2021 Mexico City Grand Prix

The 2021 Mexico City Grand Prix (officially known as the Formula 1 Gran Premio de la Ciudad de México 2021) was a Formula One motor race, held on 7 November 2021 at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City. The race was the 18th round of the 2021 Formula One World Championship and marked the 21st edition of the Mexican Grand Prix, which was run under the name Mexico City Grand Prix for the first time, acknowledging the sponsorship support of the government of Mexico City.

2021 Mexico City Grand Prix
Race 18 of 22[1] in the 2021 Formula One World Championship ← Previous race Next race →
Race details[2][3]
Date	7 November 2021
Official name	Formula 1 Gran Premio de la Ciudad de México 2021
Location	Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City, Mexico
Course	Permanent racing facility
Course length	4.304 km (2.674 miles)
Distance	71 laps, 305.354 km (189.738 miles)
Weather	Sunny
Attendance	371,000[4]
Pole position
Driver	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes
Time	1:15.875
Fastest lap
Driver	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes
Time	1:17.774 on lap 69 (lap record)
Podium
First	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing-Honda
Second	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes
Third	Sergio Pérez	Red Bull Racing-Honda
Lap leaders

The race was won by Max Verstappen followed by Lewis Hamilton and Sergio Pérez.^[5] Kimi Räikkönen scored his final F1 career points in this race when he finished in 8th place whilst driving for Alfa Romeo.

Background

Further information: 2021 Formula One World Championship § Calendar changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic

Satellite view of the circuit, as it appeared in 2018

The race marked its debut in the Formula One Championship calendar under the name Mexico City Grand Prix. On 8 August 2019, it was announced that the Mexican Grand Prix would remain on the calendar until 2022, though it would be renamed to Mexico City Grand Prix starting in 2020, in order to emphasize the support from the government of Mexico City.^[6] The edition was called off due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2021 race was originally to take place on 31 October, but was moved a week later due to the reduction of the overall number of Grands Prix in the calendar, from 23 to 22.^[7] This was the twenty-first World Championship Grand Prix held in Mexico.^[8]

Championship standings before the race

After winning in the preceding United States Grand Prix, Max Verstappen led the Drivers' Championship by 12 points: Verstappen with 287.5 and Lewis Hamilton with 275.5. Behind them, Valtteri Bottas was in third place with 185 points. Sergio Pérez trailed him by 35 points, and Lando Norris trailed Pérez by 1 point. In the Constructors' Championship, Mercedes led Red Bull Racing by 23 points. Behind them, third-placed McLaren led fourth-placed Ferrari by 4.5 points with 254 points, with Alpine a distant fifth with 104 points.

Entrants

See also: 2021 Formula One World Championship § Entries

The drivers and teams were the same as the season entry list with no additional stand-in drivers for the race.^[9]

Tyre choices

Sole tyre supplier Pirelli allocated the C2, C3, and C4 compounds of tyre to be used in the race.^[10]

Practice

The weekend featured three practice sessions, each lasting one hour.^[11] The first practice session started at 11:30 local time (UTC−06:00) on 5 November, and ended with Valtteri Bottas fastest for Mercedes, ahead of teammate Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull driver Max Verstappen.^[12] The second practice session started at 15:00 local time, also on 5 November, and ended with Verstappen fastest ahead of Bottas and Hamilton.^[13] The third and final practice session started at 11:00 on 6 November with the Red Bulls of Sergio Pérez and Verstappen fastest, followed by the two Mercedes.^[14]

Qualifying

Qualifying started at 14:00 local time on 6 November.^[11]

Qualifying classification

Pos.	No.	Driver	Constructor	Qualifying times			Final grid
				Q1	Q2	Q3
1	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	1:16.727	1:16.864	1:15.875	1
2	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:17.207	1:16.474	1:16.020	2
3	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing-Honda	1:16.788	1:16.483	1:16.225	3
4	11	Sergio Pérez	Red Bull Racing-Honda	1:17.003	1:17.055	1:16.343	4
5	10	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri-Honda	1:16.908	1:16.955	1:16.456	5
6	55	Carlos Sainz Jr.	Ferrari	1:17.517	1:17.248	1:16.761	6
7	3	Daniel Ricciardo	McLaren-Mercedes	1:17.719	1:17.092	1:16.763	7
8	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	1:16.748	1:17.034	1:16.837	8
9	22	Yuki Tsunoda	AlphaTauri-Honda	1:17.330	1:16.701	1:17.158	171
10	4	Lando Norris	McLaren-Mercedes	1:17.569	1:17.473	1:36.830	182
11	5	Sebastian Vettel	Aston Martin-Mercedes	1:17.502	1:17.746	N/A	9
12	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Alfa Romeo Racing-Ferrari	1:17.606	1:17.958	N/A	10
13	63	George Russell	Williams-Mercedes	1:17.958	1:18.172	N/A	163
14	99	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo Racing-Ferrari	1:17.897	1:18.290	N/A	11
15	31	Esteban Ocon	Alpine-Renault	1:18.126	1:18.405	N/A	194
16	14	Fernando Alonso	Alpine-Renault	1:18.452	N/A	N/A	12
17	6	Nicholas Latifi	Williams-Mercedes	1:18.756	N/A	N/A	13
18	47	Mick Schumacher	Haas-Ferrari	1:18.858	N/A	N/A	14
19	9	Nikita Mazepin[a]	Haas-Ferrari	1:19.303	N/A	N/A	15
20	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin-Mercedes	1:20.873	N/A	N/A	205
107% time: 1:22.097
Source:[16][17]

Notes

• ^1 – Yuki Tsunoda was required to start the race from the back of the grid for exceeding his quota of power unit elements.^[18]
• ^2 – Lando Norris was required to start the race from the back of the grid for exceeding his quota of power unit elements.^[19]
• ^3 – George Russell received a five-place grid penalty for an unscheduled gearbox change.^[19]
• ^4 – Esteban Ocon was required to start the race from the back of the grid for exceeding his quota of power unit elements.^[19]
• ^5 – Lance Stroll was required to start the race from the back of the grid for exceeding his quota of power unit elements.^[18] He also received a five-place grid penalty for an unscheduled gearbox change. The penalty made no difference as he was already due to start from the last position.^[17]

Race

The race started at 13:00 local time on 7 November.^[11] Valtteri Bottas started the race from pole position but was overtaken at the first corner by Max Verstappen. Bottas was then hit by Daniel Ricciardo from behind at the next corner with the stewards deciding neither driver was to blame for the incident.^[20] This put both drivers at the back of the field with neither scoring any points at this race.

Max Verstappen was leading for most of the race with Sergio Perez taking the lead for a short while, during the period that Verstappen had pitted and he had not. Perez became the first Mexican driver to lead his home Grand Prix. Lewis Hamilton was in second with Verstappen having a clear lead over him. Hamilton and Perez were close towards the end with Perez not far from trying to get past him.^[21] Hamilton managed to keep second place and Perez came home to finish third. By finishing 3rd, Pérez became the first Mexican driver to get a podium at home.^[22]

Valtteri Bottas took the fastest lap of the race, but did not receive the point for it as he finished outside the top ten. In line with the regulations, the fastest lap point was not redistributed.^[23]

Race classification

Pos.	No.	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing-Honda	71	1:38:39.086	3	25
2	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	71	+16.555	2	18
3	11	Sergio Pérez	Red Bull Racing-Honda	71	+17.752	4	15
4	10	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri-Honda	71	+1:03.845	5	12
5	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	71	+1:21.037	8	10
6	55	Carlos Sainz Jr.	Ferrari	70	+1 lap	6	8
7	5	Sebastian Vettel	Aston Martin-Mercedes	70	+1 lap	9	6
8	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Alfa Romeo Racing-Ferrari	70	+1 lap	10	4
9	14	Fernando Alonso	Alpine-Renault	70	+1 lap	12	2
10	4	Lando Norris	McLaren-Mercedes	70	+1 lap	18	1
11	99	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo Racing-Ferrari	70	+1 lap	11
12	3	Daniel Ricciardo	McLaren-Mercedes	70	+1 lap	7
13	31	Esteban Ocon	Alpine-Renault	70	+1 lap	19
14	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin-Mercedes	69	+2 laps	20
15	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	69	+2 laps	1
16	63	George Russell	Williams-Mercedes	69	+2 laps	16
17	6	Nicholas Latifi	Williams-Mercedes	69	+2 laps	13
18	9	Nikita Mazepin[a]	Haas-Ferrari	68	+3 laps	15
Ret	47	Mick Schumacher	Haas-Ferrari	0	Collision	14
Ret	22	Yuki Tsunoda	AlphaTauri-Honda	0	Collision	17
Fastest lap: Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) – 1:17.774 (lap 69)
Source:[17][24][25]

Championship standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings Pos. Driver Points 1 Max Verstappen* 312.5 2 Lewis Hamilton* 293.5 3 Valtteri Bottas 185 4 Sergio Pérez 165 5 Lando Norris 150 Source:[26]

Constructors' Championship standings Pos. Constructor Points 1 Mercedes* 478.5 2 Red Bull Racing-Honda* 477.5 1 3 Ferrari 268.5 1 4 McLaren-Mercedes 255 5 Alpine-Renault 106 Source:[26]

• Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
• Bold text and an asterisk indicates competitors who still had a theoretical chance of becoming World Champion.

Notes

1. Nikita Mazepin is Russian, but he competed as a neutral competitor using the designation RAF (Russian Automobile Federation), as the Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld a ban on Russia competing at World Championships. The ban was implemented by the World Anti-Doping Agency in response to the state-sponsored doping program of Russian athletes.^[15]

References

1. Smith, Luke (28 August 2021). "Formula 1 reveals updated 2021 calendar, drops to 22 races". Autosport. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
2. "Mexico 2021". Formula1. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
3. Dodgins, Tony; Hamilton, Maurice; Hughes, Mark; Kirby, Gordon (8 January 2021). Autocourse 2020-2021. Cheltenham, United Kingdom: Icon Publishing Limited. pp. 272–281. ISBN 978-1910584-42-2.
4. "Formula 1 announces TV, race attendance and digital audience figures for 2021". Formula1.com. 17 February 2022. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
5. "Results". Formula 1 - The Official F1 Website. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
6. "Formula 1 to race in Mexico City until at least the end of 2022". Formula1.com. Formula One World Championship Limited. 8 August 2019. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
7. "Formula 1 announces revised 22-race calendar for 2021". Formula1. 28 August 2021. Archived from the original on 28 August 2021. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
8. Baldwin, Alan; Osmond, Ed (3 November 2021). "Motor racing-Formula One statistics for the Mexican Grand Prix". Reuters. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
9. "2021 Mexico City Grand Prix – Entry List" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 4 November 2021. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
10. "Formula 1 2021 Season - Pirelli Unveils Tire Choices For All 23 GPs". F1Lead. 20 February 2021. Archived from the original on 21 February 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
11. "Mexico timetable". Formula 1. Archived from the original on 21 October 2021. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
12. Benson, Andrew (5 November 2021). "Mexico City Grand Prix: Valtteri Bottas tops first practice". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
13. "FP2: Verstappen lays down a marker after topping second practice in Mexico City". Formula1. 5 November 2021. Archived from the original on 5 November 2021. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
14. "FP3: Red Bull lay down marker as Perez heads Verstappen in final practice for Mexico City GP". Formula1. 6 November 2021. Archived from the original on 6 November 2021. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
15. Luke Smith (5 February 2021). "Mazepin set to race under neutral flag after CAS ruling extends to F1". motorsport.com. Archived from the original on 5 February 2021. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
16. "Formula 1 Gran Premio de la Ciudad de México 2021 – Qualifying". Formula1.com. 6 November 2021. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
17. "Formula 1 Gran Premio de la Ciudad de México 2021 – Starting Grid". Formula1.com. 6 November 2021. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
18. "Stroll and Tsunoda set to start Mexico City GP from back of the grid after taking new power unit parts". www.formula1.com. 5 November 2021. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
19. "Norris and Ocon to join Stroll and Tsunoda in starting from the back of the grid in Mexico after taking new PU elements". www.formula1.com. 6 November 2021. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
20. Noble, Jonathan; Cooper, Adam (8 November 2021). "F1 video replay changed Ricciardo's mind on Bottas crash". Motorsport. Archived from the original on 8 November 2021. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
21. "2021 Mexico City Grand Prix race report and highlights: Verstappen extends championship lead after jumping both Mercedes at the start to win in Mexico". Formula1. 7 November 2021. Archived from the original on 7 November 2021. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
22. "Mexico City GP: Sergio Perez lives dream on home podium as Red Bull hail F1 form and 'best team spirit'". Sky Sports F1. 8 November 2021. Archived from the original on 8 November 2021. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
23. "2021 Mexico City Grand Prix race report and highlights: Verstappen extends championship lead after jumping both Mercedes at the start to win in Mexico | Formula 1". www.formula1.com. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
24. "Formula 1 Gran Premio de la Ciudad de México 2021 – Race Result". Formula1.com. 7 November 2021. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
25. "Formula 1 Gran Premio de la Ciudad de México 2021 – Fastest Laps". Formula1.com. 7 November 2021. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
26. "Mexico City 2021 - Championship". www.statsf1.com.

External links

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