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MEXICO CITY — Carlos Sainz climbed atop his bright red Ferrari, arms outstretched and fists in the air.
The emotion was palpable. The Spaniard started the Mexico City Grand Prix from pole position and although he lost the lead to Max Verstappen, Sainz regained the lead and put together one of the strongest drives of his F1 career. His race engineer Ricardo Adami called Sunday's performance a “master class” over the radio after the race.
Sainz was the first driver in eight years to win the Mexico City Grand Prix from pole position, and the first Ferrari driver to win the race since 1990, when Alain Prost achieved the feat. This season marks the first time Sainz has won multiple Grands Prix, the first in Australia 16 days after surgery, and now here in Mexico.
Ferrari were not good enough to be in contention for the constructors' title before the summer break, but recent upgrades have lifted the Maranello-based team to second place in the standings with four races remaining. If things continue like this, it is no exaggeration to say that Ferrari may once again be in the spotlight in 2025.
But that will be the case without Sainz.
“Honestly, I really wanted this. I needed it for me and I wanted to get it done,” Sainz said. “I always said before I left Ferrari that I wanted to win one more race, and to be able to do it in front of this big crowd is incredible.
“I want to enjoy the remaining four races as much as possible, and if there is another race, I will do my best.”
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Where will the victory go?
Sainz had to work hard for his second win of the season.
After the grid surged towards Turn 1, Verstappen took the lead, which was no surprise. Autodromo Hermanos Rodríguez is a low-grip circuit, and as the Ferrari driver pointed out, Red Bull tends to have better starts on these circuits. Verstappen stayed on the inside of Sainz heading into Turn 1, and Sainz said he braked as late as possible, but Verstappen did the same. This left Sainz with “no space to enter turn two”. Verstappen took the lead early in the race.
Early contact between Alex Albon and Yuki Tsunoda stabilized the grid behind the safety car for several laps. Verstappen made a successful restart, but Sainz kept his eyes on the rearview mirror, never letting Red Bull out of his sight. He made his move on lap nine.
“With Max, you need determination. You need determination,” Sainz said. “Otherwise, I would never be able to get past him. In that case, I think I was able to catch him off guard and make it stick.”
With the help of DRS and traction, Sainz jumped over the Dutchman and re-secured the lead, which the Spaniard never relinquished. The Ferrari driver initially appeared to be too far back to make a move, but with 100 meters to go Sainz said: The car gave me confidence in late braking so I gave it a try and that's what happened. Also, this mentality where you knew you had a little bit less to lose in that fight and could attack offensively. ”
He described it as a “high tension” moment as a chaotic battle unfolded between Verstappen and Lando Norris behind him. As a result, the Red Bull driver received two 10-second time penalties and was penalized on his first pit stop.
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Sainz regained the lead with about 60 laps remaining. There was plenty of action during the race, with Liam Lawson battling Sergio Perez and Norris chasing Charles Leclerc on the final lap. Aside from reports of misfires, it appears to have been a relatively uneventful race for Sainz. He said it was an “isolated incident”.
“The only misfire the entire race was on the exit of Turn 3. I landed after the curb and did a little short shift, which caused the misfire. It was a little scary, but by the end of the weekend I had no misfire. and we know it's due to altitude and mapping,” Sainz said. “But once I got to the top, I trusted my pace and my management. And I knew I was very fast this weekend and just executed everything I had planned. I also knew that victory was possible.”
Sainz regained the lead from Verstappen with a brave charge into Turn 1. (Mark Thompson/Getty Images)
Around lap 49, Sainz also said on the radio that he felt Ferrari was pushing too much. At that point, the Prancing Horse had one win and two losses, and Leclerc wasn't far behind. However, the Monaco-born driver lost out to second place in a battle with Norris. He lost his rear and nearly hit the barrier, but saved it at the last minute.
In the end, it might not have been Ferrari's 1-2. However, the first and third place finishes, as well as Leclerc's fastest lap, were enough to put the team ahead of Red Bull in the standings, more specifically a 25-point lead.
“Perfect farewell”
Sainz admitted he cried when the Spanish national anthem was played during the celebrations at Autodromo Hermanos Rodríguez.
Directly below the podium stood his parents, Carlos Sainz Sr. and Reyes Vazquez de Castro, and his partner, Rebecca Donaldson. His best friends also attended the race weekend and everyone there made the moment so special.
“This is one of the best moments of my career. My mother has never been with me to witness a race victory before, and the fact that she will be here this weekend makes me so excited. I wanted to win the race in front of my mother,” Sainz said. “Besides that, the whole weekend unfolded perfectly.
“Losing the first time and having to fight back with Max made everything a little more difficult. Maybe the harder work it took to make it made it even better.”
Sainz celebrated with his father, family and friends after the race. (Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
It's been a long year not only for Ferrari, but also for Sainz. News broke in February that Lewis Hamilton would join the team in 2025, and the 30-year-old was unable to get a seat despite being competitive among the top teams. It was announced in late July that Sainz would be moving to Williams Racing, which is aiming to rebuild the team next season.
Ferrari, on the other hand, started the season competitively but had a difficult run and by the summer break had fallen behind McLaren and Mercedes. It brought an upgrade to Monza, with Leclerc winning, but only time will tell if it was the right step forward. That was confirmed in Austin when Ferrari went 1-2 and Leclerc won his third Grand Prix of the season.
Leclerc said winning the constructors' championship was “realistically possible”. Ferrari has 566 points, 29 points behind leader McLaren. However, as Sainz pointed out, the team needs to be consistent. Winning the constructors' championship for the first time since 2008 would be the perfect send-off for Sainz.
“I think it would have been very easy to lose a little bit of motivation and lose a little bit of the drive to make it happen, but that three-week break[after Singapore]was very helpful for me,” Sainz said. . “I was able to get a little bit of the determination and drive back that I needed for the last five or six races of the season. And I improved my driving and had confidence in the car and put myself in a position to be able to win in Austin first. I couldn't make it happen — Charles did a great job there — and put myself in a position to win here and this game and not let it slip out of my hands. I was going to make sure.
“It wasn't an easy year, but I'm proud of how I managed to hold my own. Of course I'm trying to help the team as much as I can now to win the constructors' championship, because that's what it's been like for me. It will be the perfect farewell.”
(Top photo: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
