Mexican Grand Prix: Carlos Sainz, « I really needed this win »

Carlos Sainz won the Mexico Grand Prix, his second victory of the 2024 season, after a controlled race from start to finish. Starting from pole position, the Spaniard briefly had to yield his place to Max Verstappen at the start before regaining the lead on the ninth lap. Once in the lead, the Ferrari driver was not threatened anymore, he managed his lead perfectly over his pursuers.

The race was marked by a safety car intervention as early as the first lap following an accident involving Yuki Tsunoda and Alex Albon. After the restart, Sainz demonstrated a solid pace, managing his lead perfectly over his teammate Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris.

Max Verstappen did not worry Sainz for long, the latter received two 10-second penalties for incidents with Norris. Meanwhile, the Spanish driver managed to build a comfortable lead. He and his teammate, Charles Leclerc, led a Ferrari one-two for a large part of the race. However, in the final laps, Norris managed to overtake Leclerc for second place, but could not catch up with Sainz who won with a comfortable lead.

Speaking after his victory, Sainz declared, “It’s incredible to see this crowd. I felt their support all week and I feel like I have a great fan base in Mexico that gave me the strength to achieve what I did.”

Regarding his decisive overtaking on Verstappen at the start of the race, Sainz explained, “I hadn’t prepared it to be honest. I was just a little annoyed at the start, having lost the position to him, and I thought I had to surprise him in one way or another because Max is super difficult to overtake. He has proven it many times. I was a little far back but I thought ‘I have nothing to lose and I will try a move on the inside.’ I was very confident under braking in the first corner.”

For the Spanish pilot, this victory at the Mexican Grand Prix is particularly important. “I really wanted this one. I needed it for myself. I had said that I wanted one more victory for Ferrari and to achieve it here with this incredible crowd is extraordinary,” he emphasized.

This victory marks an important moment for Ferrari, which had not won in Mexico since 1990 with Alain Prost. For Sainz, who will leave Ferrari at the end of the year, this may be his last victory with the Italian team, although there are still four races to be held in the season.