A strong opening stint paved the way for Max Verstappen to take victory in the Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix over Lewis Hamilton.
The Red Bull driver started from pole, holding the lead into the opening corner despite affording a slipstream to both Mercedes drivers behind.
He quickly established a lead outside of DRS range, maintaining a slender advantage until what turned out to be his only stop of the race on Lap 25.
Hamilton then assumed the lead, followed by George Russell as the Mercedes drivers ran longer after starting on the medium versus the soft compound tyres, before Verstappen regained top spot on Lap 35.
“We knew that that first stint was going to be the crucial one for us, to keep that soft tyre life long enough, which seemed to work,” he explained.
“I mean, I did struggle a bit towards the end but luckily the gap was big enough to extend a few laps.
“And yeah, once we put on the medium tyres, everything was working quite well and I think quite early on we figured that we could make it to the end.
“Another great race, but also, I mean, it’s just an incredible season for us as a team – I never thought I would be able to win 14 races in a year. But yeah, of course, incredibly proud.”
Heading into the Mexico City race, Verstappen was tied with Sebastian Vettel and Michael Schumacher for the most number of wins in a single season at 13.
The outcome of Sunday’s race also means the Dutchman has now accumulated more points in a single season than any other driver.
Having started on the soft tyres, Verstappen switched to the medium compound rubber at his stop, suggesting he was on a two-stop strategy.
Conversely, Hamilton went onto the hards as Mercedes made its intentions clear; a two-stopper would have seen him fit another set of mediums before pitting for softs towards the end.
The hard tyre was never a consideration for Verstappen.
“I tried it in FP1 and it just didn’t really feel great, so I think that’s why we never really wanted to use it,” he explained.
Following the pit cycle, Verstappen held an advantage of just over nine seconds over Hamilton, the pair logging similar times initially.
Verstappen then increased his pace, pulling clear to win by just over 20 seconds at the chequered flag, his 34th career victory.
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