After winning the 2023 Driver’s World Championship with his first-place finish at the Formula 1 Qatar Grand Prix, Max Verstappen has continued to cross the checkered line in first in rounds 19-21, the three races following his championship. Since the winning Qatar weekend, the drivers have raced in Dallas, U.S., Mexico City, Mexico and Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Dallas race disqualifies Hamilton and Leclerc
The Formula One teams raced in Dallas, Texas for the United States Grand Prix. Current world champion Verstappen took the pole position, adding another first-place finish to his already winning season.
Lewis Hamilton for team Mercedes and Charles Leclerc for team Ferrari were both disqualified from the race because of a technical breach of excessive plank wear with both driver’s cars. Hamilton was stripped of his second-place finish, while Leclerc lost his fifth-place points.
After getting the news of the disqualification, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said that the team needed to take this disqualification “on the chin.”
Driver Lando Norris finished third but was promoted to second after Hamilton’s disqualification. His podium finish won team Mclaren 18 points. Norris has not won his first race despite his 12 podium career wins.
Both teams Ferrari and Mercedes only had one driver earn points for their team.
Carlos Sainz gained 15 points for team Ferrari after coming in third. George Russell finished fifth and earned 10 points for team Mercedes.
Daniel Riccardo returned from his mid-season injury, racing in place of Liam Lawson for team Alfa Tauri. Riccardo finished his return race in Texas, P15.
Team Alfa Tauri still managed to squeak out five points from the Texas race after Yuki Tsunoda gave the team an eighth-place finish. Tsunoda also had the fastest lap time of the race.
Heartbreaking finish for Perez in hometown
Verstappen crossed the finish line, yet again, to take first place at the Mexico Grand Prix in Mexico City.
Verstappen earned his 16th win of the season at the hometown race of his Red Bull teammate, Sergio Perez.
On turn 1, lap 1, the two Red Bull cars went three wide with the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc. The two Red Bulls closed in on the Ferrari, and Perez was bumped off of the track after contact was made with Leclerc.
Perez was forced to retire the car for the entire race because the damage it took was too severe. Perez limped back to the garages, disappointed with the results of his home race.
Leclerc ended the race in third, gaining 15 points for his team, along with his Ferrari teammate Sainz’s 12 points from his fourth-place finish.
Lewis Hamilton finished the Mexico Grand Prix in second for team Mercedes and also had the fastest lap time of the entire race. Hamilton won 19 points, and his teammate George Russell added an additional eight points to the spread after finishing sixth.
Daniel Riccardo improved on his second race back from injury, finishing seventh for his team Alfa Tauri, earning them 6 points.
Blowout in Brazil by Verstappen
The Formula 1 teams raced in Sao Paulo for the Brazilian Grand Prix held at the Autodrome Jose Carlos Pace.
Verstappen took his 19th podium of the year setting a record of 922 laps led this season and can add onto it in the final two races of the season. Verstappen continues to dominate every race despite already being named this season’s world champion and contributing to team Red Bull’s 2023 Constructors Championship.
Verstappen’s teammate Perez earned 12 points, finishing the race fourth for team Red Bull.
Second place was won out by McLaren driver Lando Norris, who also had the fastest lap time of the race. Norris has seven podium finishes this season but still has not crossed the checkered line first in his career.
Fernando Alonso took third alongside his teammate, Lance Stroll, who finished fifth. Alonso and Stroll put a combined 25 points on the board for team Aston Martin, who have not lived up to expectations in the second half of the season.
Ferrari driver Leclerc crashed out of the race before it even began. LeClerc had finished second in qualifying and was expected to start at the front of the grid for the race. During the pre-race formation lap, Leclerc started having issues with his car.
LeClerc radioed back and forth with his team as his car crashed backward into the barriers.
“I lost the hydraulics. Why am I so unlucky?” Leclerc said. He was forced to give up his second-place start and retire his car before lights out.
Sainz was the only Ferrari driver to put points on the board after his sixth-place finish.
Up Next
The Formula 1 teams are going back to the United States for its next race in Las Vegas, Nevada for the Las Vegas Grand Prix. The race will be held on Nov. 18 at 10 p.m.
