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The flying Dutchman escaped the carnage at turn one and drove a comfortable race out in front to earn his third race victory at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
Max Verstappen subsequently extended his championship lead over Lewis Hamilton who finished second with Sergio Perez claiming a brilliant third place at his home Grand Prix.
Starting Grid
A fantastic qualifying from Valtteri Bottas saw him secure another pole position as Lewis Hamilton joined the Finn on the front row. The two Red Bull’s occupied the second row with Max Verstappen ahead of Sergio Perez.
Pierre Gasly followed in fifth, Carlos Sainz in sixth, Daniel Ricciardo in seventh, Charles Leclerc in eighth, Sebastian Vettel in ninth and Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Raikkonen in 10th.
Antonio Giovinazzi moved up to 11th with Fernando Alonso in 12th, Nicholas Latifi in 13th, Mick Schumacher in 14th and Nikita Mazepin in 15th.
George Russell, Yuki Tsunoda, Lando Norris, Esteban Ocon and Lance Stroll encountered grid penalties as they occupied the final five positions on the starting grid.
As It Happened
As the lights went out, third-placed Verstappen used the slipstream to his advantage as he moved into the lead of the race. Chaos ensued behind him as pole-sitter Bottas was spun around by Ricciardo which saw Hamilton and Perez move into second and third. Both Tsunoda and Schumacher retired from the race as Ocon tagged the rookie duo with the Safety Car released.
On lap five, Verstappen led the drivers over the line as the green flag was waved. Behind the Dutchman, Hamilton and Perez were second and third with Gasly in fourth, Leclerc in fifth, Sainz in sixth, Giovinazzi in seventh, Vettel, Russell in eighth, Russell in ninth and Raikkonen in 10th.
It went from bad to worse for Russell as he fell out of the points within the space of two laps as Raikkonen and Alonso dropped the Williams driver down to 11th.
Norris, who started the race in 18th, made his way up to 12th as he started to close the gap on the points places.
The battle for 13th saw Ocon emerge victorious after some good defending from Mazepin saw him keep the Frenchman at bay for a few laps.
By lap 15, Verstappen had gained a five-second lead over Hamilton as the Brit started to fall into the clutches of Perez. Russell conceded another place as Norris overtook the Williams driver for 11th.
As Perez started to close up on Hamilton, the Brit made his stop. However, the Mercedes driver was released into the dirty air of Leclerc as he came out in fifth place.
The Ferrari driver did make his stop a lap later and moved up a position instantly as he overtook Alonso for eighth.
Three laps after Hamilton’s pitstop, race leader Verstappen pitted for a fresh set of hard tyres as Perez was released into the lead.
At the halfway point of the race, Perez was out in front ahead of Verstappen in second and Hamilton in third. Sainz was fourth, Gasly in fifth, Leclerc in sixth, Alonso in seventh, Norris in eighth, Vettel in ninth and Ricciardo in 10th.
Bottas was finally released into free air as Ricciardo made his stop. Just behind the duo, Ocon made the move for 14th as he overtook Russell.
On lap 41, Perez’s leading party came to an end as he pitted for a fresh set of hard tyres which saw Verstappen move back into the lead with Hamilton in second and Perez in third.
A slow stop from the Mercedes crew saw Bottas lose all of his progress and saw him re-emerge back onto the track in 15th.
Norris was the final driver to pit, and after a slick stop from his McLaren crew, the Brit came out onto the track in 10th, only a couple of seconds behind ninth-placed Alonso.
The afternoon went from bad to worse for Russell as he was overtaken brilliantly by Stroll with the Canadian claiming 15th place.
With 10 laps to go, Verstappen continued to lead the way with Hamilton in second and Perez, who was constantly hunting down the Brit, ran in third. Gasly was fourth, Sainz in fifth, Leclerc in sixth, Vettel in seventh, Raikkonen in eighth, Alonso in ninth and Norris in 10th.
Mercedes rolled the dice twice with Bottas as they looked to claim the fastest lap attempt away from Verstappen which they did on lap 69.
Verstappen comfortably cruised to his third Mexican Grand Prix victory as he extended his championship lead over Hamilton to 19 points. The Brit was able to cross the line in second as Perez scored a brilliant podium as he finished third.
Gasly came a brilliant fourth for AlphaTauri with the two Ferrari’s of Leclerc and Sainz in fifth and sixth, Vettel in seventh, Raikkonen in eighth, Alonso in ninth and Norris in 10th.
What’s Next?
The Formula 1 circus continues next weekend as the drivers enter South America for the Brazillian Grand Prix at Autódromo José Carlos Pace. Verstappen will look to extend his lead out in front even further as the season enters its dying embers.
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