2022 Formula 1 in Mexico results: Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen rolls to record 14th win in season

Lewis Hamilton challenged early but finished second as he expressed displeasure with the choice of tires made by Mercedes

A game of poker broke out at the 2022 Formula 1 Mexican Grand Prix on Sunday. Holding one hand was Red Bull Racing, who looked to be using a two-stop strategy with pole-sitter Max Verstappen and hometown favorite Sergio Perez. At the other end of the table was Mercedes, who put all their chips into the middle of the table on a one-stop strategy using hard-compound tires at the end for Lewis Hamilton and George Russell.

The gamble came up as a bust for Mercedes.

Verstappen and his teammate, Sergio Perez, who have been able to seemingly get great tire wear when and where they want it, were able to produce incredible times lap after lap at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriquez, and they were able to make their medium-compound tires prove to be up to going just as long as the hard compounds. Thought to be running a two-stop strategy, Red Bull Racing pulled of a one-stop strategy, too, in delivering a record 14th win on the season for Verstappen and a third-place spot for Perez.

A frustrated Hamilton — who at one point radioed to his team that "we are on the wrong tire" only to be rebuffed by his pit crew — was able to hold on for second, and an equally mad Russell — who also radioed to say he was "unhappy with this tire" — brought home his Mercedes in fourth.

Busted out early were the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr., who looked oh-so-racy at the the start of the weekend only to not really get into the race flow at all on Sunday and finished fifth and sixth, respectively. 

"Wow, what a season," Verstappen said at the finish, becoming the first driver to convert pole position into the top step on the podium in the past four Grands Prix at Mexico. "To stay in the lead after Turn 1, that helped me a lot. The pace of the car was nice, and we had to look out for our tires, because it was a long stint on the mediums, but we made it work."

For Hamilton, there was no solace in leading part of the race only to finish second.

"I was so close, but the Red Bulls were just too fast today," Hamilton said. "Ultimately, they had the best tire strategy. I think we should've started on the softs. That hard tire was just not it at the end."

Finishing order

1. Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
2. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
3. Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing
4. George Russell, Mercedes
5. Carlos Sainz Jr., Ferrari
6. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
7. Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren
8. Esteban Ocon, Alpine
9. Lando Norris, McLaren
10. Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo
11. Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri
12. Alexander Albon, Williams
13. Zhou Guanyu, Alfa Romeo
14. Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin
15. Lance Stroll, Aston Martin
16. Mick Schumacher, Haas
17. Kevin Magnussen, Haas
18. Nicholas Latifi, Williams
19. Fernando Alonso, Alpine
20. Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri