Damon Hill delighted by act of ‘sportsmanship’ from McLaren boss Zak Brown after Mexico City Grand Prix

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McLaren lost ground to Ferrari in the constructors’ championship after Carlos Sainz won the Mexico City Grand Prix on Sunday. It was a second consecutive victory for the Scuderia.

With Charles Leclerc third, they overtook Red Bull for second place in the standings. McLaren came into the event with a 40-point lead but their advantage is down to 29 heading to Brazil this weekend.

This sets up a battle between two teams on lengthy title droughts. McLaren haven’t won the constructors’ since 1998, when Mika Hakkinen was champion, while Ferrari haven’t won it since 2008.

Sainz converted pole in comfortable fashion at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, re-passing Max Verstappen early on after losing the lead at the start. He eventually crossed the line 4.7 seconds clear of Norris but had been much further ahead for most of the race.

Norris survived two clashes with title rival Verstappen, for which the Dutchman incurred 20 seconds’ worth of penalties, and then passed Leclerc in his second stint. He was able to force a mistake from the US GP winner, helping McLaren limit the damage.

Zak Brown’s real problem in Mexico was that Oscar Piastri wasn’t in the fight at the front. Piastri suffered a shock Q1 exit on Saturday and was only able to recover to eighth.

Damon Hill loves what Zak Brown and Carlos Sainz did after Mexican Grand Prix

After the race, Brown and Sainz were involved in a playful tit-for-tat exchange in the pit lane. Brown gatecrashed Ferrari’s victory photo outside their garage.

Sainz, who raced for McLaren in 2019 and 2020, responded by ‘photobombing’ McLaren. They were celebrating Norris’ podium finish, his 12th of the season.

Writing on X, Brown jokingly told Sainz to ‘get outta here’. 1996 world champion Damon Hill commended his grace, adding: “This is sportsmanship.”

The friendly rivalry between McLaren and Ferrari stands in stark contrast to the friction between McLaren and Red Bull. This will only be heightened by Verstappen’s widely-criticised driving in Mexico.

Lando Norris’ seven-word message to Carlos Sainz after his Mexico victory

Norris and Sainz have remained close since Sainz’s move to Ferrari in 2021. The two drivers are closely matched in the all-time leaderboards.

Sainz now edges it for race wins (four versus three), while Norris boasts one more pole position (seven versus six). They’re dead level when it comes to podiums with 25 apiece.

Norris congratulated Sainz on social media after Sunday’s race. He wrote: “Things you love to see. Bravo Carlitos.”

He’s also kept on good terms with Verstappen but that relationship is coming under further strain. Christian Horner won’t appeal Verstappen’s Mexico penalties even though he brought Norris’ telemetry to a media session to argue against the stewards’ verdict.