Mexican Grand Prix, as it happened: Max Verstappen extends championship lead over Lewis Hamilton

ByGraham Ruthven

Updated 07/11/2021 at 22:19 GMT

Live updates from the Mexican Grand Prix as they happened - Max Verstappen opens up a 19-point lead over Lewis Hamilton in the F1 championship. It was a disappointing race for the seven-times world champion and Mercedes in general as Valtteri Bottas, who started on pole, also finished out of the points.

VERSTAPPEN WINS!

Verstappen takes the chequered flag! This could be a massive weekend in the drivers' championship as Verstappen wins! He was utterly dominant. Hamilton takes second place. Perez is on the podium for the Mexican Grand Prix.

Mexican Grand Prix

Bottas takes Mexico pole, Hamilton in second as Verstappen claims third

06/11/2021 at 22:20

71/71 - Final lap!

Perez is still on Hamilton! Does the Mexican have the grip to get around Hamilton? Of course, the seven times world champion is one of the best defensive drivers around! This won't be easy.

70/71 - Now or never!

Verstappen spoiled Bottas' run at a fastest lap, so the Finn has come in for ANOTHER set of soft tyres. Mercedes really want to snatch that fastest lap away from the Red Bull!

69/71 - One second...

It looks like Hamilton might hold on to second place here. There is still one second between Hamilton and Perez. These are crucial laps for both the drivers' and constructors' championships...

67/71 - Tactics

Bottas has now pitted for a new set of soft tyres in an attempt to snatch the fastest lap point away from Verstappen who currently holds it.

65/71 - Crowd are loving this!

The home fans in Mexico City are loving the sight of Perez chasing down Hamilton, the seven-times world champion! Can the home hope pick off Hamilton and take second place at his home grand prix?

63/71 - Blue flags

Blue flags are shown to Norris for the first time and that's because that's the first time that Hamilton has got close enough to the McLaren to make his move. Red Bull sniff a one-two finish!

61/71 - Lewis is WORRIED!

"This is crazy. I can't get close," says Hamilton on the team radio. The driver he's trying to get close to is Norris who he is lapping! Hamilton says the tyres are getting hot. He could have a big problem here.

60/71 - Perez believes!

Red Bull: "Pace is good, tyres are good, battery is good, let's get him." Perez: "Engine? Engine is good?!" Red Bull: "Engine is good!"

58/71 - Checo v Lewis

Yes. Yes it will.

57/71 - [Popcorn emoji]

Mercedes predict that Perez will catch Hamilton on the final lap of the race. Does the seven-times world champion have enough about him to keep hold of second place? This could be crucial to his title chances.

56/71 - Team orders!

Something is about to happen! Leclerc has been told to let his teammate Sainz through so that the Ferrari can have a go at Gasly for P4! That's something to keep an eye on.

55/71 - Lewis bored?

As we have said a couple times, this hasn't been the most compelling of races. Even Hamilton is feeling it!

53/71 - Fastest lap!

Verstappen sets the pace! The Dutchman has just set a new fastest lap and that means he is on course for full points. This could be a big moment in the 2021 drivers' championship.

51/71 - One-two on the cards?

50/71 - Fastest lap!

New fastest lap! Perez has just set the new fastest lap of the race and there are signs that the Mexican is closing the gap on Hamilton. This could be interesting. Please be interesting.

49/71 - Gasly still running well...

While the focus has been on the top three, Gasly is still on course for a very impressive fourth place finish. This would be an excellent outcome for the Frenchman!

47/71 - Procession

A chaotic first lap suggested that this might be something of a classic. There had been suggestions after the surprise of Bottas getting pole yesterday that this could be one of the best races of the season. It has not been that...

45/71 - Get the calculator out

42/71 - Slow stop!

Bottas' back luck strikes once again as he suffers a slow pit stop. That was an 11.7-second stop for the Finn! He's going to do well to merely finish in the points tonight.

41/71 - Perez in the pits

Perez comes in! Finally, Perez comes in after a good stint at the front of the pack and the Mexican rejoins the race in third place. He will be turning his attentions towards Hamilton.

39/71 - Bottas frustration

Bottas just can't get past Ricciardo. Keep in mind that the Finn started the race on pole, but the McLaren has been able to keep him behind him since the first lap.

37/71 - Halfway stage

1) Perez 2) Verstappen 3) Hamilton 4) Sainz 5) Gasly 6) Leclerc 7) Alonso 8) Norris 9) Vettel 10) Raikkonen

36/71 - Checo running long

It appears that Perez is trying to gain a tyre advantage over Hamilton by going longer on these tyres. This could make a difference in the final outcome of this race!

34/71 - Max pits!

Verstappen is in! The Dutch driver comes out in P2 and that means Perez is leading the race. He is the first Mexican driver to lead a Mexican Grand Prix. However, it's advantage to Verstappen here.

32/71 - Leclerc pits

Leclerc comes in for a new set of tyres, but he might have had a pretty big impact on Hamilton's race. The Ferrari is already ahead of Alonso after initially rejoining behind the Alpine.

31/71 - Lewis pits!

Lewis comes in! It's a new set of hard tyres for Hamilton and it hasn't gone to plan with the seven times world champion rejoining the race behind Leclerc in P5.

30/71 - Pit stops coming!

It looks like Mercedes are getting ready to pull in one of their drivers. Who will it be? This could be a key part of the race! The Mercedes mechanics are out in the pit lane!

27/71 - Gasly running well

26/71 - A bit dull

There were predictions of this being one of the most compelling races of the season. That has happened so far after a chaotic first lap...

24/71 - Lewis message

"These guys are obviously too fast for us," Hamilton says on the Mercedes team radio. If things stay the way they are now, the constructors' championship will be LEVEL heading to Brazil next weekend!

23/71 - Red Bulls on top

There has been no change to the top five positions since the end of the safety car, but there is a growing sense that the Red Bulls have the speed advantage on Mercedes here. Hamilton being squeezed.

21/71 - 'Stay on it'

Red Bull clearly feel that they might be able to pick off Hamilton here. They have told Perez to "stay on it" as Verstappen sets a new fastest lap of the race. The difference is now seven seconds...

19/71 - Battle for P11

There's an interesting little scrap happening for P11 between Ricciardo and Bottas. Of course, the two clashed in the first lap, sending them to near the back of the pack.

17/71 - Good signs

"My tyres are just getting better," Perez says on the Red Bull team radio. That's an interesting development and the Mexican has started to close the gap on Hamilton ahead of him in second place.

16/71 - Strange race

14/71 - Max stretching...

That difference between Verstappen and Hamilton now stands at 4.8 seconds and the British driver has been on the team radio to say that his tyres are dropping off "massively."

13/71 - Stroll pits

Bit of a slow stop from Aston Martin as they pit Stroll. The Canadian had been stuck behind Giovinazzi since the end of the safety car and so they are trying something different.

11/71 - FERNANDO!

Now it's Alonso's turn to get the better of Russell who has been passed by the two oldest drives on the grid in the last two laps. Russell is now out of the points after an excellent start.

10/71 - KIMI!

Excellent overtake! Raikkonen gets past Russell into Turn One and the Finn is now up to ninth position. Can he secure some points this evening?

9/71 - Fastest lap

The gap between Verstappen and Hamilton is almost up at three seconds. The Dutch driver has just set the fastest lap of the race. He is really pushing things at the moment.

7/71 - Lewis worried

"He's quick," says Hamilton on the Mercedes team radio. Could that be mind games from the seven-times world champion or is he genuinely worried by the pace that Verstappen is setting?

5/71 - As it stands...

1) Verstappen 2) Hamilton 3) Perez 4) Gasly 5) Leclerc 6) Sainz 7) Giovinazzi 8) Vettel 9) Russell 10) Raikkonen

3/71 - Replays

Just looking at some of the replays of what happened into Turn One. Ricciardo got off so well from the line, but then clipped Bottas and the Finn is down in P18. Schumacher's race is also over.

2/71 - Safety car!

Full safety car! There is a lot of debris on the track after that first lap and the full safety car is out. Tsunoda's race is over. Ricciardo has also picked up damage.

1/71 - LIGHTS OUT!

Chaos! Verstappen takes the lead from Hamilton, Bottas looked to get tagged by Ricciardo and there are yellow flags out. A very busy start to this race!

19:00 - Formation lap

The drivers have embarked on their formation lap. Let's have a reminder of how they line up on the grid...

1) Bottas 2) Hamilton 3) Verstappen 4) Perez 5) Gasly 6) Sainz 7) Ricciardo 8) Leclerc 9) Vettel 10) Raikkonen 11) Giovinazzi 12) Alonso 13) Latifi 14) Schumacher 15) Mazepin 16) Russell 17) Tsunoda 18) Norris 19) Ocon 20) Stroll

18:55 - Excitement building

The dive into the first corner will tell us a lot about how this race will go. The two Red Bulls will still fancy their chances of being ahead of the Mercedes by the time they get into Turn Two.

18:50 - Title duel!

There is just 12 points between Verstappen and Hamilton at the top of the drivers' championship. This has been one of the most compelling title duels in a LONG time. There will be more twists and turns over the final five races!

Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen

Image credit: Getty Images

18:45 - Checo-fest!

What an atmosphere in Mexico City and the majority of the fans are here to see one man - Perez. “It was a shame we didn’t get the pole yesterday given how strong we’ve been the whole weekend," he said. "But today is what matters and these people are going to give me extra power today. We’ll try to get a good start but if not, if not, it’s a long race and a lot of things can happen.”

18:40 - Welcome!

Good evening and welcome to Eurosport's LIVE coverage of the Mexican Grand Prix. Valtteri Bottas is on pole, Lewis Hamilton is in P2 and the two Mercedes have the Red Bull pair of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez behind them on the second row.

Mexican Grand Prix

Verstappen fastest in Mexico City after FP2, Hamilton trails

05/11/2021 at 22:59

Mexican Grand Prix

Hamilton: 'I would never crash into Verstappen to win a title'

05/11/2021 at 14:55

Mexican Grand Prix

‘They are the gladiators’ – Wolff thinks title race could be decided by crash

02/11/2021 at 11:23