Max Verstappen secured his place in the record books as he continued his remarkable season with a record-breaking 14th victory of the campaign at the Mexico City Grand Prix on Sunday.
MEXICO CITY, MEXICO – OCTOBER 30: Race winner Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing celebrates on the podium during the F1 Grand Prix of Mexico at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on October 30, 2022 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool.
The Dutch driver had already secured a second world title and helped Oracle Red Bull Racing win the constructors’ crown, before storming to victory in Mexico and eclipsing the record of 13 wins in a season – which was jointly held by Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel.
Verstappen said: “It’s been an incredible year so far, we are definitely enjoying it and we’ll try to go for more (victories).”
Having started on pole, Verstappen was rarely troubled as he cruised to victory, finishing well clear of Lewis Hamilton in the Mercedes, while team-mate Sergio Pérez delighted the home fans as he secured a place on the podium.
The Mexican driver finished well ahead of Mercedes driver George Russell and has now moved up into second place in the driver standings, five points clear of Ferrari’s Charles LeClerc.
MEXICO CITY, MEXICO – OCTOBER 30: Sergio Perez of Mexico driving the (11) Oracle Red Bull Racing RB18 leads Charles Leclerc of Monaco driving (16) the Ferrari F1-75 on track during the F1 Grand Prix of Mexico at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on October 30, 2022 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool.
MAX VERSTAPPEN, Position:
“To be on pole here is amazing. It was a tricky start to qualifying as the track was a bit warmer than FP3, I didn’t expect to be on pole here. Around this track it’s hard to nail a lap and we’ve been struggling to find a good balance in the car. After practice we made quite a few adjustments and we got into a better rhythm. Looking ahead to tomorrow, it’s a long run into to turn one so we need a good start, I think we have a quick car and that’s what is most important. It’s incredible to see the passion of all the fans here, it will be good to have Checo up there with me tomorrow, I hope we can have a fun race with a lot of action.”
MEXICO CITY, MEXICO – OCTOBER 30: Third placed Sergio Perez of Mexico and Oracle Red Bull Racing celebrates on the podium during the F1 Grand Prix of Mexico at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on October 30, 2022 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Clive Mason – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool.
SERGIO PEREZ,
“We had an electrical issue from the beginning of qualifying – it meant I had no reference on lap times, no DRS zones and no information on my brake balance, I had to do everything myself. It was tricky because I was pretty much blind in qualifying, I didn’t know where I was through the lap and it was a big mess for me. But if I look back, I was about to get knocked out in Q1 and Q2 because of the problem, so to come this close to pole is good in the circumstances.
P4 isn’t where I wanted to be, we could have been a lot higher, P3 would have been ideal. It is what it is though, we just have to look forward to tomorrow and try to have the perfect race, the atmosphere is amazing and we need to come back stronger. I will require a massive start but I still believe it is possible tomorrow. I am aware of all the effort people are putting into supporting me this weekend, it is a massive feeling to race at home.”
CHRISTIAN HORNER,
“After an incredibly tight three qualifying sessions, it was a remarkable final lap from Max. To be the only car to dip into the 1:17’s and achieve pole position by over 0.3 of a second is another fantastic drive. 2nd and 4th on the grid were covered by just under half a tenth and that sets us up for a thrilling race tomorrow. It’s a long run down to turn 1, providing plenty of opportunity for the drivers. The crowd will no doubt also play a factor, particularly for Checo, they have been fantastic today and with his start on the 2nd row, we look forward to seeing what tomorrow brings.”