F1 Mexico City GP: Max Verstappen easily beats Lewis Hamilton to claim record 14th win
Max Verstappen took a comfortable victory ahead of Lewis Hamilton at the Mexico City Grand Prix to claim a record 14th victory in a single F1 season.
A second consecutive victory in the space of a week for Verstappen - his 14th in 20 races in 2022 - means the double world champion has surpassed Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel record for most wins in a single season.
There was no repeat of Verstappen and Hamilton’s skirmish last week in Austin this time around as the Dutchman scored one of his more comfortable victories of the year, despite an aggressive strategy from Mercedes.
- F1 2022 Mexico City Grand Prix - Full Race results
- F1 World Championship points standings after the 2022 Mexico City Grand Prix
Mercedes opted to start both Hamilton and George Russell on mediums, while both Red Bulls started on softs, meaning the Silver Arrows could run further into the opening stint.
That enabled Hamilton to briefly lead after he jumped Russell into second at the start, but a switch onto hards did not work out as hoped, leaving both drivers unhappy with their tyres.
Mercedes’ predictions of a tyre drop-off for the Red Bulls didn’t come to pass, leaving Verstappen to cruise to another convincing win, 15s clear of Hamilton, while home hero Sergio Perez completed the podium in third place to delight his adoring fans.
In truth, Mercedes never really had an answer to Red Bull's pace, with Mercedes boss Toto Wolff conceding: "They were too quick. In hindsight not the right tyre choice. But we keep pushing.”
Unable to challenge Perez for third, Russell made a late pit stop to claim the bonus point for setting the fastest lap of the race on his way to fourth.
Russell still ended up 10 seconds clear of the Ferrari pair of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc, who were well off the pace as they took a distant fifth and sixth as the last of the drivers to finish on the lead lap.
Despite picking up a 10-second time penalty for punting Yuki Tsunoda into retirement, McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo recovered to seventh with a charging stint on soft tyres.
Alpine’s Esteban Ocon, McLaren’s Lando Norris and Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas completed the top 10 and the points-paying positions.
