Max Verstappen set the record for most race wins in a single season, claiming his 14th victory of 2022 in Mexico. Lewis Hamilton settled for second, in front of home hero Sergio Perez.
Max Verstappen – 10
It’s record after record this season for Verstappen, who won his 14th race in total domination.
The strategy to start on soft tyres and transition onto the mediums played at its best, as the Dutchman conserved his lead following Saturday’s pole position and worked hard to fend off Hamilton in the early stages.
The win is looking like a standard procedure now, as his rivals will only hope this season can come to an end as quickly as possible.
Embed from Getty ImagesLewis Hamilton – 9
The only reason why Hamilton hasn’t won a race this season has been car performance. The Mercedes is not struggling as much now, but fighting Red Bull is too much of a challenge, at the moment.
Hamilton was third on the grid and skilfully moved in front of George Russell on the first lap to throw a fight to Verstappen.
It wasn’t to be, as, on the hard tyres, Hamilton didn’t have the same pace and fell behind, but again demonstrated strong race craft.
Embed from Getty ImagesSergio Perez – 7.5
A happy home weekend for Perez, who retained second place in the standings and who finished on the podium in front of his fans.
With Verstappen on such fine form, hopes of a maiden home win were little, but the Mexican made up for his fourth place in qualifying by overtaking Russell at the start.
He tried to overtake Hamilton, but the Brit won a race of fine margins, which saw him settle in third.
Embed from Getty ImagesGeorge Russell – 7
A poor opening lap cost Russell a podium chance, as he was hopeful of more, following a strong start from the front row.
However, he had to let through Hamilton and Perez and played the catch-up game, unhappy at the team’s decision to pit him on hard tyres.
Perhaps, he was right that a move onto the soft tyres could have allowed him a shot at the win, or at least a podium, but he got the consolation of the fastest lap following a further late stop.
Carlos Sainz – 7.5
His decent performance, compared to Charles Leclerc, perhaps went unnoticed due to Ferrari’s sudden and shocking decrease in performance.
The Italian team had the heaviest gaps of all season in Mexico, as Sainz did his best to qualify in fifth and finish in the same place, powerlessly watching his rivals run away.
It was a personal performance that will give him confidence, after a few lap one retirements, as he hopes Ferrari can be stronger in the final two races.
Embed from Getty ImagesCharles Leclerc – 6
Performance-wise, it was Leclerc’s worst weekend of the year, struggling in the main moments and finishing a distant sixth.
The Monegasque was only seventh in qualifying, after having enjoyed a very strong form this season, and was second-best to Sainz all-weekend long.
Daniel Ricciardo – 8.5
All of a sudden, a switch to soft tyres in the late part of the race saw Daniel Ricciardo come to life and storm through the field, in what was his best performance of the season by a mile.
He will be disappointed to have crashed with Yuki Tsunoda, with the Japanese driver being forced into retirement and the Honey Badger earning a 10-second penalty.
He still made up for it, finishing an impressive 12 seconds in front of Esteban Ocon, after making up more than 20 in the closing laps.
Embed from Getty ImagesEsteban Ocon – 7
The Frenchman got his 14th point-finish of the season, by seeing the chequered flag in eighth, in front of rivals Lando Norris and Valtteri Bottas, after a long duel.
He was second-best to Fernando Alonso, who retired with an issue, but was still doing the job for Alpine and lost his best-of-the-rest spot when Ricciardo won the place on race strategy.
Embed from Getty ImagesLando Norris – 7
For the first time since Canada, Norris finished behind his teammate, who benefitted from an extended first stint after running behind him for most of the race.
He did an excellent job to qualify in eighth but dropped two places at the start, which compromised his strategy, even if the McLaren didn’t look as quick as Saturday.
An early stop onto hard tyres didn’t work as expected, but the Brit still managed to beat Bottas for ninth place and extend his points streak.
Valtteri Bottas – 7
It was Bottas’ best weekend since the Summer break, but the Finn didn’t extract the full potential from the car, after qualifying an excellent sixth.
He had a poor start, dropping to eighth, and was caught napping after the pit stops, losing out to Ocon and later to Norris.
He finally returned to the points, ending the longest open streak of pointless races in Formula One, but there could have been more joy for him and Alfa Romeo, as 10th wasn’t what he wanted.
Embed from Getty ImagesPierre Gasly – 5
This season, the Frenchman hasn’t been at the same level as in 2021, enduring another difficult weekend in Mexico.
He was off slowly and earned himself a penalty after pushing Lance Stroll off the track, which saw him too far away once he fit the soft tyres at the end to attempt a comeback.
Alex Albon – 7.5
Despite Williams suffering from a lack of performance in Mexico, qualifying with the two slowest times, Alex Albon was able to finish the race in a strong 12th place.
It was a stop on soft tyres which made his fortune, even climbing as high as 11th, before losing out to Gasly.
Embed from Getty ImagesZhou Guanyu – 5
The Chinese driver didn’t live up to the expectations this weekend, being far off the pace compared to Bottas.
He was eliminated in Q2 and ran the entire race virtually outside the top 10, attempting to help Bottas by extending his stint and slowing down Ocon.
The comeback at the end didn’t work and Guanyu Zhou was only 13th at the flag.
Sebastian Vettel – 6
After the US magic, Aston Martin returned towards the back of the grid and Sebastian Vettel could only manage 14th, after qualifying 16th.
He didn’t have a realistic chance to fight for points and his rival was Lance Stroll, whom he comfortably finished in front of.
Embed from Getty ImagesLance Stroll – 4.5
It was a difficult weekend for Stroll and Aston Martin, with the Canadian starting from 19th after a poor qualifying and a penalty for the incident caused at Austin.
He dropped back after a strong start, in which he made up five places and ran distant from the points-paying positions.
Mick Schumacher – 5
Haas’ race pace was poor, and the American cars were at the back of the grid, with Mick Schumacher in front.
It’s difficult to say what could have happened, had he started from higher up, but he would have had the chance.
In Q1, his lap was deleted due to exceeding track limits, and he was knocked out when he showed potential to do more.
Embed from Getty ImagesKevin Magnussen – 5
Historically, Haas have always struggled in Mexico and history repeated itself in 2022.
The Dane had a grid penalty and started from last, after qualifying in 15th place, and finished the race a distant 17th, behind Mick Schumacher, in an anonymous display.
Nicholas Latifi – 4
His Formula One career is likely to be over at the end of the year and Nicholas Latifi had another poor weekend in Mexico.
He was three-tenths behind Albon in qualifying, but spent the entire race at the back and finished six places down on his teammate.
Fernando Alonso – 8
The Spaniard is not having a lucky season at all and failed to finish due to mechanical issues for the third time in the last five races.
He was racing in a superb seventh, comfortably clear of his rivals behind, and didn’t look under threat until a late issue.
He will hope to find better fortune at Aston Martin, as the final year with Alpine is turning miserable.
Embed from Getty ImagesYuki Tsunoda – 6
The Japanese driver was taken out by an ambitious manoeuvre by Ricciardo when fighting for 11th place.
It’s difficult to say whether Yuki Tsunoda would have scored points, but he was racing in front of Pierre Gasly and doing the most for Alpha Tauri.
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