Red Bull’s Max Verstappen took a dominant victory in the Mexico City Grand Prix to strengthen his chances of a first World Championship.

Perez was on Hamilton’s tail on the last lap but was not able to pass.

Verstappen’s ninth win in 2021 gives him a 19-point lead with four races and a total of 107 points remaining.

Hamilton’s team-mate Valtteri Bottas deprived the Dutchman of the point for fastest lap on the final tour.

One of the most imposing victories of the year therefore puts Verstappen in a commanding position in the championship.

And a one-three finish moved Red Bull to just one point behind Mercedes in the constructors’ championship.

What did the top three say:

Max Verstappen:

I’m getting carried away. “It’s still a long way to go,” he insisted. “It’s looking good but it can turn around very quickly. But I’m looking forward to Brazil which also holds happy memories for me.

Lewis Hamilton :
First, congratulations to Max. That car was faster than we were this weekend and there’s nothing we could really do about it. I gave it absolutely everything and obviously a great fight with Sergio at the end but I’m grateful I could still at least get a second-place finish. It was easy enough to hold on – I’ve been in that situation many times before – but it shows how fast their car was when Sergio was that close behind me and able to follow that closely. He did a great job! Even so, I really enjoyed the race and got everything out of it that we could today. Now we need to get our heads down and keep working hard to prepare for the next races, they will be coming at us fast over the next two weekends.

Sergio Perez: