October 28, (THEWILL) – Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz claimed victory at the Mexico City Grand Prix, while championship contender, Max Verstappen, received a 20-second penalty for aggressive driving tactics against Lando Norris, dropping him to sixth position. The stewards’ decision significantly impacted the championship standings, with Norris reducing the points gap to 47 with four race weekends remaining in the 2024 season.
McLaren continued their strong performance when Lando Norris overtook Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari in the closing stages to finish second. The British driver maintained his professional approach following the race, stating: “I respect Max a lot as a driver, but it wasn’t very clean driving in my opinion.” This incident marked their second consecutive race weekend clash, following Norris’s penalty at the United States Grand Prix.
McLaren Team Principal, Zak Brown, criticised Verstappen’s driving style, describing it “ridiculous” and calling for cleaner racing moving forward. “Enough is enough. Let’s just have some good clean racing moving forwards. I think the stewards are on it, I think that’s clear by the penalties that were given. The stewards did a good job this weekend,” Brown commented during the post-race media session.
The constructors’ championship witnessed substantial movement as Ferrari moved ahead of Red Bull into second position behind McLaren. This result strengthens Ferrari’s position in the rankings during what remains an intensely competitive 2024 Formula One season.
The victory holds particular significance for Sainz, who will transfer to Williams next season, making room for Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
