Carlos Sainz wins the Mexican F1 GP with an ax to Verstappen and total dominance!

Carlos Sainz won the Mexican F1 GP this Sunday with an iron fist, in a big way. The Spanish driver put an end to a perfect weekend, without mistakes and full of talent and commitment, doing exactly what he had to do at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, where the day before he crushed his rivals in a stratospheric pole position.

Carlos achieved his second victory of the year (after Australia at the start of the course) and He won his 4th F1 victory with a very fast Ferrari which could give Carlos more chances to win the last 4 races which left to leave Ferrari in style.

Watching Sainz races like this, with a car that makes it clear that in 2025 it should be a candidate for everything against McLaren and Red Bull (since last year’s cars will be evolutions of the current ones ), many in Italy may have wondered if The Italian team made a mistake by letting the Spaniard escape instead of Hamilton which is currently far from its best version.

Carlos Sainz will leave Ferrari at the end of this season due to the surprise signing of Lewis for 2025something that even the Spaniard himself did not expect in January. All the work done by the native of Madrid and the merits shown are not important. Priority was given to the record of a 7-time world champion, his name, his marketing potential.perfect for increase the value of the red brand shares in the world and generate excitement. But as was clear in Austin and Mexico, drivers aren’t the problem. The car is. Yes, there were frictions between Charles and Carlos during these years, but they could have been bigger in Hamilton. The current couple is working like a charm. They just need a world champion car.

In that context, the man from Madrid never raised his voice and chose to work, always thinking of the good of the team, as if nothing had happened despite that unexpected betrayal. He chose to bow his head and prove his worth. And once he got the winning car after the huge step forward made by the red car from Austin after understanding the latest updates presented from Monzathe Madrid native took advantage of it. Sainz has a clear goal: leave Maranello with at least one more victory and help Ferrari win the Constructors’ World Championship. That’s what he told Austin.

There, after a very good start, he put himself first and won the first corner. But Verstappen’s aggressive exit to approach Norris splashed him and left him without glory. Carlos was left with a positive: he was the fastest on the track and if he continues like this, with 5 races left at the end of the course, victory could come. And the wait wasn’t long either. He came for the first time.

He nailed it with his attack on Verstappen

The Madrid native delivered a huge blow to the table with pole position on Saturday. But it comes with a catch. Turn 1 is so far, only 10 times out of 23 have taken pole position on this track. Verstappen (2nd), Norris (3rd) and even Leclerc could pass him at turn 1 due to the massive slipstream they could catch. Carlos knew he had nothing to do but start well and “full throttle”, being aggressive in Turn 1 so as not to lose the victory there.

In the end, the start was not the best and Max quickly went inside. Sainz tried to extend his braking and was very sharp in a moment of maximum tension. If he had braked for the curve, Norris would surely have passed him and from third place he could have lost his dream of winning. Above all, because despite the great speed of the Ferrari, on a track at altitude like Mexico, following another car is more difficult and the lower air density makes the cooling of the brakes and other parts.

Because of this, Carlos chose a great maneuver. With no room next to Max, he opted to take a long, grassy turn at Turn 1. He was ahead again but gave up that position to Max to avoid a penalty. From second place he minimized the losses and He has the toughest challenge in front of him: getting past a Verstappen who always sells his skin more expensive than anyone else because of his tremendous aggressiveness when it comes to closing gaps.

On lap 1 there was an accident between Tsunoda and Albon which allowed Carlos to lower his heart rate after the safety car and start thinking about where to attack Max. The race resumed at the end of lap 6. Max went all out to prevent Carlos from getting away from the DRS when it activated. But Carlos managed it on a track where it was difficult to follow the car in front. And then his attack began. He knew he wouldn’t think twice about Max. He has to attack first and finish the overtaking so that his tires don’t break or his car overheats. And the first time he had it, he hit Max’s back wing and hit it with a massive blow that stunned Max. The champion did not answer. He tried, but Sainz closed the gap in the next corner and took first place. From there, to unopposed success.

Norris, bite Verstappen penalty for Max

From there, Carlos had to give everything and in that context his best ally was his great friend Lando Norris. The battle for the World Cup between the English and the Dutch could benefit the Spanish, and it did. Verstappen became aggressive again, and after the controversy in Austin, Norris, having learned a lesson, did everything to follow the basic rule applied by the stewards: if in doubt in a corner, the car in the corner has priority. .

Norris attacked Max with everything from the outside on lap 10 and Max, too aggressive, closed the door on Lando and threw him off the track with a touch in turn 4. And immediately after, At Turn 8, Verstappen went wide again, leaving the track and forcing Lando onto the straight.

Max was ahead of Norris but had lost ground to Leclerc because of that battle. And there, The commissioners have said enough. They gave him a 10 second penalty for each of those two actions, 20 in total to complete in the pits.something that left Max offside.

In the end, Verstappen climbed back up to 6th place. Meanwhile, Norris put pressure on Leclerc to wrest the double from Ferrari. With 8 laps to go, Lando was very close to the Monegasque, overwhelmed by the pressure. Charles made a mistake and was about to hit the wall. He gave 2nd place to Lando, perfect for taking another two points from Max.

Lando took a total of 10 World Championship points from Verstappen with devastating pace at the end of the race. So, the Englishman is 47 points behind Max’s lead with 4 Grand Prix and two sprint races remaining.

He also managed to score the fastest lap point, but just like in Singapore, the Red Bull ‘B’ team stripped him of that point with Lawson towards the end of the race, something that will surely create a tailwind and anger McLaren . bosses. In the end though, that point went to Leclerc on the last lap of the race.

Ferrari animated the World Cup

Thanks to that fight, Ferrari, with a very fast car for these last races, found itself with a huge possibility of achieving its second double in a row. But Leclerc’s mistake against Norris prevented it. Sainz escaped from Leclerc, with a 9 second margin which he would maintain with excellent tire management. And behind him, a Norris who would end up winning the game against the Monegasque. Despite this, the result allowed it for Ferrari to enter completely in the fight for the Constructors’ World Championship, overtaking Red Bull and closing in on McLaren in the fight for a title the reds haven’t won since 2008.

After 16 years, Carlos and Leclerc can end Ferrari’s drought with a car that can allow them to fight for victories in the 4 remaining rounds. Next stop, Brazil, where Carlos Sainz, in impressive form since Austin, will be looking to continue adding to his win locker dressed in red before packing her bags. He wants to leave with his hands full and a message of great strength.

Alonso left

Fernando Alonso He could not celebrate his 400th Grand Prix in F1 as he would have liked. The Asturian had to retire due to a problem with his car on lap 16, when he was 13th, with little chance of reaching the points.