The 2024 Mexico City Grand Prix was incredibly dramatic, with a championship battle heating up and plenty of battles contested. Here are five stand out moments from that race.
Verstappen v Norris heats up
After a tense United States Grand Prix during the previous weekend, the gloves were well and truly off between title rivals Max Verstappen and Lando Norris.
Chancing a move around the outside of turn four, Norris wanted to pass the Red Bull driver until he was forced off. The McLaren driver re-joined ahead, but into the fast turn seven, Verstappen lunged to the inside and forced both drivers off.
LAP 10 / 71
— Formula 1 (@F1) October 27, 2024
Norris and Verstappen make contact twice in four corners and Leclerc gets through into second! 😱
"This guy is dangerous!" Radioes Norris to McLaren 📻
The incidents have been noted by Race Control. #F1 #MexicoGP pic.twitter.com/DUA1ye0TKW
Norris lost that place, as well as another to Charles Leclerc, while the championship leader was slapped with a pair of ten-second time penalties for the incidents.
Norris would continue on to finish in P2, while Verstappen crossed the line in sixth.
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Lawson and Perez lock horns
Sergio Perez endured a horrific home race. He was knocked out of Q1 and finished last in the grand prix, but he was irked by Liam Lawson's defensive driving in the junior team.
The two could not escape contact during their combat, yielding damage and debris littering the track.
Tsunoda's expensive weekend
The other VCARB driver of that weekend, Yuki Tsunoda, did not go much better. He crashed out of Q2, entering the stadium section, and then squeezed Alex Albon's Williams during the long run towards the first turn, eliminating the pair in the process.
The Japanese driver's accident was a high speed one. He instantly lost his right-rear wheel and travelled all the way to the barriers at the first turn.
Mercedes duel
In his final few races as a Mercedes driver, Lewis Hamilton was determined to leave on a high. Although this race did not earn him a podium finish, he enjoyed a well-fought battle with teammate George Russell.
Russell qualified a place ahead of Hamilton, and started fifth, but lost that place on the first lap.
On lap 15, Russell got him back by using the DRS down the long start/finish straight and making his move to the outside of turn one.
Yet, with less than ten laps of the race remaining, Hamilton caught the sister Mercedes again, with Russell damaging his front wing, and passed him back. The two would go on to finish in fourth and fifth.
Ferrari's last win
Carlos Sainz took pole, seized back the lead on the ninth tour, and went on to win the Mexico City Grand Prix which marks his and Ferrari's most recent win in the sport.
Verstappen passed the Spaniard on the run towards the first turn but a crisp move to the Dutchman's inside, at that same corner, won him a lead that he would not lose.
Lando Norris finished just a handful of seconds behind while Charles Leclerc completed a one-three finish for the team from Maranello.
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