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Williams driver Carlos Sainz had a torrid race at the Mexican GP, which ended with a retirement following a mechanical failure. A virtual safety car was put in effect by the race stewards for the same, and the FIA has now issued the clarification for the same.
As the final 5 laps ticked down, both Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri started closing the gap to the driver in front of them. The Dutchman on the fresher soft tires had Charles Leclerc in front of him, whereas Oscar Piastri chased Oliver Bearman in the Haas.
Both Verstappen and Piastri were able to get into the DRS of the drivers they were chasing when Carlos Sainz parked up his car near the barrier into the stadium section at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. At first, it was just a yellow flag in the section, but it was soon upgraded to a virtual safety car.
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As a result, neither Max Verstappen nor Oscar Piastri had the opportunity to make a move on Charles Leclerc or Oliver Bearman, respectively. However, given the angle of the broadcast camera, Carlos Sainz's parked up Williams could not be seen on the livestream, which led to the commentators as well as fans wondering whether a VSC was required since it voided what would've been a final lap showdown.
The FIA came out after the race and released a statement, clarifying why the virtual safety car was brought out on Lap 70 after Carlos Sainz's retirement. The statement read,
“Later in the race on lap 70, Sainz spun and stopped in the runoff area on the outside of Turn 14. His car came to a halt in an exposed position. The car subsequently began smoking and race control received notifications of fire, making it clear that marshal intervention would be required for recovery.”
“As is standard procedure when marshals are deployed to recover a car, the race is neutralized, in this case, a Virtual Safety Car (VSC) was triggered until the car was moved to a safe location behind the barriers. The VSC ended as soon as the car was in a protected position, and the race concluded under green-flag conditions.”
Max Verstappen was not bothered by the late race virtual safety car caused by Carlos Sainz, which halted his progress at the Mexican GP
After making his only stop, Max Verstappen came out over 10 seconds behind Charles Leclerc. However, the Dutchman was on the better soft compound tires, and in the latter stages of the race, caught up to the Monegasque by 5-7 tenths a lap.
Unfortunately, just a lap after getting into the DRS, Carlos Sainz spun out into the stadium section before his car started smoking, which brought out the safety car. What could've been a fight for P2 on the last lap never happened.
Charles Leclerc came out after the race and suggested that his tires were dead, and that he was happy to see the VSC. When Verstappen was questioned about the VSC, he had a neutral stance, suggesting it sometimes plays in one's favor while other times takes away from one.
