Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen took his ninth win of the 2021 F1 season and his third Mexican GP victory on Sunday at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez race track. Lewis Hamilton followed the Dutchman in second place. Verstappen’s team-mate and local hero Sergio Perez was the first driver from Mexico to make the Mexican GP podium.
Verstappen’s win extended his lead over Hamilton in the drivers ‘standings by 19 points, while Red Bull Racing was just one point behind Mercedes in the constructors’ standings with a double podium.
Max Verstappen’s Mexican GP victory extends his lead over Hamilton by 19 points
Max Verstappen takes the lead at the start of the Mexican GP 2021. (Photo by Mark Thompson / Getty Images)
As third on the Mexican GP grid, Verstappen overtook both Mercedes drivers at the start, took the lead and finished the race 16.555 seconds ahead of the field. Pole-sitter Valtteri Bottas, who was overtaken by the Dutchman at Turn 1, suffered an additional humiliation after being spun out by Daniel Ricciardo in the same corner.
Thanks to a late stop, the Finn set the fastest lap of the race with a time of 1 minute 17.774 seconds, but finished 15th out of 18 cars that finished the race.
After a chaotic start, which led to the only safety car phase of the race, two drivers retired from the Mexican GP: Yuki Tsunoda from Alpha Tauri and Mick Schumacher from Haas. Both men were marked by Alpine driver Esteban Ocon due to a tight three-man situation in the first corners of the first lap.
The first to leave the podium finishers behind in P4 was Alpha Tauri driver Pierre Gasly. The French were followed by Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz in P5 and P6 respectively.
Sebastian Vettel finished the Mexican GP on P7 for Aston Martin, followed by former Ferrari team-mate and Alfa Romeo driver Kimi Räikkönen on P8. Alpine managed to finish in the points with both cars, Fernando Alonso was P9. McLaren’s Lando Norris rounded off the points on P10.
ROUND 4/71 END OF THE SAFETY VEHICLE
The moment of contact between Bottas and Ricciardo 
Both are currently in P18 and P17
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Both are currently on P18 and P17 #MexicoGP
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While Bottas and Ricciardo slipped to the bottom of the starting grid after the incident at the start, Hamilton remained without a wingman and at the front vulnerable to a two-pronged attack by Red Bull Racing. Verstappen led the Mexican GP from the first lap and only gave up the lead when he made his pit stop when team-mate Perez took over on lap 34.
While the undercut strategy worked on the Mexican route, it was less beneficial in Hamilton’s case as he got back into traffic after his own stop. Not only did he lose time on Verstappen, but he also became vulnerable to Perez, despite pitting three rounds earlier than the Mexican on lap 31.
ROUND 34/71
Checo is the first Mexican rider to lead the Mexican Grand Prix! 
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Verstappen was back in the lead when Perez pitted on lap 40. The Mexican’s fresh tires enabled him to chase Hamilton towards the end of the race. The local Red Bull Racing driver reduced the gap between him and the Briton to less than a second on the final lap in order to secure a possible 1-2 result for his team at the Mexican GP.
Overall, the Mexican GP was an eventful affair, with tire changes and pit stop strategies determining the majority of the results in the race. Apart from the chaotic start on the first lap, it was rather unspectacular. The riders in the top 10 started their race on the medium tire and opted for a one-stop strategy to switch to the hard compound.
ROUND 71/71 LAST ROUND!
Checo tries a move but is a little too far behind to catch up with Hamilton
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While Mercedes was ahead in qualifying, they were unable to maintain this form and achieve a favorable result in the race. The team also struggled with a messy pit stop for Bottas on lap 41 as he drove over 11 seconds on the grid and on course to score valuable points for the team.
The track conditions on Sunday were favorable for Red Bull Racing and they were able to turn the tables after the qualifying problems on Saturday. Verstappen’s electric escape from the pack and the insistence on reaching the checkered flag ensured them a strong result on a route that was convenient for them.
In the drivers’ standings, Verstappen leads with a total of 312.5 points, followed by Hamilton in second place with 293.5 points. Bottas remains third with 185 points, followed by Perez in fourth place with 165 points.
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Mercedes continues to lead the constructors’ championship with a total of 478.5 points, followed by Red Bull Racing with 477.5 points. Ferrari has overtaken McLaren in third place with its colon result at the Mexican GP. The team from Maranello has a total of 268.5 points, while their rivals from Woking are behind with 255 points.
Edited by Sandeep Banerjee
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