Carlos Sainz claimed his second victory of 2024 at the Mexican Grand Prix with a commanding drive, as Lando Norris finished second and Max Verstappen sixth after a 20-second penalty.

The Spaniard reclaimed the lead he’d lost into the opening corner and never conceded it thereafter; he built an unassailable lead which soaked up the potential of any threat from Norris in the closing stages once the McLaren driver cleared Charles Leclerc.

Sainz kept the lead through the pitstop phases and, despite occasional attempts from Leclerc to eat into an ever-growing lead, the Williams-bound driver returned the favour to continue his break-building efforts out in front.

Sainz had lost the lead to Verstappen off the line as the Red Bull driver arrived at Turn 1 first, and forced the Ferrari driver to take to the grass with his preservation of the racing line.

But the racing action was soon nullified after a first-corner clash between Alex Albon and Yuki Tsunoda brought out the safety car; Albon was pinched between Tsunoda and Pierre Gasly, and the former two ended up coalescing in the braking zone for Turn 1.

Tsunoda ended up going straight into the wall, while Albon also pulled over to retire with front-left tyre damage.

On the restart, Sainz spent two laps sat in Verstappen’s wheel-tracks before gathering enough pace to mount an overtake into Turn 1 with DRS and then covered off a potential switchback into the following corners.

This put Verstappen in Norris’ clutches, and the McLaren’s bid to pass around the outside into Turn 4 was once again met with Verstappen taking him off the road.

Like Austin, Norris had laid claim to the position, but Verstappen then lunged down the inside at Turn 7 and took both drivers off once more – and got ahead of Norris off the road. Both incidents resulted in 10-second penalties for Verstappen, which sent him further down the order and took him out of the lead fight. Leclerc capitalised on the skirmish between the two championship leaders, bursting into second place.

The Monegasque couldn’t challenge his team-mate, however, and after the pit phase Sainz’s lead had grown to over eight seconds. Leclerc attempted to cut this down, although both Ferraris were employing lift and coast tactics to gather the requisite cooling.

Sainz stabilised at over five seconds, but Leclerc’s tyres then started to run out of life and he started to fall into Norris’ orbit – when the Briton closed into DRS range at the end of lap 62, Leclerc subsequently drifted wide out of the Peraltada and almost hit the wall.

Leclerc saved the snap of oversteer, but couldn’t stop Norris from breaking past. Norris subsequently started to catch Sainz, but could only get to within 4.7 seconds at the flag.

2024 Mexico City Grand Prix

Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz will start the race from pole position ahead of title rivals Max Verstappen (Red Bull) and Lando Norris (McLaren).

Event	Date
	14:00
Mexican GP Race

What time does the Mexico Grand Prix start?

The Mexico GP will begin at 2pm local time (-6 GMT) at Autodromo Hermanos Rodríguez

• Date: Sunday, 27 October, 2024
• Start time: 20:00 GMT  / 21:00 CET  / 22:00 SAT / 23:00 EAT  / 16:00 ET / 13:00 PT / 07:00 AEDT (Monday) / 05:00 JST (Monday) / 01:30 IST (Monday)

2024 Formula 1 Mexico Grand Prix session timings in different timezones

How can I watch the Mexico Grand Prix?

Formula 1 is broadcast live in nearly every country around the world. 

Europe: 

• Austria – Servus TV / ORF
• Belgium – RTBF / Telenet / Play Sports
• Croatia – Sport Klub
• Czech Republic – AMC
• Denmark – TV3+ / TV3 Sport / Viaplay
• Estonia: Viaplay
• Finland – Viaplay 
• France – Canal+
• Germany – Sky 
• Greece – ANT1 / ANT1+
• Hungary – M4
• Italy – Sky
• Netherlands – Viaplay / Viaplay Xtra
• Norway – V sport 1 / V sport + / Viaplay
• Poland – Viaplay
• Portugal – Sport TV
• Spain – F1 DAZN
• Sweden – Viaplay / V sport motor / TV 10
• Switzerland – SRF / RSI / RTS
• UK – Sky Sports F1

Americas: 

• USA – ABC
• Canada – RDS / RDS2 / TSN / Noovo
• Latin America – ESPN

Asia: 

• China – CCTV / Shanghai TV / Guangdong Television Channel / Tencent
• India – FanCode
• Japan – Fuji TV / DAZN
• Malaysia – beIN SPORTS
• Indonesia- beIN SPORTS
• Singapore – beIN SPORTS
• Thailand – beIN SPORTS
• Vietnam – K+

Oceania: 

• Australia – Fox Sports / Foxtel / Kayo / Network Ten
• New Zealand – Sky

Africa: 

Can I stream the F1 Mexico Grand Prix?

Viewers can subscribe to F1 TV in selected countries to stream the race on a device of their choice.

Sky Sports and Movistar also offer their own live streaming service in the UK and Spain respectively.

F1 Mexico Grand Prix – Starting grid:

Organisers of Formula 1’s Mexican Grand Prix are bullish that their sold-out event will remain successful regardless of Sergio Perez‘s F1 future, and are working on a new deal.

Perez signed a two-year contract extension earlier this year, but his continued difficulties to perform at a consistently high level have Red Bull constantly monitoring the situation for 2025 and beyond, bringing in reserve driver Liam Lawson at its satellite RB team as a potential future replacement.

Boosted by Perez’s presence, the Mexican Grand Prix made a successful return on the calendar in 2015, with the event selling out for nine straight editions thus far. It is currently in talks with F1 to extend its current deal, which runs out after next year’s race.

And while promoter CIE is naturally Perez’s biggest supporter as he brings in local fans and ensures a pulsating atmosphere to the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, the grand prix’s director Alejandro Soberon has said the event is well equipped to thrive regardless of having a local driver or not.

“What I can tell you is that the Formula 1 fandom in Mexico is very strong in general, and obviously Checo is a great enhancement for this. But Mexicans are having Formula 1 very, very close in their heart,” Soberon said when asked by Motorsport.com about the event’s future whenever the 34-year-old ends up calling time on his F1 career.

“We have a much better show on the track today than what we had five years ago, so I think competition and quality of the spectacle is going to be enough to sustain the interest in the crowd. As the promoter of the race, we are very excited, trying to figure out a way to extend our contract, regardless of Checo.

“Everybody, of course, would love to have a local driver, because it’s always better to have it. But there are very few races who have a local driver, and this year F1 in general has enjoyed sold-out crowds everywhere, and that’s a reflection of the competition and the quality of the show that we’ve seen on the track.”

Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing RB20

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

The race’s general director Federico Gonzalez added that the make-up of the race’s 400,000-strong crowd had changed over the years and had raised a new generation of race fans that enjoy the series in general, partly driven by Netflix series Drive to Survive.

“I think that the audience has changed a lot, it’s not the same audience as in 2015,” Gonzalez remarked. “A lot of things happened, like more competition on the track, Drive to Survive… and the work that we have been doing for these many years has changed the audience also. We have educated a new generation of race fans. Of course, we cheer for Checo, but also for the spectacle, for the race itself.”

The Mexican promoters have adhered to a conscious marketing strategy of targeting local, national and international fans, aiming for an even three-way split between them. That ensures the race connects with the Mexican capital and its citizens, while also aligning with the government’s wider tourism objectives.

Last year the tourism ministry reported that around 232,000 people travelled to Mexico City for the event from the rest of Mexico and overseas, with an estimated economic benefit of $175 million USD.

“Part of the strategy is to try and achieve a split of 33 per cent international, 33 per cent local Mexico City and 33 per cent national Mexico ticket sales,” Gonzalez said. “That ensures a healthier grand prix in terms of attendance and that is going to give us the peace, hopefully, that even if we don’t have Checo, we can continue being sold out.”

Fans

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

Soberon added: “We have one more year, and we already started conversations with Formula 1, with the city and with government officials to form the right coalition to make this happen and get an extension. We’re fairly optimistic that we’re going to have a race for many, many years.”

He pointed out the 2024 edition of the race sold out in just two hours, despite ticket sales opening soon after Perez’s calamitous lap 1 crash during the 2023 edition, showing how strong the local support is for the lively event itself.

“It was a major blow for everybody, there was a sensation of a funeral,” he said. “The fans couldn’t watch him even for one lap. We decided to go on sale for this race 15 days after that, and there were a lot of people questioning if we needed to give people more time to forget about what happened. And we sold out in two hours for this year’s race.

“We have seen better times for Checo, he has made the Mexican fans very, very happy for many years. But I’m an optimistic guy, I think he could still give us some more.”

Formula 1 and the FIA now have plenty of material in the wake of the United States Grand Prix to review its racing guidelines “in the interest of the sport”, according to McLaren team principal Andrea Stella.

McLaren failed in its submission of a right of review over the five-second penalty given to Lando Norris, as the FIA upheld its opinion that Norris passed Max Verstappen off-track at Turn 12 on lap 52.

Stella and McLaren believe that Norris had already completed the move on the run to Turn 12 and that Verstappen – in their eyes, now the aggressor – had pushed Norris off the road.

Following the FIA’s decision to deny the right of review, although noting that the “high bar” set out in the right of review regulations was more suited to decisions made with team representatives present, Stella believes that it is now the time to “make a step forward” with the current guidelines.

“We have already made our observations that the guidelines for these driving manoeuvres need review,” Stella said. “This was mainly, I would say, after some of the episodes in Austria already, then I think in Austin definitely. 

“We have suggested, either with the right of review or straight after the race in our comments in Austin, that we think the interpretation of the racing between Lando and Max was really unnecessarily at the disadvantage of Lando. 

“For us as a team, we leave it to the leadership of the FIA. We have always been respectful, constructive, collaborative with the FIA, we are ready to keep doing that. 

Andrea Stella, Team Principal, McLaren F1 Team

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

“I think the drivers as well have had the chance to express their opinion, and they all agree that there’s quite a bit of work to do. And I think they have also given their opinion on the episode that happened in Austin. 

“There’s a lot of material. There’s a lot of information. I think it’s now the time to process this information and take a step forward in the interest of the sport.”

In the aftermath of the race, Stella initially said that the team would accept the decision – but the grey area in interpreting the position of the cars on track meant that McLaren felt it needed to press on with a right-of-review submission.

He explained that McLaren still disagreed with the FIA’s interpretation of the incident, and of its application of “new, significant, and relevant” information, but welcomed the swift resolution from the governing body.

“In terms of my comments straight after the race, related to the fact that we wouldn’t have proceeded with a right of review, they were based on what I knew at the time. 

“But after we read the decision, it became very clear that there was an element in the decision, which was an element also in relation to what is required by the International Sporting Code to be a new, relevant, significant element to make the petition successful. 

“Reading the decision, it was very clear that the decision included an objective, measurable, provable error, which was the element that we wanted to consider as this required new, relevant and significant element. 

“We disagreed with the interpretation of the stewards that this element wouldn’t be significant, relevant and new – we thought that was actually the case.

“But we remain thankful to the stewards for having considered the matter very rapidly, quickly, and we keep our as usual, our constructive, supportive approach.”

Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko has been clear that Sergio Perez’s current performance is not good enough, following a dismal qualifying result at Formula 1’s Mexico City Grand Prix.

Not only was Perez outqualified by Max Verstappen for the 23rd time in 24 sessions this year (sprint qualifying included), but he also suffered the ignominy of being eliminated as early as Q1, finishing 18th with an eight-tenth deficit on his team-mate – a setback the Mexican blamed on braking issues.

In a context where Perez’s father Antonio has told Mexican sports newspaper Record that he remains convinced Sergio will become a world champion eventually, Marko reacted on Sky Germany: “Well, I honour his father’s optimism, but…

“I heard him on the radio complaining a lot about brake problems. We’ll have to see what was going on. But the hoped-for upturn that we all expected unfortunately didn’t materialise.”

Perez is already under contract with Red Bull for 2025, but his poor results – 47 points scored in the latest 13 grands prix, compared to 218 for Verstappen – mean there is constant speculation over his future.

Although Red Bull chiefs have reaffirmed time and again that the veteran had the second seat for next year, team principal Christian Horner recently stating Perez “is currently our driver for 2025” does sound like there is scope for change.

Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing, Christian Horner, Team Principal, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

Liam Lawson’s promotion to RB, replacing Daniel Ricciardo until the end of the season, certainly happened with a view to evaluating the youngster for the near future.

However, while his RB team-mate Yuki Tsunoda is keen to grab the second Red Bull drive himself, he is yet to convince the Anglo-Austrian squad bosses of his worth, and his Q2 accident at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez won’t do him any favours.

Marko called the incident “an unnecessary crash”, given Tsunoda risked damaging the VCARB 01’s new floor and being relegated to the back of the grid if parc ferme needed to be breached.

Asked if the Japanese driver was too unstable, Marko added: “Well, he had a spin in Austin and now this crash in qualifying.

“We thought he had stabilised, but apparently now, when the pressure comes from Lawson, it’s noticeable.”

Additional reporting by Kevin Hermann

Christopher Bell is the only Cup driver to make the Championship 4 in the first two seasons of the Next Gen era, and he is on the cusp of doing it for a third consecutive year. Despite his strong position, he only felt frustration after a dominant showing last weekend as he watched Joey Logano stretch the fuel and steal the win out from under him.

But the disappointing runner-up finish at Vegas still netted Bell a bucket of points — enough to put him ahead of the seven title contenders still fighting over the three remaining spots in the final four. That’s critically important as no matter what happens over the next two weeks, the driver with the most points (and no win in the Round of 8) will also have a clear pathway to Phoenix.

Bell’s true battle isn’t with the bottom four

He is 42 points above the cut-line, but the fight Bell really needs to pay attention to is the one to remain atop the points pile. Kyle Larson is just seven points behind him and William Byron is 25 points back. The top points-scorer is guaranteed one of those coveted four spots, no matter what. That fact certainly isn’t lost on the quietly clever driver of the No. 20 Toyota.

“Yeah, I think that’s what we’re planning on (gaining max points),” said Bell during media availability at Homestead. “You know, that’s why you’re in the Round of 8, trying to transfer to the Championship 4. You’re never really safe. The three of us William [Byron], Kyle [Larson] and myself have kind of, the way that the cards fell, we’re kind of essentially point racing each other, and the guys below that are far enough below, they’re basically out of the points and essentially racing for wins.

“Certainly, we’ll know more once we get through Homestead on Sunday night, but, right now, we’re planning on there being three winners and the three of us – William, Kyle and myself – are racing for that last points spot. There’s a good chance William, Kyle or myself could win this weekend and it could change. But + 42 (points) sounds great until you realize every time someone wins, that cutline shrinks more, more and more, or that gap to the cutline. You’re never safe and it’s going to be a battle.”

The lack of a safety net in this round makes it unique to the two that precede it where ‘okay’ runs are normally enough to skate through. But in this penultimate round, the entire dynamic changes and nothing short of a victory feels secure. Perhaps that’s why Bell was unusually animated on the radio when he lost the Vegas race to Logano’s fuel gamble.

Points vs. wins: A recent history

But is it really wise to prioritize points over race wins in this round? Taking a short walk back through recent history gives us some good insight into the answer.

Last year, Byron (+20 over nearest competition) was the driver who left Homestead with the most points of the non-winners. In 2022, it was Ross Chastain (+8 on nearest competition). Both drivers did end up making the Championship 4. However, it was a nail-biter for Byron who narrowly moved forward by a margin of just eight points. And Chastain? I think we all remember what he had to do, driving his car full-throttle into the wall and achieving what was once thought impossible in a daredevil move for the ages.

But the most interesting statistic here is that neither of those drivers went on to win the title while both of the NASCAR’s most recent champions [Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano] won their way into the finale. In fact, that trend continues back before the introduction of the Next Gen car with Larson in 2021 and Chase Elliott in 2020.

The last champion to actually point their way into the finale was Kyle Busch five years ago. In fact, it’s only happened three times in ten seasons with this current format. Bell is of the belief that winning in the Round of 8 — specifically the opening race as Logano just did — gives any driver a certain edge over the other contenders. 

“The Phoenix car is a special car and if you’re in the final four, it deserves to have more time and effort put into it,” explained Bell, who has only ever made the final four by winning Ro8 races. “So, winning that first race is huge and yeah, it’s an advantage. And I noticed that from winning Homestead last year, having that extra week to prepare.”