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00:00For what is round 20 of the Formula One season in 2024,
00:04time running out for Lando Norris to make an impression on Max Verstappen,
00:08who holds a 57-point lead going into this race and is closer
00:12in the Constructors' Championship.
00:13McLaren, Red Bull, Ferrari making it a three-way fight all the way to Abu Dhabi.
00:18Today we fight over 71 laps.
00:20Valtteri Bottas, the race lap record holder.
00:22We got three DRS zones and 17 turns.
00:28To add to the one in Austin that brought them right back into contention
00:31for the Constructors' Championship.
00:33We're ready to go in Mexico City.
00:36It's lights out and away we go.
00:39It is 760 metres down towards Turn 1 and it's Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz
00:44not going wheel-to-wheel because Verstappen has got slightly ahead.
00:47Lando Norris coming to join the party as is Charles Leclerc.
00:51Verstappen has got the lead and there goes the RB of Yuki Tsunoda
00:56as Carlos Sainz goes straight over on the grass and takes the lead.
01:00But will he have to get that place back?
01:03I'm just looking in the background to see
01:07where we'll look at that first gap.
01:09So it was literally just contact in the middle of the pack.
01:15Cameraman there had a bit of a shock.
01:18I think Tsunoda had got ahead of Albon, hadn't he?
01:20And then...
01:23Too far forwards.
01:24Good job.
01:26Have a look.
01:28I don't think we will.
01:29There's marker boards either side to help the drivers, aren't there?
01:32Well, it's the big...
01:35Carlos Sainz on Max Verstappen, runs a little bit wide.
01:38Verstappen tries to fight this and now he switches back.
01:41The crowd go round the outside as Verstappen.
01:43Sainz has got him coming off.
01:46Made no difference to Carlos Sainz.
01:47Beautiful move. Goes a little bit deeper, I think, than he would have wanted to.
01:51But he kept the car.
01:54What is this stupid move?
01:56I think that's when Sainz realised, I'm going to pass him.
01:59We saw the red lights flashing on the back of the red bull.
02:06I'm going to have a go.
02:06Here goes Lando Norris, this time trying round the outside.
02:09And Max Verstappen covers him off.
02:11And for the second week running, Lando Norris has to go off the track.
02:15Now he's ahead of Max Verstappen.
02:17What do McLaren do here?
02:19Safe option, give that place back.
02:21But do they feel, once again, that Max Verstappen just forced Lando off the road?
02:26Either way, Verstappen is through and they're both off the track again.
02:30Now, this is really getting their elbows out.
02:32Sainz could be under pressure here in this battle for the lead.
02:35It looked as if Norris was trying to let him through and he drove him off the racetrack.
02:41And Charles Leclerc is through into second place.
02:47Carlos Sainz ahead.
02:49And then there's the incident.
02:50Verstappen and Norris.
02:52That was a shove, wasn't it?
02:54For me, that's unquestionable.
02:57A shove.
03:00I thought he was going to get that,
03:04which is why I felt they should have given the place back.
03:07So he gets a tenth second for that.
03:09And they're not looking at anything else at the moment.
03:12And that, I'm sorry, Max, that was outrageous.
03:16These drivers once again.
03:17He's got DRS as George Russell.
03:19Hamilton now forces him towards the outside at Turn 1.
03:22Russell is clean through and goes a little bit deeper,
03:25but hangs on to that fifth place.
03:28Neat move by George Russell.
03:30Yeah, the Silverstone pack just overtook.
03:34To get Fernando Alonso into some clean air as well.
03:37Or is that a bit...
03:38Oh, I think that he's retiring.
03:39I'm going to say, because Fernando Alonso, 400th Grand Prix week,
03:42and he stops on his marks a lot better than that.
03:44And he's been told to retire the car.
03:46That is such a shame.
03:48That really is.
03:53Just ahead of his teammate,
03:55tenth place, sorry, just ahead of his teammate, Sergio Perez,
03:59who has been noted with that Lance Stroll incident
04:02for forcing another driver off the track.
04:04Piastri, we saw get past Bottas.
04:07I am, Martin, and it feels like an eternity.
04:09Everyone just standing around watching the car.
04:12This is so unusual, really, isn't it?
04:14And 20 seconds in a race.
04:19Very long time.
04:20And he comes out behind Esteban Ocon, down in 15th place.
04:24Esteban Ocon.
04:30And that, a very nice, easy pass that he would have been looking for.
04:36Here's Hamilton behind Colin Pinto.
04:38He's got some long, clean air.
04:40Lando Norris, he immerses tyres,
04:43and he found the perfect gap for him.
04:45As there goes Hamilton,
04:46past Colin Pinto on fresher tyres,
04:48and back up for second.
04:50I probably think with Norris, let's not put him out.
04:52With Peding Leclerc now to respond to that.
04:55Let's not put...
04:58His teammate, Charles Leclerc, second behind him.
05:00There goes Verstappen on Bottas.
05:03Verstappen makes the move up into ninth place.
05:06Yes, Max is going to get a decent haul of points here still, isn't he?
05:10He is.
05:11Lawson ahead of Piastri here.
05:14That's a real problem for Russell and Hamilton.
05:17A bit of a merge behind Piastri and Lawson.
05:19Piastri and Lawson on the tyres that they started the race on.
05:23It really is.
05:24Here comes Max Verstappen on Franco Colapinto.
05:27A lot of pace for the Red Bull against the Williams,
05:30and behind these two.
05:35They must be running very hot with the Ferrari,
05:38even in free air.
05:44I don't know, it doesn't seem to damage his tyres too much.
05:47And Lawson picks as well.
05:52Ozzy has got to make his way back through the pack now.
05:57This is the Alpine first up.
05:59Happy days, TRS and fresh tyres for Oscar.
06:07I was about to ask you, is the win on?
06:10We'll see how quickly he can get past Charles Leclerc first.
06:13The science has not been overly happy with Ferrari's pace.
06:16Thinking it's maybe.
06:19As we look to the Nigel Mansell corner.
06:22Oh, as Charles Leclerc goes off almost into the barriers.
06:25Lando Norris goes past and up into second place.
06:28And Leclerc really struggling with those rear tyres for grip.
06:31It was easy prey when Norris came across him.
06:34Leclerc knew he needed the best possible exit.
06:37From that final turn.
06:39And he just gave it too much throttle.
06:41His tyres are getting a little bit worn.
06:44And that made it very easy.
06:46That releases Norris now to send a boat.
06:49Carlos Sainz, Sainz in the lead.
06:51What a save from Charles Leclerc.
06:54Yeah, that was impressive.
06:56Very impressive indeed.
06:59Let's have a look at it again.
07:01Hugging that outside line.
07:02And wow, that could have been so, so nasty.
07:06100 mile an hour incident for Charles Leclerc.
07:09Averted with a fantastic lightning reaction on the steering wheel.
07:14Yeah.
07:19Russell covers that inside line once again.
07:22This time he can cover it, but it will be to no avail.
07:25Lewis Hamilton had 20 or so kilometres an hour.
07:28Did not pay off today.
07:30Not on this particular occasion.
07:33Super speedy stop by the Red Bull crew.
07:40He's going to do that now.
07:42Carlos Sainz wins the Mexico City Grand Prix.
07:46Ferrari win for the second time in a week.
07:49Lando Norris comes home to take second place ahead of Charles Leclerc.
07:55A bit more on Max Verstappen.
07:58Purple Leclerc. Is he going to do it, Martin?
08:01Yeah, he should do it easily, but we'll keep an eye on Perez behind him.
08:05So there is fastest lap, a 1.18.336.
08:09Presumably heading towards, very much in the twilight,
08:12and heading towards the final stages of his Formula 1 career.
08:16And this means heading to Williams next year.
08:18What a driver Williams have got for their line-up for next season.
08:23Here's another trophy to add to the Carlos Sainz collection.
08:28Yeah.
08:31Carlos Sainz.