F1 Mexico Grand Prix LIVE: Lando Norris up to second as Carlos Sainz leads
F1 live updates from the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez as the world title battle continues with Max Verstappen on front row and Carlos Sainz on pole
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The F1 weekend reaches its climax in Mexico City tonight with Lando Norris set to continue his rivalry with Max Verstappen following the highly contentious battle in Austin.
Verstappen has won five of the last six races at Autodromo Hermanos Rodríguez and will be aiming to edge one step closer to a fourth world championship title.
Charles Leclerc produced a sensational drive to claim victory at the US Grand Prix with Ferrari impressing with a one-two thanks to Carlos Sainz. The Scuderia are contending a fierce battle with McLaren and Red Bull for the constructors’ championship, with qualifying set to be vital here. Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes will bid to banish a nightmare weekend last time out in Texas.
Follow live updates from the Mexican Grand Prix with The Independent:
Mexico Grand Prix: Five second penalty for Perez
Word is filtering through that Sergio Perez has been issued with a five-second penalty for being too far forward in the grid box.
“Have a look, I don’t think we were!” he radios back to the team.
The safety car has departed with Max Verstappen restarting the race quickly.
Mexico Grand Prix: Perez under investigation
It seems as though Sergio Perez was slightly out of position in his grid box when the start occured which means he is likely to get penalised.
We’re into lap 5, four of which have happened under the safety car but it looks as though we’re about to get racing again.
Mexico Grand Prix: Safety car deployed
The safety car is out and the drivers are attempting to keep their tyres warm. There’s plenty of debris on the track which needs to be cleared away.
Sergio Perez gained five places but is being investigated for a false start.
Mexico Grand Prix: Verstappen takes the lead!
Max Verstappen has had the perfect start to this race getting himself ahead of Carlos Sainz by the first turn. The safety car has come out after Tsunoda’s crash.
Alex Albon’s Williams has taken collateral damage too so he is out of the race as well.
Elsewhere Lewis Hamilton got ahead of teammate George Russell and is up to fifth.
Mexico Grand Prix: Green light! 🟢
Here we go!
The green lights flare and the race begins. Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen fly off the line with the Ferrari edging ahead of the Red Bull as they approach the first turn.
Lando Norris, just behind them, starts well but can’t gain ground.
Verstappen gets in front of Sainz who heads off the track at the turn! Behind them Yuki Tsunoda’s RB is into the wall!
Mexico Grand Prix
Just a few minutes until the Mexico Grand Prix gets underway. Carlos Sainz and Ferrari are hoping for another win after Chrales Leclerc’s victory in Austin.
Max Verstappen will be aiming to stay ahead of Lando Norris in their fight for the world title. The Dutchman starts on the front row so Norris has more work to do.
Behind them, George Russell and Lewis Hamilton will be hoping to make inroads and Sergio Perez, in his home Grand Prix, will want to sweep through the field and finish in the points after a poor qualifying session.
Let’s find out how it all plays out...
Perez on Red Bull issues
Sergio Perez has been having a horrible year for Red Bull but was hoping to put in a strong performance at his home race in Mexico. Following his Q1 exit, Perez opened up on the issues he’s been facing this season.
“We were just struggling too much with stopping the car,” he said. “For example into the low speed I cannot brake, I cannot stop the car, as soon as I attack the braking I start sliding, that is definitely my main issue at the moment.”
Verstappen starts on how the race will start:
“I remember quite a few of them but every start is different, so you can’t really, it gives you an idea but at the end of the day you just have to act at what is in front of you and next to you during the actual start.”
On breaking the tow behind, he added: “Anything can happen, I don’t know. What’s important is to just try and get a good start yourself.
“The last two races we have not been particularly strong in the race and we didn’t really have a Friday so it’s very unknown what’s going to happen in the race that’s why I don’t really want to say that we can win the race today.”
Sainz speaks to Sky Sports
Carlos Sainz spoke to Sky Sports on his biggest challenge to get the win today, he said: “I’ve been feeling very comfortable in the car, I feel like everything is working really well and I know how to drive it to extract maximum lap time.
“I honestly can’t wait for the race it will be an exciting one, especially on that run down to Turn One and an exciting race to do it.
“I do believe with starts there is a lot of preparation that goes into it especially for the launch and then when that happens a lot of it is down to instinct and you racing instinct that kicks in, I trust that in myself and hopefully we will make it work today.”
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