F1 Focus: Sainz puts Ferrari in contention, Verstappen goes too far

On multiple occasions since it joined the grid in 2015, the highlight of Formula 1 races in Mexico has been the glorious mariachi version of the F1 theme we always get, but that thankfully wasn't the case this year. 

We got some real drama at the front of the field before Carlos Sainz sailed off into the distance, and after that there was still racing aplenty further back in what was one of the feistier races of the season.

Here are my main takeaways from the Mexican Grand Prix.

The Verstappen of old rears his ugly head

In the last few seasons, it's looked like Max Verstappen had really matured as a driver and moved away from his old aggressive style of racing that was on the very limit at best and downright dangerous at worst. However, on a weekend when the clocks in Europe went back an hour, he turned his back by a good three years or so.

As was the case so many times during his fight with Lewis Hamilton in 2021, the Dutchman is just taking things too far when he finds himself wheel-to-wheel with his title rival. He's ended up in such a situation three times in the last two races, and evasive action from Lando Norris is the only reason that the two drivers haven't come together yet.

On all three occasions, Verstappen has effectively forced Norris to choose between losing a place and crashing into him, leaving no space for the McLaren man whatsoever and completely disregarding the safety of the two. There has thankfully been one grown-up in the room in these situations in the form of Norris, but Verstappen can't be allowed to get away with such actions. 

Thankfully, he wasn't in Mexico, being handed one 10-second penalty for each of the two incidents that forced Norris off-track, and that's hopefully a sign of things to come, because the only thing that will deter him from driving in such a manner is a guarantee that it will cost him places and points whether he stays ahead of the man he's racing or not.

There's little doubt that Verstappen is one of the best drivers of all time in terms of speed alone, but after two seasons of having a good enough car to stay well ahead of the rest of the field, his lack of composure and responsibility in wheel-to-wheel situations is being exposed again. 

Sainz rubs salt in Red Bull's wounds

The weekend couldn't have gone much worse for Red Bull's own drivers with Verstappen ending up sixth and Sergio Perez rock bottom, and the team's troubles were exacerbated even further by a previous member of their talent pool.

Ferrari overtaking Red Bull in the Constructors' Championship felt somewhat inevitable after it emerged in Austin that they'd come out of the autumn break with the strongest car, but the fact that Carlos Sainz was the man to dump the reigning champions out of the top two will be a particularly bitter pill for Christian Horner and co to swallow.

Not only did Red Bull allow Sainz to escape their clutches in 2019 after choosing not to promote him from sister team Toro Rosso but they then decided against offering him a seat for the 2025 campaign when Ferrari opted to replace him with Lewis Hamilton for the next campaign. Instead of swallowing their pride and going back to him, they chose to keep faith that a driver already under their umbrella would emerge as the ideal teammate to Verstappen.

It became abundantly clear in Mexico that that was a risk not worth taking. Yuki Tsuonda crashed out at the first corner, Perez and Liam Lawson took chunks out of each other and other drivers before crossing the line as the bottom two, Daniel Ricciardo was somewhere far away after being dropped and Sainz stormed to victory with a perfect performance. 

Over the course of the weekend, the Spaniard showed what an elite and complete driver he's become, taking pole position with an excellent lap, taking the lead from Verstappen on race day with a perfectly executed overtake and taking the win with ease after that.

Red Bull's decision not to give him a shot all those years ago looks to have already cost them a top-two finish this season, their decision to shun him for 2025 could go on to cost them a lot more as their struggles to find a top driver for their second seat continue. 

Ayao Komatsu is the team principal of the season

Formula 1 doesn't hand out a Team Principal of the Season award, but if they did, Haas boss Ayao Komatsu would be my pick after working wonders in his first season at the helm.

He took charge of a team that had been a backmarker for five seasons and the worst on the grid in 2023, and less than a year on has them regularly fighting for points and set to enjoy their second-highest-ever finish in the standings, with the American outfit comfortably sitting sixth in the Constructors' Championship after finishing seventh and ninth in Mexico.

A lot of the work on this year's car would have admittedly been done under the tenure of predecessor Guenther Steiner, but Komatsu himself still would have played a big part in its development as the engineering director and has since ensured that the team extract every ounce of potential from it, barely putting a foot wrong when it comes to development and in-race strategies. 

As a result, the team with the smallest budget and fewest resources on the grid by a long way are punching well above their weight, and that's largely why automotive giants Toyota have decided to return to F1 and enter a partnership with them. 

Should that partnership live up to its potential, Haas could end up fighting for far more than a top-10 finish, and Komastsu would be as responsible for that rise as anyone.