F1 Mexico City Grand Prix 2024 results: Sainz wins, Championship drama builds

The F1 2024 Mexico City Grand Prix on October 27 was exciting, from turn 1 on the first lap until the end of the race. Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz finished first, followed by McLaren driver Lando Norris in second place and Ferrari pilot Charles LeClerc in third.

Mercedes-AMG drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell finished fourth and fifth, respectively. Red Bull driver Max Verstappen, the reigning World Champion and current Drivers’ Championship points leader, who finished in sixth place, was penalized 20 seconds by the FIA track stewards for two rule violations.

The major moments in the Mexico City GP

After Saturday’s Grand Prix qualifying event, the first six cars at the front of the grid on Sunday, in order, were Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, McLaren driver Lando Norris, Ferrari’s Charles LeClerc, and Mercedes drivers George Russell and Lewis Hamilton.

Verstappen took the lead off the line, getting ahead of Norris, but then
RB’s Yuki Tsunoda lost a wheel during an ambitious pass attempt on the outside in the race’s first turn. After that event, Tsunoda and Willams’ driver Alexander Albon’s cars were out of the race.

Sainz passed Verstappen to take the lead during the ninth, and Verstappen’s problems occurred soon after. When Norris tried to pass Verstappen in the tenth lap, Verstappen pushed Norris’s car outside the track lines on two turns, and in the second turn, when both cars were outside track limits, Verstappen overtook Norris. The stewards gave Verstappen two 10-second time penalties, which meant that on his first and only pit stop during the 27th lap, his team had to wait 20 seconds before touching his car to switch tires.

For most of the race, the order was Sainz, Leclerc, and Norris, but Norris passed Leclerc before the last lap to take second place.

Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championship standings

After the Mexico City Grand Prix, the order in Drivers’ Championship points is unchanged, with Verstappen leading, followed by Norris and Leclerc. The margins are dropping, with Verstappen now 47 points ahead of Norris, and Leclerc is trailing Norris by 24 points. Ferrari is now leading in points for the Constructors’ Championship, with McLaren in second place and Red Bull in third.

Driver Championship:

Constructor Championship Points:

What’s next: Formula 1 Lenovo San Poulo Grand Prix 2024, November 1-3

The 21st Grand Prix of the F1 2024 season follows the Mexico City Grand Prix. It will be 71 laps around the 2.67-mile Autodromo Jose Carlos race track.