Why Verstappen was untouchable after Mexican GP Turn 1 pass

After its shock Mexican Grand Prix qualifying defeat to Mercedes, Max Verstappen and Red Bull needed a big response on Sunday. He duly delivered at the start with a superb double pass around the outside, after which he was never challenged due to an innate advantage Red Bull brought to the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez

Alex Kalinauckas Nov 8, 2021, 10:02 AM

Upd: Nov 9, 2021, 2:41 AM

Some motorsport moments are just magic. Bits of driving that are just spine-tinglingly good, showcasing supreme skill, flair and sheer bloody mindedness. Max Verstappen's start to the 2021 Mexican Grand Prix had it all.

So much of what the Dutchman displayed last Sunday at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on his way victory was brilliant, but his breath-taking double pass on the Mercedes drivers will surely be what lives longest in Formula 1's collective memory. Doubly so if, whisper it, this for-the-ages campaign ends in a championship victory…

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Author Alex Kalinauckas

Alex Kalinauckas is Autosport's Grand Prix Editor, covering every Formula 1 race since the start of 2020. After completing a master's degree in journalism at Goldsmiths College University of London in 2014, he worked for a range of motorsport and technology publications while covering national racing as an Autosport freelancer.

A lifelong motorsport fan - no one in his family can explain quite how or why such a development first occurred - Alex joined the Autosport staff in April 2017 as the magazine’s Assistant Editor covering Formula 2 and GP3, before being made Formula E correspondent and Autosport.com’s Plus Editor in March 2018. He lives in north-east London and is constantly frustrated by the Central Line.