F1 Mexico Grand Prix: Max Verstappen wins sixteenth race of the 2023 season as Perez crashes out

Hamilton is flying on his outlap - and in response Ferrari want Sainz to extend his current stint. It's an interesting gamble, but will it pay off?

Piastri stays ahead of Russell after the Mercedes driver comes out of the pits.

Max Verstappen has dispatched Ricciardo and is 18 seconds behind the leader - who still hasn't pitted.

Ferrari and bungling strategy - name a more iconic duo...

By not pitting sooner, Leclerc and Sainz could find themselves more than 20 seconds behind the Red Bull of Verstappen when they change tyres.

That said, Leclerc seems happy with the current tyre performance.

In a move that surprised absolutely nobody, Verstappen overtakes Sainz to claim second place. Sainz now pits and rejoins behind Lewis Hamilton - what on earth is happening at the Scuderia?

Leclerc pits now, and comes out ahead of Hamilton. The pair - and Sainz - are separated by just a few metres.

"Long way to go in this race," says Hamilton. "I'm not sure I can make it [to the end] on this tyre."

The Haas driver has binned it into the wall and there is debris everywhere. The Dane is out of the car but looks shaken.

Safety car is deployed.

Ferrari are cursed... if Leclerc had stayed out a couple of laps longer he could have had a free pit stop. Instead, Verstappen pits and comes out, again in P1.

Big winners here are Lando Norris and Alex Albon.

Magnussen crashed into turn eight, trashing his car which ignited after the Danish driver got out.

With the red flag out, Verstappen's pit stop is somewhat negated, as everyone can change their tyres.

It will be a standing start when the race gets back underway, and Leclerc may finally be able to repair his front wing.

The Red Bull could vanish into the distance, but it's at least a second chance after Ferrari's botched strategy attempt.

Having not stopped yet, Yuki Tsunoda now finds himself in the points - and with a free pit stop. Alpha Tauri could be on for a double points finish today, with Ricciardo in fifth.

We'll be back underway in the next five minutes or so, according to race control. 36 laps to go.

After one tour of the track as a formation lap, the cars will line up in their new order:

Verstappen

Leclerc

Hamilton

Sainz

Ricciardo

Piastri

Russell

Norris

Albon

Tsunoda

Huklenberg

Gasly

Zhou

Ocon

Sargeant

Bottas

Stroll

Alonso

Remember when Alonso was scoring podium after podium at the start of the season? Pepperidge Farm remembers... but it's still a distant memory.

He and Stroll lie in 17th and 18th place respectively.

The drivers are heading back out on track for a standing restart - which means they will line up on the grid. The drivers are on a mix of medium and hard tyres.

In the meantime, here's a heartbroken Sergio Perez...

Hamilton is on medium tyres, while the other frontrunners are on the hards. Could the Brit pull of a masterclass for the win?

Verstappen drops the hammer and covers off Charles Leclerc; Hamilton stays in third and George Russell overakes Daniel Ricciardo to take fifth place.

Despite being on brand new tyres, it's a poor restart from Lando Norris, who has lost a few places already.

Top five:

Verstappen (Red Bull)

Leclerc (Ferrari)

Hamilton (Mercedes)

Sainz (Ferrari)

Russell (Mercedes)

Hamilton wants to make the most of his medium tyres - and is putting pressure on Leclerc's Ferrari for second place.

On the restart, it looks like Norris got squeezed out by the cars around him, and that's why he's lost four places. The McLaren driver has it all to do...