F1 Mexico Grand Prix LIVE: Carlos Sainz wins from pole position ahead of Lando Norris
F1 live updates from the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez as the world title battle continues with Lando Norris cutting the gap Max Verstappen
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Carlos Sainz took a well deserved victory at the Mexico Grand Prix winning the race from pole position ahead of Lando Norris who made vital ground in the drivers championship on leader Max Verstappen.
Verstappen started the race on the front row and overtook Sainz heading to the first corner but a crash for Yuki Tsunodo brought out the safety car. After the restart Sainz swept past Verstappen as Norris looked to gain ground on the Red Bull.
The two title rivals tussled for position with Verstappen being very aggressive and forcing Norris off the track to maintain his position behind Sainz. It was one of two serious errors that caused the Red Bull driver to be penalised by 20-seconds which effectively forced him out of the race.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc safely positioned himself behind Sainz but lost second place to Norris in the closing stages and had to settle for third.
Relive the updates from the Mexican Grand Prix with The Independent:
Mexico Grand Prix: Sainz retakes the lead!
Wonderful stuff at turn three from Carlos Sainz who weaves round the outside of Max Verstappen and pulls ahead of the Red Bull with the aid of DRS.
He sweeps through the turn to stay at of Verstappen.
“What can I do with an empty battery?” an angry Verstappen cries to his team.
Mexico Grand Prix: Ferrari have speed
Lap 7/71
Carlos Sainz quickly gained on Max Verstappen down the straight. He needs to stay within one second to keep within DRS range and potentially overtake the leader.
Lando Norris is a little further back.
Mexico Grand Prix: Five second penalty for Perez
Word is filtering through that Sergio Perez has been issued with a five-second penalty for being too far forward in the grid box.
“Have a look, I don’t think we were!” he radios back to the team.
The safety car has departed with Max Verstappen restarting the race quickly.
Mexico Grand Prix: Perez under investigation
It seems as though Sergio Perez was slightly out of position in his grid box when the start occured which means he is likely to get penalised.
We’re into lap 5, four of which have happened under the safety car but it looks as though we’re about to get racing again.
Mexico Grand Prix: Safety car deployed
The safety car is out and the drivers are attempting to keep their tyres warm. There’s plenty of debris on the track which needs to be cleared away.
Sergio Perez gained five places but is being investigated for a false start.
Mexico Grand Prix: Verstappen takes the lead!
Max Verstappen has had the perfect start to this race getting himself ahead of Carlos Sainz by the first turn. The safety car has come out after Tsunoda’s crash.
Alex Albon’s Williams has taken collateral damage too so he is out of the race as well.
Elsewhere Lewis Hamilton got ahead of teammate George Russell and is up to fifth.
Mexico Grand Prix: Green light! 🟢
Here we go!
The green lights flare and the race begins. Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen fly off the line with the Ferrari edging ahead of the Red Bull as they approach the first turn.
Lando Norris, just behind them, starts well but can’t gain ground.
Verstappen gets in front of Sainz who heads off the track at the turn! Behind them Yuki Tsunoda’s RB is into the wall!
Mexico Grand Prix
Just a few minutes until the Mexico Grand Prix gets underway. Carlos Sainz and Ferrari are hoping for another win after Chrales Leclerc’s victory in Austin.
Max Verstappen will be aiming to stay ahead of Lando Norris in their fight for the world title. The Dutchman starts on the front row so Norris has more work to do.
Behind them, George Russell and Lewis Hamilton will be hoping to make inroads and Sergio Perez, in his home Grand Prix, will want to sweep through the field and finish in the points after a poor qualifying session.
Let’s find out how it all plays out...
Perez on Red Bull issues
Sergio Perez has been having a horrible year for Red Bull but was hoping to put in a strong performance at his home race in Mexico. Following his Q1 exit, Perez opened up on the issues he’s been facing this season.
“We were just struggling too much with stopping the car,” he said. “For example into the low speed I cannot brake, I cannot stop the car, as soon as I attack the braking I start sliding, that is definitely my main issue at the moment.”
Verstappen starts on how the race will start:
“I remember quite a few of them but every start is different, so you can’t really, it gives you an idea but at the end of the day you just have to act at what is in front of you and next to you during the actual start.”
On breaking the tow behind, he added: “Anything can happen, I don’t know. What’s important is to just try and get a good start yourself.
“The last two races we have not been particularly strong in the race and we didn’t really have a Friday so it’s very unknown what’s going to happen in the race that’s why I don’t really want to say that we can win the race today.”
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