Mexican Grand Prix LIVE: Result and reaction as Max Verstappen beats Lewis Hamilton
Will Lewis Hamilton close the gap to championship leader Max Verstappen? Follow all the action from Mexico
Lewis Hamilton’s dreams of a record-breaking eighth world championship are hanging by a thread after Max Verstappen outgunned his rival to win the Mexican Grand Prix.
Verstappen delivered the start of starts to blast away from third, and beat both Hamilton and pole-sitter Valtteri Bottas on the 220mph stampede to the opening corner.
Mexico City’s Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez sits a breathless 2,285 metres above sea level, and Verstappen’s breathtaking getaway puts him in the driving seat to claim his maiden title and deny Hamilton further history.
Follow all the reaction from the Mexican Grand Prix below.
Lap 67/71: Verstappen is cruising out in front - but his race is made a little more interesting by the sight of Bottas (two laps behind) in his mirrors.
Verstappen lets him through after seemingly holding him up in his bid for the fastest lap.
FIVE LAPS TO GO
Lap 66/71: Hamilton has upped it. His lead over Perez has increased to two seconds.
Lap 65/71: Interesting. Bottas pits in an attempt to go for the fastest lap and take Verstappen’s bonus point.
Lap 64/71: The thing is, the closer Perez gets to Hamilton, the harder it gets to cut the gap. Hamilton keeps it to 1.3 seconds, the first time in a while that he has lapped faster than Perez.
These are huge moments in the title race - these points could be absolutely massive come the end of the season.
Lap 62/71: Norris gets blue flagged, finally, as both Hamilton and Perez get clear.
There’s going to be a big push from Perez on the next straight - aided by DRS, fresher tyres and the roar of the home crowd.
Lap 61/71: And Perez is now within DRS range, as the fans in the stands in Mexico City go wild!
10 laps to go and we’re set for a classic finish in Mexico - and Verstappen, the race leader, isn’t even involved!
Lap 60/71: Perez is within a second now, and the home fans are loving this.
Hamilton has caught up with the lapped McLaren of Norris - but Hamilton can’t get past him!
“It’s crazy, I can’t get close! The tyres get hot.” says Hamilton.
Lap 59/71: Just 1.5 seconds for Perez now, and listen to this from Hamilton: “Tyres are wearing,” he says.
Contrast that to this from Red Bull: “Pace is good, tyres are good, battery is good, let’s get him.”
Further back, Sainz suggests Leclerc was making mistakes “to keep him behind”. The Ferraris have now swapped, though.
Lap 56/71: Perez is now within three seconds of Hamilton, with 15 laps to go! What an ending we have in store. Could you imagine if Perez gets past the defending champion to finish second at his home Grand Prix?
Lap 55/71: Ah, we’re back to where we were 20 laps ago, as Ricciardo has Bottas back in his mirrors. Will the Mercedes finally be able to pull off the move?
Further ahead, the Ferraris are cruising in fifth and sixth and are set to make huge gains on McLaren in the constructors. Ferrari want to swap Leclerc and Sainz around, as Sainz is lapping faster.
I don’t think Leclerc liked that.
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