The Mexican GP Results

The Mexican GP qualifying session was nothing short of dramatic, with unexpected outcomes and a series of investigations that kept fans on the edge of their seats.

• Qualifying session 1 (Q1)
• Qualifying session 2 (Q2)
• Qualifying session 3 (Q3)
• The Final Qualifying Results
• The Main Race

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Mexican GP Results – Qualifying Session 1 (Q1)

The session saw a chaotic end with several cars attempting to exit the pits, only to be blocked by Max Verstappen, George Russell, and Fernando Alonso. They were waiting for the best time to join the track.

This resulted in a traffic jam, further complicated by Alonso’s spin at Turn 3, which brought out yellow flags.

As a result, Norris was eliminated and will start from the back of the grid.

By the time the group began their fast laps, Alonso’s spun at Turn 3 which activated yellow flags in the first sector, affecting the cars behind him.

Norris was hit the hardest, having left himself vulnerable by oddly not recording a time on medium tires during his initial Q1 run. He then messed up his first fast lap attempt on soft tires.

Russell labeled the pit-lane traffic as a ‘total chaos,’ while Lewis Hamilton believed he’d be okay after allegedly not slowing down for the yellow flags.

The following drivers failed to make it through to Q2.

Mexican GP Results – Qualifying Session 2 (Q2)

Verstappen, who had dominated all three practice sessions, seemed set to continue his dominance.

Sainz narrowly making it to Q3 in P9 and Leclerc finishing Q2 in sixth.

Alex Albon, who had demonstrated remarkable speed to place second in the final practice, seemed to have secured his Williams a spot in Q3. However, he lost that time due to exceeding track boundaries at Turn 2.

The end of Q2 was not without its drama, with Yuki Tsunoda making contact with a Williams rear jack, resulting in a fine for the team.

Mexican GP Results – Qualifying Session 3 (Q3)

In Q3, Leclerc and Sainz surprised everyone by setting faster times than Verstappen. Despite the Ferraris failing to improve their times on their final runs, Verstappen’s improvement was not enough to secure a front-row position and he ended up in P3.

Perhaps the most surprising result was Daniel Ricciardo achieving 4th place on the grid ahead of Red Bull’s Sergio Perez.

Lewis Hamilton managed to secure sixth place, a potential disappointment for Mercedes.

Oscar Piastri will start the race in seventh position. George Russel starts in eighth position followed by the two Alpha Romeo drivers Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu

Which Drivers did the They Investigate?

The end of Q1 saw Verstappen, Russell, and Alonso under investigation for blocking the pit-lane exit. All three were cleared of the offence.

When they cleared all three drivers of the infraction, they acknowledged that the rules about blocking the pit lane exit and exceeding a set time on non-race laps contradict each other. They noted that violating the former is less risky than having cars at significantly different speeds on the track.

The conclusion was that a better approach to the pit lane exit situation would be “preferable,” but it’s currently “undetermined.”

Hamilton was also investigated for allegedly failing to slow down under yellow flags but was later cleared.

Which drivers Received Penalties?

Logan Sargeant of Williams was the only driver to receive a penalty. He overtook Yuki Tsunoda’s AlphaTauri under yellow flags, resulting in a 10-place grid drop. However, since he qualified last, the grid drop had no impact. More significantly, Sargeant received two penalty points on his FIA super license.

Mexican GP Results – The Final Qualifying Result

Mexican GP Results – The Main Race

The race couldn’t have started in a more dramatic way. Max Verstappen had a better start then the two Ferrari’s of Leclerc and Sainz and barged down between them. Carlos Sainz on the right-hand side gave Max space by dropping back.

What they didn’t see was that Sergio Perez took the lead on the left-hand side of the track. Unfortunately, three doesn’t go into two and there simply wasn’t enough room for all three cars to take turn one to the right.

Sergio was stuck on the outside – he turned in and his rear right-hand wheel hit the front of Charles Leclerc front wing. Sergio’s car lifted in the air and spun round. In the process he damaged his side fairing and ruined the floor.

Tragically this meant that Sergio Perez’s race, in front of his home race crowd, was over!

The accident damaged Leclerc’s front wing end plate but he managed to continue with marginal loss of pace.

On lap 31 Carlos Sainz pitted which promoted Lewis Hamilton (now on hard tires) into 3rd position.

On lap 35 the rear right-hand suspension on Magnussen’s Haas collapsed on turn eight and he flew into the Armco barriers. The accident severely damaged the car, although Kevin appeared unhurt.

This incident ultimately caused the race to be red flagged.

The Restart

The restart order is listed below.

What Happened after the Restart?

After the restart, Max Verstappen retained 1st position, and Hamilton started to threaten Charles Leclerc for 2nd place.

From lap 37 to lap 40 Hamilton and Leclerc fought it out. Hamilton bravery overtook Leclerc on the right-hand edge of the track up to turn 1.

Simultaneously George Russel was challenging Carlos Sainz for 4th place. George couldn’t pull this move off and stayed behind.

On lap 50 Yuki Tsunoda contacted with Oscar Piastri on turn one, causing Tsunoda to spin off.

The top 4 order stayed unchanged to the end of the race. This was despite the fact the predictions that Hamilton’s medium tires would not last, and that Charles Leclerc would regain 2nd place.

Of special mention is that Lando Norris started in 17th place on the grid and finished in 5th place!

Final Results