Winners and Losers of 2024 F1 Mexico GP

Winners and Losers of 2024 F1 Mexico GP

28th October 2024 0 By Kamron Kent

Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz took his second victory of the season at the Mexico Grand Prix but who are the winners and losers of the race?

Feature image credit: Red Bull Content Pool

Winner: Carlos Sainz

Sainz looked to be on good form this weekend having set the fastest lap in FP2 before taking pole position for the Mexican race. Although he lost the lead on the opening lap, it wasn’t long before he regained it. From there, he stormed out front to take his second win of the season. 

He’s creating an impressive CV to get himself back up with a top team if his time at Williams, next season, doesn’t plan out well. 

Loser: Max Verstappen

One of our winners from the previous event, the Mexico GP was certainly one where he stands as a loser. Verstappen tested the limits once more in Mexico, and while he got away with it in Austin, USA, he didn’t get away with it this time around. 

He had another tussle with Lando Norris and forced the Briton off the track at turn four, on lap 10, before leaving the track and gaining an advantage a few corners later. 

As a result, he took 20 seconds worth of penalties ultimately costing him a chance at the race win. 

Winner: Lando Norris

In a turn of events, Norris is a winner this time around. Although he was impacted in his fight with Verstappen, as stated above, the Briton managed to take home second place and cut down the deficit to Verstappen.

As Verstappen finished sixth, four places behind Norris, it means the deficit is cut down by 10 points and 47 points now separate the two title rivals with five races to go.

Loser: Sergio Perez 

Mexico was meant to be a good weekend for Perez, a place to increase his morale and give Red Bull a reason to keep his contract. However, a Q1 elimination and a 17th finish in the race was not something to write home about especially in a car which should be able to fight its way back into the points. 

With a pointless score, if the rumours are to be believed, this could be Perez’s final home race although he doesn’t think so, according to his interview with Sky Sports F1. But if he is let go, to make way with rumoured favourite Liam Lawson, who could blame Red Bull for making the decision when they team championship looks lost? 

Winner: Oscar Piastri

After a Q1 elimination, and starting the Mexcian race in 17th, Piastri had to commit to a recovery drive to aid McLaren’s championship hopes as Ferrari took a strong start to the triple header.

As such, Piastri did just that and finished eight in between the two Haas cars after he extended his opening strategy on the mediums before pitting for the hards later than the rest to attack for a points finish. In the end, he finished two places down from Verstappen. 

Loser: Fernando Alonso

A milestone, a great achievement, only to end in ruins. Alonso embarked on the Mexican weekend knowing he was about to be the first driver to have 400 grand prix starts under his belt. 

Perhaps superstition played a part as the Spaniard started 13th on the grid. Regardless, a DNF with a mechanical issue wouldn’t have been the way anyone would’ve wanted this achievement to end.

It’s a shame.  

Winner: Ferrari

It’s another win for the former world champions making it two-for-two in the All-American triple header, after Charles Leclerc took the win at Austin, USA. As such, the team have put enough points in the bank to overtake Red Bull in the constructors championship.

Ferrari sits nicely in second place between McLaren and Red Bull. They now stand 29 points adrift of McLaren whilst leading Red Bull by 25 points. 

Loser: Red Bull Racing

It was certainly a weekend to forget for the defending champions. 

In his home grand prix, Perez experienced a shocking exit in Q1, only to take a five-second time penalty for being outside his grid box when the race started. In addition, the Mexican couldn’t fight for points and finished last of the running cars. 

On the other side of the garage, Verstappen – who had started on the front row – only managed sixth after two 10-second penalties took him out of contention for a race win or podium finish. While they remain in mathematical contention for the constructors championship, it looks like a losing battle right now.

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Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.

CategoryFormula 1 Formula Series News

About the author

Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.

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