Max Verstappen set the Formula One record for wins in a season Sunday (local time) at the Mexico City Grand Prix, where he scored his 14th victory to break the record shared with Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel.
After winning last week at Circuit of the Americas, Verstappen briefly tied the record with the Germans, which was set by Schumacher in 2004 and tied by Vettel in 2013.
Verstappen swept the North American portion of the Formula One calendar this year with victories at Miami, Montreal, and now Mexico City.
With four races left in the season, the Dutchman successfully defended his F1 world title. He also secured Red Bull’s constructors championship with three races left, and he has two races left to completely shatter the record most victories in a season.
Red Bull has now won nine consecutive races, tying the team record set in 2013.
Verstappen and Sergio Perez, who took first place in Monaco and Singapore, have helped the team win 16 of the season’s 21 F1 races.
Second place went to Lewis Hamilton for the second week in a row. He might have had a chance to take home his first victory of the year, but Mercedes made the incorrect decision about a tyre change, giving Verstappen the lead.
Despite the fact that a Mexican driver has yet to win at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, Perez came in third for the second year in a row on his home circuit.
Since his homecoming, Perez has been surrounded by loving admirers all week. Before heading to the track, Perez conducted a test drive in his hometown of Guadalajara. As soon as he got at the track, he was surrounded by spectators.
He had to use a back route to get to the Red Bull garage each on-track session as drivers and teams complained most of the weekend that the spectators who had purchased paddock access were too aggressive.
However, the local driver is adored by the crowd, and Perez took a lap of the course in a convertible Volkswagen before the race. He frequently put his palm on his heart to express his gratitude to the more than 120,000 supporters.
After the race, Perez addressed the crowd in Spanish, saying, “It’s been fantastic, honestly.” “I want to thank you for all of your help this weekend. You are amazing; you have the best fan base. Thank you.
Earlier this year, the three-day weekend sold out in two minutes, and the 395,902 attendees across the three days smashed the previous record of 371,779.
In addition, F1 announced before of the race that it has extended its deal with the event through 2025, which is frequently chosen as the fan favourite.
Verstappen dominated the day as he won for the 34th time in his career after starting from the pole position. He held the lead at the start as Hamilton passed teammate George Russell for second and Perez also made it past Russell.
Hamilton may have raced for the victory and had the lead when he made his pit stop, but Mercedes opted for the tougher, more resilient tyre compound. Hamilton lacked the speed to contend for the win, and Verstappen had a softer and faster tyre.
Hamilton still has two opportunities to avoid having his first career losing season.
In the meantime, Pierre Gassly received another two penalty points for sending Lance Stroll wide off the track, putting him one point from a one-race suspension.
With his 14th victory, Max Verstappen breaks the F1 season wins record.
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