Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton applauds the victory of Red Bull driver Max Verstappen, at the Formula 1 Grand Prix of Mexico, in Mexico City, October 30, 2022. FERNANDO LLANO / AP Max Verstappen (Red Bull), already assured of his second title of world champion, won a 14th Grand Prix in 2022 in Mexico on Sunday, a record success in a single Formula 1 season. Starting from pole position, the Dutchman was well ahead of Briton Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) and the local of the stage, the other Red Bull of Mexican Sergio Perez, for the 20th round out of 22 on the Rodriguez brothers’ circuit. “Max, congratulations, it’s a new record! From the end of the race, rather a walk at 2,200 meters above sea level, Verstappen was congratulated by his boss, Christian Horner. “Fourteen victories, it’s incredible! “savored the double champion, unstoppable, who finished 15 seconds ahead. George Russell (Mercedes), who started 2nd but was overtaken in the first corners by his team-mate Hamilton and by Perez, finished 4th, ahead of the Ferraris of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc, who performed poorly this weekend. Read also: Formula 1: Dutchman Max Verstappen wins his second world championship title in confusion Red Bull goes it alone Secured the title from Japan two races ago, Verstappen won his 34th victory there. At 25, he is the 6th most prolific driver in F1 history and has his sights set on Brazilian legend Ayrton Senna and his 41 successes. Red Bull, titled among the constructors on Sunday in Austin, continues on its own. Unbeatable for nine races now with a last defeat on July 10 in Austria (Leclerc), it behaves better on the track than off, after being sanctioned for having exceeded the 2021 budget ceiling. The team has won 16 of the 20 races contested, counting the two from Perez. In front of a crowd won over to his cause, Perez would have liked to add a third. Carried by the “Checo! Checo! from his raging supporters, especially in the deafening Foro Sol stadium, the Mexican couldn’t do better. He consoled himself by overtaking Leclerc in 2nd place in the general classification. In this weekend of celebrations in Mexico, before the Dia de muertos, the party was therefore almost total for the 395,000 spectators who came to fill the stands since Friday. Almost, because once again the race looked like a long procession with Verstappen at the helm. Read also: Max Verstappen: “In F1, if all the drivers were the same, it would be boring” In the list of victories during the same season, Verstappen now exceeds the Germans Michael Schumacher (2004) and Sebastian Vettel (2013), tied with 13 wins. In the percentage of victories, on the other hand, “Schumi” remains in the lead for the moment with 13 victories out of 18 races. It will therefore be necessary to do the accounts at the end of the season to see who “really” holds the record. Mercedes is ahead of Ferrari Verstappen, whose hunger for victories has no limit, still has two opportunities to shine: Brazil (November 13) and Abu Dhabi (November 20). In Mexico, as in the United States last week, it was his arch-nemesis, reigning vice-world champion Hamilton who was the most serious – albeit remote – threat. Hamilton couldn’t do anything. He could not benefit from the arrival of a providential safety car either, even after the engine stopped at the end of the race of the Alpine of Fernando Alonso, visibly very annoyed by this new concern for reliability. Read also: Article reserved for our Formula 1 subscribers: Pierre Gasly, an obvious union with Alpine The Briton has only two races left to save his honor, win a 104th victory and glean another famous record: win at least once in 16 consecutive years. And there are reasons to believe it, given the improvements of Mercedes, in the process of supplanting Ferrari as the second force of the field. Enough to project towards a new Red Bull-Mercedes match in 2023. And enough to give headaches to the management of Ferrari, which is struggling to keep up the pace even if it clings to 2nd place in the constructors’ standings. The World with AFP