The 2024 Mexican Grand Prix still marks Ferrari’s last victory in Formula 1, achieved by Carlos Sainz at the Hermanos Rodríguez circuit. The race also represents Sainz’s own last triumph, as within a year he went from those highs to a true Mexican nightmare.
Carlos Sainz was first forced to serve a five-place grid penalty due to contact with Kimi Antonelli in the previous race in Austin. The latest weekend brought even more sporting penalties for the Williams driver, in fact more than one during the race itself. Specifically, the former Ferrari driver had to contend with a speed limiter malfunction caused by an incident at the start. During his two pit stops, Carlos Sainz exceeded the speed limit twice due to this issue, earning penalties on both occasions. To make matters worse, on the penultimate lap, car #55 retired with a technical problem, prompting race control to deploy the Virtual Safety Car. This incident had particular consequences for the battle between Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc for second place, with Leclerc struggling with tire management but still managing to fend off Max Verstappen’s late charge.
Carlos Sainz reflects on a frustrating race
“It was a frustrating race because we had excellent pace today,” Carlos Sainz explained. “At Turn 1 there was a collision between several cars, and I had contact with a Red Bull that damaged my wheel rim, causing strong vibrations in the first stint and also damaging all the front tire sensors. This led to a malfunction of the speed limiter in the pit lane, resulting in two penalties and compromising the entire race. It was essentially a snowball effect that cost us a clear chance to score points today, as the pace was really strong and I was very quick on both sets of soft tires. A disappointing end to the race, but we will regroup and move forward in Brazil.” – the Spanish driver concluded at the end of the Mexican Grand Prix.
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