Verstappen sets a new record for most points scored in a year, Sainz continues an unusual Mexico qualifying pattern and Stroll reaches 60 Q1 exits. Here’s a statistic from every driver’s 2022 Mexico City Grand Prix weekend.
🇳🇱 Max Verstappen
After securing the 19th pole position of his career with the largest pole margin in Mexico since 1989, Max Verstappen took victory at the 2022 Mexico City Grand Prix, setting a new record for most victories in a single season. Verstappen’s 14th win of the year took his points tally for 2022 to 416 – a new record for most points scored in a single season. As a result of the race, he led the championship by 136 points, which is the third largest points lead in F1 history.
🇲🇽 Sergio Perez
Sergio Perez equalled both his best qualifying result (fourth) and race result (third) at his home event, qualifying and completing the Mexico City Grand Prix in the same positions as he did in 2021. sPerez recorded his 25th podium finish, equalling Jacky Ickx for 41st in the all-time list of top three finishes.
🇬🇧 Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton recorded his 190th podium finish. This was his fifth podium in Mexico City, making him the first driver to finish in the top three on five occasions in Mexico. This was the first time Hamilton has finished on the podium in consecutive races since his streak of five top three finishes between the Canadian and Hungarian Grands Prix. Finishing as runner-up for the third time in Mexico, Hamilton equalled Jack Brabham as the driver to have finished second on the most occasions at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
🇬🇧 George Russell
George Russell qualified second and lined up on the front row of the grid for the fifth time in his career. This was the first time Russell out-qualified team-mate Lewis Hamilton since he took pole position at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Russell became the first driver since Riccardo Patrese in 1990 to start second in Mexico and fail to finish on the podium. Fourth place marked Russell’s best result since his podium at the Italian Grand Prix. Having led five laps in Mexico, Russell has now led 92 laps in his career without winning a race. He’s now 16 laps short of equalling Jean Behra for second in the list of most laps led without taking victory.
🇲🇨 Charles Leclerc
Charles Leclerc made his 100th Grand Prix start at the 2022 Mexico City Grand Prix, becoming the 77th driver to reach that milestone. Coming home in sixth place, Leclerc failed to finish on the podium for the first time since the Belgian Grand Prix. Leclerc is still yet to finish in the top four in Mexico.
🇪🇸 Carlos Sainz
Carlos Sainz’s unusual qualifying record continued in Mexico. Qualifying fifth, he has qualified one position better than on his previous appearance on every visit to the Mexico City Grand Prix. Sainz finished where he started, in fifth place, reaching the end of a Grand Prix for the first time since the Singapore Grand Prix. This marked his best result in Mexico to date.
🇦🇺 Daniel Ricciardo
After failing to reach Q3 in Mexico City for only the second time, Daniel Ricciardo drove from 11th to 7th and was voted Driver Of The Day for the tenth time in his career. It was the first time he’s won the vote since his drive to victory at the 2021 Italian Grand Prix. This was Ricciardo’s best result in Mexico since his 2016 podium.
🇬🇧 Lando Norris
With eighth place, Lando Norris equalled his best Mexico City Grand Prix qualifying result. He also qualified eighth here in 2019. Having previously picked up a solitary point in Mexico, ninth place marked Norris’ best result in the country to date.
🇪🇸 Fernando Alonso
Fernando Alonso reached Q3 in Mexico City for the first time in his career. He qualified in ninth place, beating his previous best result of 11th at the circuit, recorded in 2016. Alonso was the second and final retirement from the 2022 Mexico City Grand Prix. This was his third retirement in the last five races and his third retirement in Mexico.
🇫🇷 Esteban Ocon
Esteban Ocon finished in eighth place, scoring in Mexico City for the first time since his fifth place finish in 2017. Saturday in Mexico also marked the first time since 2017 that Ocon reached Q3 at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. He was out-qualified by his team-mate in Mexico for the first time since 2016.
🇫🇷 Pierre Gasly
After failing to reach Q3 in Mexico for the first time since 2018, Pierre Gasly finished11th, marking the first time that the Frenchman failed to pick up points in Mexico since his first appearance at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in 2017.
🇯🇵 Yuki Tsunoda
Yuki Tsunoda became the first retirement of the race following contact with Daniel Ricciardo. Tsunoda retained his 100% retirement rate at the Mexico City Grand Prix, having also failed to reach the chequered flag last season.
🇩🇪 Sebastian Vettel
Sebastian Vettel recorded his first Q1 exit since the Italian Grand Prix and finished the race in a lowly 14th place, ending a streak of three consecutive top eight finishes. This was the first time Vettel failed to score in Mexico since his 2015 retirement.
🇨🇦 Lance Stroll
Lance Stroll became only the second driver, after Marcus Ericsson, to record 60 Q1 eliminations. Stroll has been eliminated in Q1 on half of his 120 Formula 1 qualifying appearances. Recording his fourth Q1 exit in Mexico, Stroll equalled Romain Grosjean as the driver to have recorded the most Q1 eliminations at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. In the race, Stroll finished 15th, recording his worst Mexico City Grand Prix result to date.
🇹🇭 Alex Albon
Alex Albon finished the 2022 Mexico City Grand Prix in 12th place, ending his 100% points-scoring record in Mexico.
🇨🇦 Nicholas Latifi
Nicholas Latifi qualified in last place for the fourth race in a row, while team-mate Alex Albon qualified on the back row for only the fourth time this year.
🇫🇮 Valtteri Bottas
Valtteri Bottas ended the longest active point-less streak in Formula 1, scoring for the first time since the Canadian Grand Prix. With tenth place, the 2022 Mexico City Grand Prix was the 140th race in which Bottas scored. He equalled Rubens Barrichello as the driver to have scored in the ninth most races.
Bottas qualified in sixth place, recording his best qualifying result since setting the fifth fastest time in qualifying for the Miami Grand Prix. This was the first time Bottas reached Q3 at consecutive races since the Emilia Romagna, Miami and Spanish Grands Prix. Bottas recorded his team’s best-ever qualifying result in Mexico. The team had only reached Q3 in Mexico once previously, when both Charles Leclerc and Marcus Ericsson qualified in the top ten in 2018.
🇨🇳 Zhou Guanyu
Zhou Guanyu failed to score for the fourth race in a row, coming home in 13th place. He lost one position from where he started.
🇩🇪 Mick Schumacher
Mick Schumacher reached the chequered flag at the Mexico City Grand Prix, finishing in 16th place. This was the seventh time Schumacher has finished 16th, making 16th his most common result in Formula 1.
🇩🇰 Kevin Magnussen
For the first time in their history, Haas progressed into Q2 at the Mexico City Grand Prix. That was thanks to Kevin Magnussen, who set the 15th fastest time in Q1. He also set the 15th fastest time in Q2. In the Grand Prix, Magnussen equalled his worst Mexico result to date, finishing in 17th. He also finished 17th with Renault in 2016.
