Verstappen sets a new record for most wins in Mexico, Sainz scores in Mexico for the first time and Raikkonen has his best race weekend of the season so far. Here’s a statistic from each driver’s 2021 Mexican Grand Prix weekend!
Lewis Hamilton qualified on the front row at the Mexican Grand Prix for the first time since 2016, but was out-qualified by his team-mate in the country for the first time since 2015. Hamilton finished as runner-up to Max Verstappen in the race, with both driver setting a new record for most points-scoring appearances in Mexico. This was Hamilton’s fourth podium at the Mexican Grand Prix, equalling the record for most podiums at the event.
On Saturday, Valtteri Bottas became the tenth consecutive different polesitter at the Mexican Grand Prix. He finished only fifteenth in the race, which is the worst ever result for a polesitter who has not retired from the Grand Prix. The previous worst result for a polesitter was fourteenth, recorded by Nico Rosberg at the 2014 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. That’s also the last time that the polesitter finished the race but failed to score. This was only the third time that the Mexican Grand Prix polesitter has failed to finish in the top six at the event. The only other times it has happened were in 1965 and 2018, when Jim Clark and Daniel Ricciardo retired. Clark also retired from the race in 1964, but was classified in fifth place.
Max Verstappen qualified third for the Mexican Grand Prix, failing to set one of the two fastest qualifying times at the track for the first time since 2016. Verstappen won the race, recording the nineteenth victory of his Formula 1 career. It was his ninth win of the season, making this the seventeenth occasion on which a driver has won nine or more races in a single year. Verstappen recorded his third win at the Mexican Grand Prix, setting a new record for most wins at the event in its World Championship history. On his way to victory, Verstappen surpassed Jim Clark’s 53 year old record of most laps led in Mexico.
With fourth place, Sergio Perez recorded his best home qualifying result. He had previously never qualified above ninth place here, which is where he qualified in 2015. Perez went on to become the first Mexican driver to finish on the podium at their home Grand Prix. He also led six laps of the race, becoming the first Mexican driver to lead on home soil. This was the third consecutive race in which Perez has finished on the podium. It’s the first time he’s recorded three successive podium results in his F1 career.
Daniel Ricciardo finished twelfth, failing to score in Mexico for the third time from his six appearances. His other two non-scores here were retirements, in 2017 and 2018.
Lando Norris picked up a single point with tenth place at the Mexican Grand Prix. This was only the third time that a McLaren driver has scored in Mexico since the sport’s return to the track. The team’s tally of points scored here since 2015 now stands at six.
Sebastian Vettel was eliminated in Q2 for a fifth consecutive race weekend. It’s the first time he has failed to reach Q2 at the Mexican Grand Prix. Vettel finished the race in seventh place. Having finished fifth at the United States Grand Prix, this was the first time that Vettel has scored at consecutive races since the Monaco, Azerbaijan and French Grands Prix. Vettel’s seventh place marks the fifth time in the last six Mexico races that one of the Silverstone-based team’s drivers has finished seventh.
Lance Stroll crashed out in Q1 at the Mexican Grand Prix. He recorded his second consecutive Q1 exit – the second time he has done so in 2021, having also been eliminated in Q1 at two consecutive races at the Azerbaijan and French Grands Prix. This was the third consecutive Mexican Grand Prix at which Stroll has been out in Q1. He last reached Q2 here in his maiden season. It was also the third time that Stroll has qualified on the back row in 2021 – but the first time he has qualified last since the 2018 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Finishing fourteenth, Stroll recorded his worst Mexican Grand Prix result to date.
Fernando Alonso was out in Q1 at the Mexican Grand Prix, recording his second Q1 exit of the year. He was also out in Q1 in Monaco. Alonso has never reached Q3 in Mexico, but this was his first Q1 elimination at the circuit since 2015. This was the first time Alonso has been out-qualified by his team-mate at the Mexican Grand Prix. With ninth place in the race, Alonso recorded his best ever Mexican Grand Prix result. His previous best was tenth, which he recorded with McLaren in 2017.
A grid penalty for Esteban Ocon at the Mexican Grand Prix saw him start from the back row of the grid for the first time since the 2016 Brazilian Grand Prix, when he was racing with the Manor team.
Charles Leclerc finished fifth, becoming the first driver to start eighth at the Mexican Grand Prix and finish the race since 2016. Fifth is the best result for the driver starting from this grid slot in Mexico since Riccardo Patrese finished third in 1987.
With sixth place on Saturday, Carlos Sainz recorded his best Mexican Grand Prix qualifying result. He has improved his qualifying position by one place on each appearance since his first visit here in 2015. Finishing in sixth place, Sainz scored points at the Mexican Grand Prix for the first time. This was the eleventh consecutive race in which the Spaniard has scored, making him the 24th driver to score at eleven or more races in a row in Formula 1 history.
Pierre Gasly qualified fifth for the second time in the last three races. He’s now qualified in the top five on seven occasions in 2021. This was the first time that Gasly has out-qualified his team-mate at the Mexican Grand Prix. Finishing fourth, Gasly recorded his team’s best ever result at the Mexican Grand Prix. The previous best result for the Red Bull junior team here was ninth place, recorded by Max Verstappen in 2015 and Gasly himself in 2019.
Retiring on the first lap, Yuki Tsunoda failed to cross the finish line for the fourth time in his career. He recorded the Red Bull junior team’s second retirement at the Mexican Grand Prix – their first since Brendon Hartley’s retirement in 2017.
With twelfth place in qualifying, Kimi Raikkonen recorded his best Saturday result of the seasons so far. In the race, Raikkonen equalled his best result of the season, finishing in eighth place. He also finished eighth at the Russian Grand Prix.
For a third race in a row, Antonio Giovinazzi finished in eleventh place. The Italian had run as high as sixth in the opening stages of the race.
Mick Schumacher was out on the first lap of the Mexican Grand Prix. Schumacher recorded the Haas team’s first ever retirement at the Mexican Grand Prix. It was his second retirement of the year.
Nikita Mazepin set the nineteenth slowest time in qualifying but penalties for four other drivers saw him move up to fifteenth on the grid. It matches his best grid position so far in Formula 1. He also started fifteenth at the Russian Grand Prix.
George Russell qualified thirteenth for the Mexican Grand Prix, becoming the first Williams driver to reach Q2 at the Mexican Grand Prix since both Felipe Massa and Lance Stroll reached Q2 in 2017. Finishing sixteenth, Russell equalled his worst result of the season, aside from races which he has retired from. He also finished sixteenth at the Portuguese Grand Prix. Russell has now finished sixteenth on both of his appearances at the Mexican Grand Prix.
Nicholas Latifi lost four places from where he started at the Mexican Grand Prix. It equals the most positions he’s lost in a race in which he has crossed the finish line. He also fell four places from his starting spot at the 2020 Hungarian Grand Prix.
Read more statistics from the 2021 Mexican Grand Prix in our Post Race Statistics article!