Key events
23/71 “That’s silly, man,” says Verstappen. That was him speaking this time, think that was Perez before. Anyway, he was diplomatic.
22/71 Piastri is taking on Colapinto, in a battle for 12th and 13th. Two faces of the future. “Wow,” says Russell on news of that Verstappen penalty.
21/71 Let’s await the Verstappen verdict. He always takes these things well. “Are you ****ing serious,” he says. Looks like dear old Checo is set for a penalty, too,
Verstappen gets another 10-second penalty
20/71 That’s for the second one, more obviously his fault. That’s 20 seconds. It would take him to 10th. Lando, the floor is yours.
19/71 Fernando Alonso has retired, his first DNF of the season. Something got snarled up in his engine. Perez is being chased by Lance Stroll.
18/71 At the back, Perez, cheered by the locals, tries to take on Liam Lawson, and Perez goes off the track. Liam Lawson stays ahead. The locals not happy.
17/71 In the Haas, Magnussen continues to chase down Hamilton and Russell in fifth and sixth.
16/71 No team orders at Ferrari; they are free to race each other.
15/71 Russell and Hamilton going at it, with Kevin Magnussen giving chase. Hamilton holds on. Leclerc has the fastest lap.
14/71 We await the response of Verstappen. Mercedes battle now – Russell and Hamilton are taking each other on. “10, that’s quite impressive,” says Max. “There was a lot of whingeing,” says the Red Bull boss, Christian Horner.
Verstappen gets a 10-second penalty
13/71 Leclerc is chasing after Sainz as the chasers get tangled up. Norris has two checks against him for going off the track.
12/71 Looks like Verstappen is in trouble and may have to give up a penalty. There’s two incidents reported there.
11/71 That incident: Lando was ahead, then Verstappen brakes later, and then as Lando slows down, Verstappen runs them both off. Leclerc took advantage. And the Ferraris are in full control.
Norris and Verstappen clash again!
10/71 Norris attacks Verstappen now, and goes clear, though off the track. They get all tangled up and Leclerc flies through. “This guy is dangerous,” says Lando of Verstappen.
9/71 Sainz sets the fastest lap then at turn one gets past Verstappen, who fights hard to stop the Spaniard, but as the Ferrari has DRS he flies onwards. Max is not happy. He’s blaming the car.
8/71 Verstappen has the fastest lap. He’s trying his best to ward off the threat of Sainz.
7/71 Verstappen goes into turn one in the lead. Ferrari look quick, very quick. No DRS available in this lap.
6/71 Perez gets a five-second penalty. The safety car is ending. So we go to a standing start. Verstappen slows, and then off he goes, and tries to get away from Sainz and Norris.
5/71 More safety car action. Max Verstappen is complaining that he is having to zig zag on his tyres. He’s thirsty too.
4/71 Checo Perez is investigated for a bad start. He was too far forward. Things not going well for Red Bull’s second man.
3/71 The safety car might be in for some use. Those crashes came at a difficult part of the track to clear.
2/71 There’s debris all over the track, that was a spectacular crash. Tsunoda was OK, and was able to wave to the crowd as his car is rescued from the first turn. Albon’s car is parked at the side of the track. Sainz had to go off the track in that fast start, Verstappen had left him with nowhere to go. Albon and Tsunoda saw them get squeezed out. These things happen.
Lights out in Mexico City! Tsunoda crashes safety car
All eyes on that late-arriving first turn; Verstappen takes the lead, then Sainz goes back ahead but went off, and Sainz hands it back. Tsunoda went right off, and that’s the race over for him. Here’s the safety car, and it’s Verstappen, Sainz and Norris, Leclerc, Hamilton and Russell. Albon had started from ninth and got taken out by Tsunoda.
Into the formation lap they go, and it does look quite muggy out there, almost grey. The grandstand is hugely impressive.
“Max did a brilliant job yesterday, Checo has a lot of work to do,” says Christian Horner. “Checo just needs to go for it.” Sergio Perez is down in 18th on his home GP.
Fernando Alonso says he is “ready for the next 50 more”, as he lines up to drive his 400th race.
Here come the anthems; there is talk of rain at the end of the race. There are 71 laps of the 4.304-kilometre Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez track to come.
It looks hot in Mexico City but is actually around 21 degrees. The Mercedes team are worried about the first turn, and think a one-stop strategy will be the way ahead today. It’s cool.
“Every start is different,” says Max Verstappen as he makes his way to his car. It’s rowdy in Mexico. “I don’t want to say we can win the race today.”
News that Esteban Ocon will be starting from the pit lane, having had to change his battery.
And look toward’s 2025’s campaign, with an interview with Charles Leclerc.
I am super excited to be working alongside him. To be, yes, learning from him but at the same time it’s such an exciting challenge for me to be in the same car as such a successful driver and to be able to show what I am capable of. Both of us will want to beat each other, that’s the way it is in F1, but I’m sure it will be a healthy competition.
It will be Fernando Alonso’s 400th GP, and Giles Richards pays tribute.
Norris v Verstappen can still become a close battle.
Saturday’s qualifying
Drivers’ championship standings
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1. Max Verstappen – 354pts
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2. Lando Norris – 297pts
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3. Charles Leclerc – 275pts
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4. Oscar Piastri – 247pts
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5. Carlos Sainz – 215pts
The starting grid
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1. Carlos Sainz, Ferrari
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2. Max Verstappen, Red Bull
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3. Lando Norris, McLaren
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4. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
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5. George Russell, Mercedes
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6. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
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7. Kevin Magnussen, Haas
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8. Pierre Gasly, Alpine
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9. Alex Albon, Williams
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10. Nico Hülkenberg, Haas
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11. Yuki Tsunoda, RB
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12. Liam Lawson, RB
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13. Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin
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14. Lance Stroll, Aston Martin
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15. Valtteri Bottas, Sauber
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16. Franco Colapinto, Williams
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17. Oscar Piastri, McLaren
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18. Sergio Perez, Red Bull
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19. Esteban Ocon, Alpine
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20. Zhou Guanyu, Sauber
Preamble
We’re still in North America, and after last week’s thriller in Austin, so much to play for. That Lando Norris and Max Verstappen battle was one for the ages, though the cannier driver won out in the end, and McLaren might have been cannier than take the penalty. Anyway, to Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, where Carlos Sainz leads the field, ahead of Verstappen and Norris. Much to look out for at the start, with Charles Leclerc lurking in fourth.
The race goes at 8pm UK time, that’s 2pm Mexico time.
