Formula 1: Verstappen wins in Mexico his 14th victory of season, a record

The Dutch pilot, already guaranteed to be world champion, has ahead of Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) and his Red Bull Sergio Pérez stable colleague, during the 20th Grand Prix of the season.

Le Monde with AFP

Max Verstappen (Red Bull), already assured of his second title of world champion, won on Sunday in Mexico City a 14 Grand Prix in 2022, a record of success during the same Formula 1 season.

Party in pole position, the Dutchman widely preceded the British Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) and the stage of the stage, the other Red Bull of Mexican Sergio Pérez, for the 20

“Max, Congratulations is a new record!”: From the end of the race, rather a walk at 2,200 meters above sea level, Verstappen was congratulated by his boss Christian Horner. “14 victories, it’s incredible!” Savor the double champion, unstoppable, which ended up 15 seconds in advance.

George Russell (Mercedes), gone 2 e but doubled from the first turns by his teammate Hamilton and by Pérez, finished 4 e , in front of the Ferrari de Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc, not very successful this weekend.

Red Bull is rider alone

Insured of the title from Japan there are two races already, Verstappen wins there his 34 e victory. At 25, he is the 6th the most prolific pilot in the history of F1 and has in sight the Brazilian legend Ayrton Senna and his 41 successes.

Red Bull, titled with manufacturers last Sunday in Austin, continues its rider alone. Unbeatable from nine races now with a final defeat on July 10 in Austria (Leclerc), she behaves better on the track than outside, after being sanctioned for having exceeded the 2021 budget ceiling. The stable won 16 of the 20 races Contested, counting the two of Pérez. In front of a crowd acquired in his cause, Pérez would have liked to add a third.

worn by the “Checo! Checo!” Of his unleashed supporters, especially in the deafening Stadium Foro Sol, the Mexican could not do better. He consoles himself by doubling Leclerc in the 2 ^e place as general. On this weekend of celebrations in Mexico City, before the DIA of Muertos, the party was therefore almost total for the 395,000 spectators who came to fill the stands since Friday. Almost, because again, the race looked like a long procession with Verstappen at its head.

At the Pantheon of Victories during the same season, Verstappen now exceeds the Germans Michael Schumacher (2004) and Sebastian Vettel (2013), with a tie with 13 successes. At the percentage of victories on the other hand, “Schumi” remains in mind with 13 victories on 18 races. It will therefore be necessary to do the accounts at the end of the season to see who “really” has the record.

MERCEDES is ahead of Ferrari

Verstappen, whose hunger of victories has no limit, still has two opportunities to shine: Brazil (November 13) and Abou Dhabi (November 20). In Mexico, as in the United States last week, it is his best enemy, the vice-world champion in title Hamilton was the most serious threat-although distant.

Hamilton could not do anything. He also could not benefit from the arrival of a providential security car, even after the engine stop at the end of the race of the Alpine of Fernando Alonso, visibly very upset by this new concern for reliability.

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

What to plan for a new Red Bull – Mercedes match in 2023. And enough to give migraines to the management of Ferrari, who struggles to hold the cadence even if she clings to the 2 e Place in the manufacturers’ classification.