Records tumble as Verstappen cruises to Mexico Grand Prix victory

MEXICO: Max Verstappen kept his record-breaking season going with a stunning win for Oracle Red Bull Racing at the 2023 Formula 1 Mexico Grand Prix at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on Sunday.

It was Verstappen’s fifth victory in Mexico, stretching the gap over the all-time record of three wins previously held by Jim Clark. The Dutchman achieved this feat in front of a crowd of 152,668 ticket-paying fans. The attendance was a new milestone for the Mexico City Grand Prix, which drew a total of 400,639 spectators over the course of the weekend.

The 26-year-old claimed his 51st career win, and 16th of the season, eclipsing his 15 wins in 2022. On a circuit with a corner named after 1992 World Champion Nigel Mansell, Verstappen’s last two seasons have now seen him score 31 victories — the same number as the Englishman claimed in his entire 187-race F1 career.

Verstappen got a part of the job done within seconds of the lights going out. With Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc starting from his second Mexico pole position and teammate Carlos Sainz alongside him, the world champion aimed his Red Bull between the two scarlet cars and passed both on the 811-meter run to the first corner — the longest of the F1 season.

The race could not have started worse for Mexican favorite Sergio Perez. As Verstappen dived down the inside at turn one, Checo tried to go past Leclerc round the outside resulting in contact, sending the Red Bull off and out with damage to its right side, while the Ferrari suffered front-wing damage of its own.

“I had a tremendous start,” said the 33-year-old Mexican. “The gap was there, I was fully on it — I just went for it. I wasn’t expecting Charles to brake as late as Max and I did. There was no room for three