Verstappen wins record 14th win of season in Mexico

Max Verstappen (Red Bull), already assured of his second world championship title, won Sunday in Mexico a 14e Grand Prix in 2022, a record for success in a single Formula 1 season.

Starting in pole position, the Dutchman was well ahead of the Briton Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) and the local of the stage, the other Red Bull of the Mexican Sergio Pérez, for the 20e round out of 22 on the Rodriguez Brothers circuit.

“Max, congratulations, it’s a new record! » : from the end of the race, rather a ride at 2,200 meters above sea level, Verstappen was congratulated by his boss Christian Horner. “14 victories, it’s incredible! »savored the double champion, unstoppable, who finished 15 seconds ahead.

George Russell (Mercedes), part 2e but overtaken from the first corners by his teammate Hamilton and by Pérez, finished 4eahead of the Ferraris of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc, who performed poorly this weekend.

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Red Bull goes it alone

Assured of the title from Japan two races ago, Verstappen won his 34e victoire. At 25, he is the 6e the most prolific driver in the history of F1 and has in sight the Brazilian legend Ayrton Senna and his 41 successes.

Red Bull, titled among the constructors last Sunday in Austin, continues on its own. Unbeatable for nine races now with a last defeat on July 10 in Austria (Leclerc), it behaves better on the track than off, after being sanctioned for having exceeded the 2021 budget ceiling. The team has won 16 of the 20 races disputed, counting the two of Pérez. In front of a crowd won over to his cause, Pérez would have liked to add a third.

Carried by “Cheko! Checo! » of his unleashed supporters, especially in the deafening Foro Sol stadium, the Mexican could not do better. He consoles himself by overtaking Leclerc in the 2e up to general. In this weekend of celebrations in Mexico, before the Dia de muertos, the party was therefore almost total for the 395,000 spectators who came to fill the stands since Friday. Almost, because once again the race looked like a long procession with Verstappen at the helm.

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In the pantheon of victories in the same season, Verstappen now exceeds the Germans Michael Schumacher (2004) and Sebastian Vettel (2013), tied with 13 successes. In the percentage of victories on the other hand, “Schumi” remains in the lead for the moment with 13 victories out of 18 races. It will therefore be necessary to do the accounts at the end of the season to see who holds ” Actually “ the record.

Mercedes ahead of Ferrari

Verstappen, whose hunger for victories knows no bounds, still has two opportunities to shine: Brazil (November 13) and Abu Dhabi (November 20). In Mexico, as in the United States last week, it was his arch-nemesis, reigning vice-world champion Hamilton who was the most serious – albeit remote – threat.

Hamilton couldn’t do anything. He could not benefit from the arrival of a providential safety car either, even after the engine stopped at the end of the race of the Alpine of Fernando Alonso, visibly very annoyed by this new concern for reliability.

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The Briton has only two races left to save the honor, win a 104e victory and glean another famous record: winning at least once in 16 consecutive years. And there are reasons to believe it, given the improvements of Mercedes, in the process of supplanting Ferrari as the second force of the field.

Enough to plan for a new Red Bull – Mercedes match in 2023. And enough to give headaches to the management of Ferrari, which is struggling to keep up the pace even if it clings to the 2e place in the manufacturer’s ranking.

The World with AFP

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