Carlos Sainz Secures Victory at Mexico City Grand Prix Amid Red Bull Challenges

Carlos Sainz of Ferrari claimed victory at the Mexico City Grand Prix, finishing ahead of McLaren's Lando Norris and his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc on Sunday.

This win marks Sainz's second of the season and continues Ferrari's momentum following Leclerc's victory at the U.S. Grand Prix. After the race, Sainz expressed his gratitude, saying, "This feels good, thank you guys. Forza Ferrari. Gracias Mexico."

Sainz secured his win from pole position while Red Bull's Max Verstappen faced a challenging race, finishing sixth. Verstappen received two 10-second penalties for improper driving towards Norris.

Norris criticized Verstappen's driving, stating, "This is not very clean driving in my opinion. I avoided it, and it was a good race." Red Bull's team principal, Christian Horner, described the penalties as "on the harsher side."

Sergio Perez, Verstappen's teammate, struggled in front of his home crowd, finishing in 17th place. During the race, Perez referred to Verstappen as "an idiot" after the latter's crash caused debris on the track. In the race's final stages, Liam Lawson gestured obscenely at Perez as he passed.

Several drivers did not finish the race, including Fernando Alonso from Aston Martin due to brake cooling issues, Alex Albon from Williams after an accident, and Yuki Tsunoda from Red Bull also due to an accident.

Norris's second-place finish reduced Verstappen's lead in the drivers' championship to 47 points, with four races remaining. Following the race, Ferrari moved closer to McLaren in the constructors' standings, now trailing by 28 points, aided by Leclerc's fastest-lap point.