Sainz wins Mexican GP after nightmare race for Red Bull

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YURI CORTEZ / AFP / Getty

Ferrari's Carlos Sainz won the Mexico City Grand Prix ahead of McLaren's Lando Norris and teammate Charles Leclerc on Sunday.

It's the second race win of the season for Sainz and back-to-back victories for Ferrari after Leclerc finished first at the U.S. Grand Prix.

"This feels good, thank you guys," Sainz said on the radio after the win. "Forza Ferrari. Gracias Mexico."

Sainz won from pole position after a nightmare event for Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who finished sixth after receiving two 10-second penalties for errant driving toward Norris.

Norris didn't think too highly of Verstappen's driving.

"This is not very clean driving in my opinion," Norris said, according to The Athletic's Luke Smith. "I avoided it, and it was a good race."

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner believed the time penalties given to Verstappen were "on the harsher side."

Verstappen's teammate Sergio Perez finished 17th in front of his home fans.

Perez, whose 2025 seat is being threatened by Liam Lawson, spoke poorly of the RB driver during the race, calling him "an idiot" after he crashed and left debris on the track.

Lawson gave Perez an obscene gesture as he passed him in the late stages of the race.

Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso (brake cooling issue), Williams' Alex Albon (accident), and RB's Yuki Tsunoda (accident) did not finish Sunday's race.

Norris' second-place finish cuts Verstappen's lead for the drivers' championship to 47 points with four events remaining on the calendar.

Ferrari pulled within 28 points of McLaren in the constructors' standings after Sunday's results, which included Leclerc securing a fastest-lap point.

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