While Verstappen was cruising to another victory in a season of domination, a first-corner crash ruined the home race of his teammate
Verstappen started from third and won from the same spot as he did in 2021. Back then, he used the slingshot effect of the draft down the long starting straight at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez to whip to the outside and pass two cars.
This time, Verstappen’s quick bolt off the starting line allowed him to squeeze between the two Ferraris of
He was in total control over the next 35 laps but still had work to do. A hard crash by Haas driver
“Everything I did, I had to start over,” Verstappen said.
Verstappen earned his third consecutive win in
What other goals does Verstappen have this year?
“Seventeen (wins)? Eighteen? I don't know,” Verstappen said. “It’s been another incredible season. The car has been unbelievable to drive.”
Hamilton finished second on Sunday. Leclerc was third.
Leclerc started on pole position for the second consecutive race but again failed to turn it into a win. In 22 career starts from pole, he has won just four times.
Perez's race was over quickly. The Mexican driver was knocked out of the race just seconds after the start when his car clipped tires with Leclerc and bounced high into the air.
Like Verstappen two years ago, Perez tried to pass Leclerc with a sweeping move from the outside that pinched the Ferrari between himself and the other
“It's his home grand prix. If it worked, you would have looked amazing," Verstappen said. “This time, it didn't work out.”
The crackup silenced the massive crowd that had greeted Perez with thunderous cheers all weekend. Much of the crowd left after the crash, but some who stayed booed Leclerc during the postrace interviews before the podium celebration.
Leclerc said he felt bad for Perez, but added, “It's life. It damaged my car and it ended the race for Checo ... I really didn’t do it on purpose, but I had nowhere to go."
The crash allowed Hamilton to close a 39-point gap behind Perez to just 20 heading into the Brazilian Grand Prix next week. Hamilton would be even closer if he had not been disqualified from second last week at the United States Grand Prix for a technical rules violation on his car.
Hamilton is a seven-time champion. He shrugged off a duel with Perez for second, but said he'd try to get it for the
“This is a great result,” Hamilton said. “I didn’t think I would be in shooting range, but after today, we’ll give it our best shot.”
Perez was crushed.
He came to his home race amid rampant speculation that his tenure with
Perez' late-season drives are putting that in jeopardy. He won two of the first four races this season, but he has not won since April and has not been on the podium in the last five races.
“The opportunity, the dream of winning, to live my race with passion, that took me to risk something that maybe was too risky,” Perez said. “I’m going home calm because I gave everything."
MCLAREN PODIUM STREAK ENDS
McLaren's streak of four consecutive podium finishes ended when
DEAD END ASTON MARTIN
Aston Martin had another bad race as
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