At the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City, the start is like a drag race as the first turn is 800 metres away. So being in pole position, as Max Verstappen was, did not necessarily mean having a great advantage but he was not too concerned since his car had an edge over the Mercedes-AMG of George Russell on the straights anyway.
So on lights out, the Red Bull driver got ahead, with Russell and Lewis Hamilton getting in behind him. Verstappen’s team mate, Sergio Perez, was watching for an opportunity but with Russell in his line, he was impeded a bit. Nevertheless, he pushed on the second corner and Russell had to go wide (with what seemed like a slight contact) and got ahead to emerge third after the corner.
(more…)