Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

Lando Norris cut Max Verstappen’s lead to 47 points and labelled his rival “dangerous” as the championship battle reached boiling point at the Mexico City Grand Prix.

Verstappen was given two 10-second penalties for his driving against Norris for two incidents in the same lap but still managed to finish sixth.

Norris took second place, catching and passing Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc for second with nine laps to go, while Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz took a dominant victory.

Verstappen was given one penalty for forcing Norris off the track in an incident at Turn Four on lap 10 and another for leaving the track and gaining an advantage four corners later.

Read the full report here

Image source, Getty Images

Carlos Sainz said he wanted to leave Ferrari on high before he makes the switch to Williams next season, and if this is to be his last race win for the Scuderia, it was a certified cracker.

That's back-to-back victories for the Italian team, lifting them above Red Bull and firmly in the scrap with McLaren for the constructors' title.

Race number three in this first triple-header is taking us to Interlagos.

Brazil is hosting the fifth of six sprint races this season, so there are extra points on the table for our championship challengers.

Thanks for your company this weekend, folks. We'll be back again next week starting Friday, 1 November for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix. The one and only practice session gets under way at 14:30 GMT, before qualifying for the following day's sprint event.

See you on Friday!

Image source, BBC Sport

Was Max Verstappen's racing "dangerous" today, like Lando Norris said. Did it deserve the two penalties handed out to the Dutchman.

If there are any questions you have for Andre Benson following's Mexico's eventful grand prix, make sure to send them through using the link here

The answers will be published early next week.

Brad loved that one.

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Red Bull's Max Verstappen finished in P6 after receiving a 20 second penalty, he told Sky Sports: "The problem is when you're slower you are being put in those kind of positions, I'm not going to give up easily.

"At the end of the day it's not about agreeing or disagreeing about penalties the only thing is 20 seconds is quite a lot but the biggest problem of today and something that I worry about is the race pace which was really not good and something that we need to analyse.

"Even without those penalties we had no chance at all to fight up front."

On the Drivers' Championship: "I'm not worried this was just a really bad day for us but I also know we can do much better than this so we just keep going at it."

Which team is going to lift the constructors' title? McLaren are leading the way, but with Ferrari now up to second place, the gap between the two is just 29 points. Red Bull, meanwhile, have fallen 54 points behind McLaren after a difficult weekend in Mexico.

With both cars in the points today, sixth-placed Haas have pulled away from RB in seventh by 10 points. Are there enough races left for them to challenge Aston Martin for fifth?

1. McLaren - 566

2. Ferrari - 537

3. Red Bull - 512

4. Mercedes - 366

5. Aston Martin - 86

6. Haas - 46

7. RB - 36

8. Williams - 17

9. Alpine - 14

10. Sauber - 0

What a race in Mexico. Max Verstappen had to serve a 20-second penalty and ended his day four places lower than his rival Lando Norris. He's still in control of the championship, but his lead is now down to 47 points.

Nico Hulkenberg has added to his tally in standings with another top-10 finish and the Haas driver is clear of Lance Stroll in 11th by seven points.

1. Max Verstappen - 362

2. Lando Norris - 315

3. Charles Leclerc - 291

4. Oscar Piastri - 251

5. Carlos Sainz - 240

6. Lewis Hamilton - 189

7. George Russell - 177

8. Sergio Perez - 150

9. Fernando Alonso - 62

10. Nico Hulkenberg - 31

Image source, Getty Images

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, who finished in third place: “It was a difficult one, on the first stint it was all about trying to manage your temperatures which was quite difficult. But in the end we did the best race we could do. The whole weekend I’ve been a little on the back foot so third place was all I could achieve on my side today.

“Amazing race by Carlos today and it’s a good weekend overall for the team, which is positive.”

On the improvement with the car: “We are working super well as a team there has been quite a few races now that we are coming back to the level we should be at and it’s amazing to see.

"Obviously the constructors’ is our target and with weekends like this we are getting closer to it, so I hope we can continue in that direction and get that constructors’ title, which is very important.”

Image source, Reuters

McLaren's Lando Norris, who finished second in Mexico: "It was a very tough race. The first few laps a lot of it was just trying to stay in the race and avoid any crashes. Carlos drove a very good race so congratulations to Carlos and Ferrari, they were very quick today. I tried my best and a big thanks to all the fans, the fans make it very enjoyable here so big thank you to everyone."

On overtaking with Max Verstappen: "I knew what to expect, I didn't want to expect such a thing because I respect Max as a driver but I was ready to expect something like this and this is not very clean driving in my opinion, I avoided it and it was a good race."

On his championship hopes: "I just keep my head down, I'm doing my best. We're doing a good job as a team, we were probably quickest in the end. We keep our head down, that's what I can do for now. Focus on ourselves, we keep pushing."

Image source, Getty Images

Carlos Sainz, who wins his second race of the season in the Ferrari" “It’s incredible to see this crowd, I’ve been feeling their support all week and I feel like I’ve got a lot of fan support here in Mexico and they’ve given me a lot of strength.

“Honestly I really wanted this one, I needed it for myself, I wanted to get it done, I’ve been saying for a while I wanted one more win before leaving Ferrari and to do it here in front of this mega crowd is incredible. Now four races left I want to enjoy as much as possible and if another one comes I will go for it.”

On the overtaking of Max Verstappen: “I didn’t prepare to be honest. I was just a bit annoyed at the start having lost position to him and I said I need to surprise him one way or another, as he’s super difficult to pass, he’s proven it many many times.

“I was a bit far back but I said I’ve got nothing to lose I’m just going to send one down the inside, I’ve been confident in the braking to Turn One this weekend and I knew I could make it.”

Carlos Sainz rises up from the floor of the podium with his winning Ferrari. The Spanish national anthem is played out for the second time this season, and then it's the turn of the Italian classic. The trophies have been handed out, so let's get that champagne flowing!

McLaren boss Zak Brown spoke to Sky Sports about Max Verstappen's penalties: "Probably not enough. I mean, it's getting a bit ridiculous. I applaud the FIA stewards. Enough is enough. Let's just have some good clean racing moving forwards. I think the stewards are on it, I think that's clear by the penalties that were given. The stewards did a good job this weekend."

Right then, the big news.

Max Verstappen's championship lead has been cut by 10 points and now Lando Norris is behind by 47 points.

In the constructors' title fight, Ferrari are now up to second, leapfrogging Red Bull. The Italian team are just 29 points off leaders McLaren with four races remaining.

The crowd are going wild for Carlos Sainz. He's told he can answer in Spanish if he likes, but thankfully, he doesn't, as none of us can speak the language here.

OK, last question is in his native Spanish. I picked up "mucho Ferrari", that's about it.

McLaren CEO Zak Brown is chatting to Sky Sports about the latest Norris-Verstappen tussle. He does say the stewards have done a "good job" this weekend policing the track action.

11. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)

12. Franco Colapinto (Williams)

13. Esteban Ocon (Alpine)

14. Valtteri Bottas (Sauber)

15. Zhou Guanyu (sauber)

16. Liam Lawson (RB)

17. Sergio Perez (Red Bull)

DNF. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)

DNF. Alex Albon (Williams)

DNF. Yuki Tsunoda (RB)

1. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)

2. Lando Norris (McLaren)

3. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)

4. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)

5. George Russell (Mercedes)

6. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)

7. Kevin Magnussen (Haas)

8. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)

9. Nico Hulkenberg (Haas)

10. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)

Image source, Getty Images

Sam Bird
Formula E driver on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

Stunning weekend from Carlos Sainz. A dominant, dominant race. It's thoroughly deserved.

The top five is completed by the two Mercedes - Lewis Hamilton in fourth and George Russell in fifth.

Haas are leaving Mexico with double points thanks to Kevin Magnussen's seventh place and Nico Hulkenberg's ninth spot.

And Pierre Gasly stays in the points positions for Alpine and brings home a prize of one point the French team.

Harry Benjamin
BBC F1 Commentator

It's the scarlet red car on the top step of the podium here in Mexico for the first time since 1990 and it's been done by Carlos Sainz who makes it his second win his season.