding with Yuki Tsunoda's Alpha Tauri and forcing it into retirement, but specified was his gait that helium kept seventh spot due to the fact that his spread to Esteban Ocon's Alpine down was much than that.

Ricciardo was helped successful moving up by yet different method occupation for Fernando Alonso's Alpine.

The Spaniard led the midfield successful seventh spot astir of the contention but began to driblet backmost successful the closing stages arsenic his motor developed a occupation and it yet failed with six laps to go.

Alonso's occupation promoted Ocon to eighth, up of McLaren's Lando Norris and Alfa Romeo's Valtteri Bottas who conscionable held disconnected the charging Alpha Tauri of Pierre Gasly - different to spell for the medium-soft strategy - connected the last lap.