The Red Bull driver said Ferrari's fight between Hamilton and Leclerc gave him the chance to take second and then the lead in Mexico City.
Max Verstappen won the Mexico City Grand Prix for Red Bull, 0.799s ahead of Lewis Hamilton, after starting fifth. He said Ferrari's early fight between Hamilton and Charles Leclerc let him take second, and a pit stop then put him ahead of the penalised Leclerc.
Max Verstappen has said Ferrari "made it a little bit difficult for themselves" in Mexico City, giving him the opening he needed to win the Grand Prix for Red Bull. It was his third victory of the season, by 0.799s from Lewis Hamilton.
Verstappen started fifth after an incident with Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson and a lock-up in qualifying. A strong start took him to third on the opening lap. He then moved into second when Hamilton and Charles Leclerc had an off-track moment while fighting for position. Leclerc was later given a five-second time penalty for leaving the circuit and gaining a lasting advantage.
How the lead changed hands
Red Bull brought Verstappen in at the same time as Leclerc. With the penalty to serve, Leclerc came out behind him, and Verstappen took the race lead, which he held to the chequered flag.
"We gave it everything," Verstappen said. He called the first start good and said it had "already made my race", and he thanked the team for the strategy of pitting together with Leclerc and passing him in the pit stop because of the penalty.
He said Ferrari were very fast and that their fight with each other was what allowed him to capitalise. "I always try to go for every opportunity and today I saw the opportunity," he said. Hamilton was close behind throughout, and Verstappen said he could not afford a mistake.
Two restarts under pressure
Verstappen was pressed by Hamilton on both restarts. One followed a suspension failure for Valtteri Bottas. The other came after Racing Bulls driver Arvid Lindblad crashed following contact with McLaren's Oscar Piastri.
Asked what he takes from the weekend, Verstappen said the track is always difficult and very slippery, and that a win was a fantastic result. He said the team would keep learning from its strengths and weaknesses and apply that to next year.
What we know so far
- Verstappen won from fifth on the grid, 0.799s clear of Hamilton.
- Leclerc received a five-second penalty and lost the lead battle in the pits.
- Verstappen is now two points ahead of Hamilton in the Drivers' Championship, after Kimi Antonelli sealed his first title.
