The Mexican Grand Prix was a casualty of the COVID-impacted 2020 calendar, and is a welcome return in this fascinating 2021 title race between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton. Join The Roar for a live blog of all the action from 6am (AEDT).
From the passion of the crowd in Texas, to the roaring adoration for Sergio Perez, Formula One has been given an overwhelming reception upon its return to the bustling Mexico City.
12-points is the difference between the protagonists coming into the eighteenth round of the championship and the 4.3km high-altitude circuit is one that favours the performance from the Red Bull.
Verstappen won back-to-back races here in 2017 and 2018, while Hamilton secured victory en route to his sixth title in 2019. However, there is an expectation for the home crowd favourite in Perez to take what would be a magical win on home soil.
Qualifying however delivered a shock pole position for Valtteri Bottas, ahead of teammates Hamilton as Mercedes locked out the front-row of the grid. Verstappen heads up an all Red Bull second row, after a scrappy end to Q3.
The run into Turn 1 will be crucial, with such a long straight and the element of the slipstream set to play a key factor in seeing who will lead the race at the end of the first lap.
Strategy wise, with all the key contenders set to start of the medium tyre, it should be a straightforward one-stop race with a switch to the hard compound.
Elsewhere, Pierre Gasly has impressed with the speed of the AlphaTauri this weekend and has the chance to go best of the rest ahead of the Ferraris and sole McLaren of Daniel Ricciardo starting in the top ten.
Ricciardo’s teammate Lando Norris is one of four drivers starting from the back of the grid with power-unit penalties. Also at the rear will be Yuki Tsunoda, Esteban Ocon and Lance Stroll – who crashed in Q1 and could yet start from the pit lane.
Can Perez delight the adoring and partisan crowd at the end of the 71-lap Mexico City Grand Prix? Or will one of the title rivals come out ahead to aid their respective championship bids going into the clutch rounds.
For live blog coverage and updates of the Mexico City Grand Prix, please be sure to tune in on The Roar from 5:50am (AEDT) for what should be another epic race.
Lights out: 6am (AEDT)
Venue: Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, Mexico City
TV: Fox Sports
Online: Kayo Sports, Foxtel GO
1. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes), 2. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), 3. Max Verstappen (Red Bull), 4. Sergio Perez (Red Bull), 5. Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri), 6. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari), 7. Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren), 8. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), 9. Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin), 10. Kimi Räikkönen (Alfa Romeo), 11. George Russell (Williams), 12. Antonio Giovinazzi (Alfa Romeo), 13. Fernando Alonso (Alpine), 14. Nicholas Latifi (Williams), 15. Mick Schumacher (Haas), 16. Nikita Mazepin (Haas), 17. Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri), 18. Lando Norris (McLaren), 19. Esteban Ocon (Alpine), 20. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
What a result then for Verstappen, Perez and the Red Bull team! Only a short turnaround till the next race in Brazil next weekend, where we will see the next Saturday Sprint as well. Until then, thank you for tuning into this live blog of the Mexico City Grand Prix and I will be back with The Roar for Brazil. Ciao.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
----- CONSTRUCTOR'S ----- 478.5 - Mercedes AMG 477.5 - Red Bull Racing Honda 268.5 - Ferrari 255 - McLaren Mercedes 106 - Alpine 106 - Scuderia AlphaTauri 68 -- Aston Martin Racing 23 -- Williams Mercedes 11 -- Alfa Romeo Racing 0 --- Haas Ferrari
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
-------- DRIVER'S -------- 312.5 - Max Verstappen 293.5 - Lewis Hamilton 185 - Valtteri Bottas 165 - Sergio Perez 150 - Lando Norris 138 - Charles Leclerc 130.5 - Carlos Sainz 105 - Daniel Ricciardo 86 -- Pierre Gasly 60 -- Fernando Alonso 46 -- Esteban Ocon 42 -- Sebastian Vettel 26 -- Lance Stroll 20 -- Yuki Tsunoda 16 -- George Russell 10 -- Kimi Räikkönen 7 --- Nicholas Latifi 1 --- Antonio Giovinazzi 0 --- Mick Schumacher 0 --- Robert Kubica 0 --- Nikita Mazepin
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
RACE REPORT Max Verstappen and Red Bull have strengthened their positions in the world championship battle with Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes, emphatically winning the Mexico City Grand Prix as teammate Sergio Perez secured third. Pole sitter Valtteri Bottas managed to get a good start with teammate Hamilton, however Verstappen capitalised with some late braking into Turn 1 to emerge as the leader. Bottas ended up being tagged by the McLaren of Daniel Ricciardo, with both drivers being sent to the rear of the field amongst terminal damage for Yuki Tsunoda and Mick Schumacher. Verstappen led Hamilton and Perez during the early Safety Car period, then continued to lead when the race was restarted and the teams began to think about pit-stops. Mercedes felt the pinch of a hard charging Perez behind and brought Hamilton in on Lap 30 for his stop. Verstappen followed suit on Lap 34, as Perez stayed out until Lap 41 – which allowed Hamilton back into second. The remainder of the race saw the Mexican hunt down the Mercedes, before ultimately falling short at the chequered flag to deliver what would have been a one-two finish for Red Bull. Perez however, became the first ever Mexican driver to lead his home grand prix and also first to finish on the podium in front of the passionate fans. Pierre Gasly secured fourth in what was a lonely race for the sole standing AlphaTauri driver. There was a late attempt by Carlos Sainz to catch the Frenchman, however with the Spaniard’s charge coming to nothing – Ferrari switched positions back between he and Charles Leclerc. Former world champions in Sebastian Vettel, Kimi Räikkönen and Fernando Alonso all capitalised on others having grid penalties as well as Ricciardo and Bottas being out of position to score points – ahead of the single point scoring McLaren of Lando Norris. Bottas in fifteenth set the fastest lap of the race too, following four stops in order to take away that extra point from Verstappen and Red Bull. Not being in the top ten, meant that Bottas did not score the extra point however. 19-points is the difference now between Verstappen and Hamilton in the standings, as Red Bull have also closed the gap to Mercedes in the constructor’s championship to a single point also.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
STANDBY FOR RACE REPORT & UPDATED STANDINGS
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Roar Guru
PODIUM INTERVIEWS - Hosted by David Coulthard VERSTAPPEN - "It's incredible." "Kept it on the track and went into the corner first." "Its a long way to go and I look forward to Brazil." HAMILTON - "Congratulations to Max. Their car was faster and we couldn't do anything." "It was easy to hold on, but it shows how fast their car was." "He [Checo] did a great job." PEREZ - "Unbelievable. Today I wanted to get the 1-2 for the team." "
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
RESULTS FROM THE 71-LAP MEXICO CITY GRAND PRIX 1 M. Verstappen 2 L. Hamilton 3 S. Perez 4 P. Gasly 5 C. Leclerc 6 C. Sainz 7 S. Vettel 8 K. Räikkönen 9 F. Alonso 10 L. Norris 11 A. Giovinazzi 12 D. Ricciardo 13 E. Ocon 14 L. Stroll 15 V. Bottas (Fastest Lap) 16 G. Russell 17 N. Latifi 18 N. Mazepin RET M. Schumacher RET Y. Tsunoda
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
MAX VERSTAPPEN WINS THE MEXICO CITY GRAND PRIX! Lewis Hamilton just manages to hold off the home favourite for second. And Sergio Perez claimed his first ever podium on home soil in an excellent drive.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 71/71: FINAL LAP
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Roar Guru
Lap 70/71: Bottas pits for a fourth time and tries another set of soft tyres. They didn’t get fastest lap on that last attempt. Perez within DRS range again of Hamilton!
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 69/71: Verstappen, who's mostly had a lonely race out the front meanwhile hits a bit of trouble with the lapped car of Bottas who is trying to unlap himself.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 68/71: Sainz as well hasn't really made much of an impression on Gasly. The gap between those two is 7.4 seconds. But he has definitely cleared his teammate Leclerc.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 67/71: FIVE LAPS TO GO Gap between Hamilton and Perez out to 2 seconds now.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 66/71: Bottas pits for a set of soft and will go after the fastest lap, so that Verstappen doesn't get the extra point. Because he is out of the top ten, he won't get the extra point - but it means that Red Bull will not either.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 65/71: Crucially, Hamilton has made some gains because of the lapped Williams in the way of Perez.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 64/71: Perez is just outside of DRS range of Hamilton, as the Briton has been told to lift and coast through the corners because of his brakes overheating.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 63/71: Still nip and tuck between Hamilton and Perez.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 62/71: Blue flags being shown to Norris now, as Perez uses DRS against Hamilton. The pair have cleared the lapped McLaren now.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 61/71: Checo within DRS range of Hamilton now! The nerves within the Red Bull garage, with Perez's family and the crowd will be palpable.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 60/71: VER HAM PER GAS SAI LEC VET RÄI ALO NOR GIO RIC BOT OCO STR RUS LAT MAZ the order of the field. Schumacher and Tsunoda out of the race.