Max Verstappen cruised to his record-breaking 14th victory of the Formula One season Sunday at the Mexico City Grand Prix.
Verstappen, who had tied Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel for the single-season mark just last week in Austin, had another dominant drive winning on the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez track for a fourth time in his career and finishing 15.186 seconds clear of Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton.
The podium was a case of deja vu from a year ago as Verstappen's Red Bull Racing teammate Sergio Perez finished third once more at his home circuit.
Here's an in-depth look at what you need to know.
Verstappen's record-setting 14th win also helped him score the most points in an F1 season with 416 (and counting) to surpass Hamilton's tally of 413 from 2019.
And there are still two more races remaining on the schedule in Brazil and Abu Dhabi.
If you're a traditionalist or just a Verstappen hater, you'll be quick to point out there are more races now than in the past, in which case we should take a deeper dive into the win percentages.
Even if Verstappen is victorious in Brazil and Abu Dhabi, the most he could boost his percentage to is 72.7 per cent.
So there you have it. Verstappen can claim the single-season wins record, but his naysayers can also still sleep at night.
One thing we should all agree upon: thankfully the season isn't only eight or 10 races anymore.
Even if you're really into the strategy side of things, Sunday's race was a bit of a snoozer as the anticipated tire management matchup failed to deliver any sparks down the stretch.
While Red Bull opted for a soft/medium tire strategy, Mercedes believed they had the advantage of starting on mediums and switching to hards.
That never came to fruition as Hamilton was unable to catch Verstappen. For what it's worth, Hamilton did manage to finish almost three seconds clear of Perez. It wasn't a bad strategy — just not good enough to upend Verstappen and win the race.
Mercedes scored a combined 31 points Sunday with Hamilton's runner-up result plus teammate George Russell finishing P4 and making a late pit stop for soft tires to snatch the fastest lap bonus point. Just 40 points now separate Mercedes from Ferrari for second place in the constructors' championship.
Sure, Mercedes doesn't have a victory this season — and might end finishing the year winless for the first time since the 2011 campaign — but the German team was never challenged by Ferrari once they broke away at the start.
Ferrari's Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc finished fifth and sixth, respectively, and earned a combined 18 points.
Time might be running out but Mercedes could catch the Scuderia squad within the final two races should they continue to turn in performances like that (possible) and if Ferrari falters (also possible).
McLaren's Daniel Ricciardo delivered one of his best performances of the season with a P7 result. Ricciardo lingered in 12th place until a late surge on Yuki Tsunoda during Lap 51 knocked the AlphaTauri driver out of the race. The Australian was dinged with a 10-second penalty for the collision, but Ricciardo made the most of the final 20 laps to surge up into seventh and retain enough of a gap on Alpine's Esteban Ocon to not lose a place.
Ricciardo was named driver of the day but it's probably safe to say Tsunoda didn't vote for him.
With Lando Norris finishing ninth, McLaren claimed a crucial eight points to narrow the gap down to seven points behind fourth-place Alpine in the constructors' championship. McLaren was aided with some misfortune for Alpine as Fernando Alonso bowed out due to mechanical problems with only seven laps to the checkered flag.
Valtteri Bottas was the pole sitter in Mexico City last season when he drove for Mercedes. What a difference a year makes as the Finnish driver was starting P6 Sunday in his Alfa Romeo.
Bottas wasn't able to hold the line but still managed to finish within the points, just barely in 10th that is, to snap a dreadful 10-race points drought.
Alfa Romeo is looking to hold on to sixth in the constructors' championship with Aston Martin only four points back. Fortunately for them, neither Sebastian Vettel nor Lance Stroll picked up any points for Aston Martin as they finished 14th and 15th, respectively. Stroll actually started last due to a penalty but gained five spots right out of the gate on the opening lap.
It's down to Brazil for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix on Nov. 13 at the Interlagos circuit. Sprint qualifying will determine the starting grid with Hamilton entering as the defending race winner.
