Mexico City GP: Max Verstappen claims record 16th win of the season
Red Bull's triple world champion Max Verstappen won the Mexico City Grand Prix on Sunday, becoming the first Formula One driver to win 16 races in a single season.
On a nightmare afternoon for Mexican teammate Sergio Perez, who retired after colliding with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc at the first corner, the Dutch 26-year-old also equalled French great Alain Prost's haul of 51 career wins.
Only three drivers have won more races in the sport's history, and Verstappen could pass Sebastian Vettel, who is next on his list with 53, by the end of the season.
The victory was also his 14th in the last 15 races and his fifth in the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez Grand Prix.
Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton finished second, earning a bonus point for fastest lap, and pole-sitter Leclerc finished third in a race that was red-flagged and restarted just before the halfway mark after Haas' Kevin Magnussen crashed heavily.
Verstappen made a storming start to seize the lead down the inside, with Leclerc caught in the middle between the two Red Bulls and making wheel contact with Perez trying to pass on the outside.
The Mexican's car flipped and flew into the air, landing heavily on the runoff. He returned to the pits but was forced to retire.
"I had nowhere to go," Leclerc, who was booed on the podium, explained.
With three races and a sprint remaining, Perez is only 20 points ahead of Hamilton in the battle for second place overall.
Second is a priority for dominant Red Bull, which has never finished a season with first and second place drivers.
Hamilton started sixth but moved up to third at the restart and passed Leclerc for second on lap 40 with a daring move that kicked up a cloud of dust as he went two wheels over the line to pass.
Ferrari's Carlos Sainz finished fourth, with McLaren's Lando Norris finishing fifth after starting 17th and having the best drive of the day.
The Briton was allowed to attack and pass AlphaTauri's Daniel Ricciardo and then Mercedes George Russell by teammate Oscar Piastri, who finished eighth.
Russell had to settle for sixth, while Ricciardo, who qualified fourth, scored his first points for AlphaTauri in seventh.
Alex Albon finished ninth for Williams, and Esteban Ocon finished tenth for Renault-owned Alpine after being let through by teammate Pierre Gasly to attack and pass Haas' Nico Hulkenberg.
SportsLigue