MEXICO CITY: Ferrari's Carlos Sainz won the Mexico City Grand Prix from pole on Sunday as Max Verstappen was hit by a 20-second penalty for twice forcing title rival Lando Norris off the track.
With Verstappen only sixth McLaren's Norris finished second, cutting the gap to the Red Bull driver by 10 points to 47 with four race weekends remaining.
Norris grabbed second from Charles Leclerc in the other Ferrari near the finish as the Briton enjoyed a major boost in his quest to deny Verstappen a fourth consecutive world championship.
Verstappen paid a heavy price for his aggressive driving with Norris commenting: "I respect Max a lot as a driver, but it wasn't very clean driving in my opinion."
It was the second week in succession that the two title-chasers had clashed following a penalty for Norris at the United States Grand Prix.
McLaren boss Zak Brown described this latest example of Verstappen's ruthless streak as "ridiculous."
"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."
Asked about his drivers' crown prospects Norris said: "I'm just keeping my head down, we're doing good job as a team, focus on ourselves, that's all I can do for now."
Sainz's win had a significant impact on the constructors' standings with Ferrari moving past Red Bull and into second behind McLaren.
The Spaniard is ensuring he leaves Ferrari with his head held high as he switches next season to Williams to make way for seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton. - AFP