Sainz wins Mexico City Grand Prix as Norris tightens championship fight

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Carlos Sainz Jr. got the win he desperately wanted in the final days of his Ferrari career. The Formula 1 title race, meanwhile, grew a lot more contentious.

Sainz won the Mexico City Grand Prix on Sunday and Lando Norris closed the gap on Max Verstappen after another furious battle that cost the reigning three-time series champion three penalties and shaved 10 points off Verstappen's lead in the standings.

Sainz not only won but finished on the podium for the first time in Mexico City. It was the fourth win of his career, and second of the season for the driver who is being replaced by Lewis Hamilton next year at Ferrari. The Spaniard had never before won two races in a season.

“Honestly, I really wanted this one,” said Sainz, who sounded emotional on his radio on the cool-down lap. “I really needed it for myself, I wanted to get it done. I've been saying for a while I wanted to get one more win before leaving Ferrari, and to do it here in front of this mega crowd, it is incredible.”

Verstappen started second and took the lead from pole-sitter Sainz on the start, but the first lap quickly drew a caution when contact between Yuki Tsunoda and Alex Albon caused Tsundona to crash and Albon to retire with damage to his car.

The restart was spicy with the Ferraris racing Verstappen and Norris for position. And for a second consecutive week, the title contenders clashed.

Norris was penalized last week. This time it cost Verstappen two penalties totaling 20 seconds. After the race, the FIA also penalized Verstappen two points to give him six for the 12-month period.

“I knew what to expect. I don't want to expect such a thing, because I respect Max a lot as a driver, but I was waiting to expect something like this,” Norris said of Verstappen's driving. “Not very clean driving in my opinion, but I avoided it.”

Norris was penalized a week ago at the United States Grand Prix for forcing Verstappen off track — a punishment that gave the final spot on the podium to the three-time reigning world champion. It also allowed Verstappen to widen his lead in the driver standings to 57 points before the race Sunday.

The tables were turned at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez when Verstappen was given a 10-second penalty for banging wheels with Norris and forcing Norris off the track.

“Ten? That’s aggressive,” Verstappen said.

He then was slapped with a second 10-second penalty for gaining position when he left the track for a combined 20-second penalty to be served on his first pit stop.

“That’s fine then. That’s silly, man,” Verstappen radioed.

He pitted from third on Lap 27 and his mechanics could not begin his service until the 20-second penalty was served. He dropped to 15th when he rejoined the race.

Although Verstappen recovered to finish sixth, Norris spoiled what looked to be a Ferrari sweep when he snatched second place from Charles Leclerc with eight laps remaining. The finishes were a 10-point swing for Norris, who now trails Verstappen by 47 points with four races remaining.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner brought printed sheets of telemetry to his post-race media session to argue against one of Verstappen's penalties. He also argued that part of the punishments were carry-over from last week's incidents with Norris, when many thought Verstappen also deserved a penalty, and that F1 is in danger of being overpoliced.

“Obviously, there's been a reaction to last weekend and I think it's very important for the drivers, stewards to sit down,” Horner said. “It used to be a reward of the bravest driver to go around the outside. I think we're in danger of flipping the overtaking laws upside down. We're overcomplicating things and when you have to revert to an instruction manual for an overtake ... it's something that just needs to be tidied up.”

Horner said Red Bull would not appeal the penalties the way McLaren did this week.

Leclerc, meanwhile, finished third and set the fastest lap of the race for Ferrari, which like McLaren is trying to dethrone Red Bull for the lucrative constructors' championship. Ferrari jumped ahead of Red Bull for second in the standings and trails McLaren by 27 points. Red Bull, which won the last two constructors' titles, is now third in the standings.

“Obviously, the constructors is still our target and we are getting closer to it,” Leclerc said. “I hope we can continue in that direction and get that constructors' title, which is very important.”

Mercedes drivers Hamilton and George Russell finished fourth and fifth and Verstappen was sixth. Kevin Magnussen was seventh for Haas and followed by Oscar Piastri of McLaren, Nico Hülkenberg of Haas and Pierre Gasly of Alpine.

Embattled driver Sergio Perez had a long day at his home race from the very start.

The Mexican, who was eliminated in the first round of qualifying to earn an 18th-place starting spot, gained five positions at the start. But was immediately handed a five-second penalty for being outside his box at the start.

It dropped him to 16th and he finished 17th.

Perez also got into a wheel-to-wheel battle with Liam Lawson that turned contentious on team radio as the two battled for position on the 19th lap.

“What the (expective) is this idiot doing? Is he OK?” Perez asked on his radio as the drivers went wheel-to-wheel and made contact. Perez was run wide of the track in the battle.

Lawson was just as irate and flashed his middle finger at Perez.

“Is he (expletive) serious?” Lawson asked on his radio.

"Loud and clear, we'll review it, head down," Lawson was told by his RB team, which is Red Bull's junior team.

Lawson reportedly apologized to Perez after, according to Horner, but Perez's job status is in danger. He is eighth in the driver standings and a huge reason why Red Bull has slipped in the constructor championship.

When asked directly by The Associated Press if Perez, who this year was signed to an extension through 2025, if Perez would even finish the season, Horner refused to commit.

“There comes a point in time that difficult decisions have to be made,” Horner said. “We’re now third in the constructors' championship.”

Fernando Alonso's 400th career Formula 1 start was a short one: he drove his Aston Martin back the garage on the 16th lap.

He finished 18th and the team said the brakes on his Aston Martin were overheating.

Alonso began the race weekend ill and skipped Thursday events but returned by Friday's second practice. The two-time F1 champion already held the record for most starts in series history, setting the record when he passed Kimi Räikkönen, who retired with 353 starts.

The 43-year-old Alonso started the race ninth in the driver standings. He has 32 career victories and 106 podium finishes.

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz of Spain, first place, center, Charles Leclerc of Monaco, third place, right, Riccardo Adami of Ferrari, left, and McLaren driver Lando Norris of Britain, second place, celebrate at the podium for the Formula One Mexico Grand Prix auto race at the Hermanos Rodriguez racetrack in Mexico City, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)

From left, McLaren driver Lando Norris of Britain, second place, Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz of Spain, first place, Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc of Monaco, third place, and Riccardo Adami of Ferrari pose on the podium for the Formula One Mexico Grand Prix auto race at the Hermanos Rodriguez racetrack in Mexico City, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)

Ferrari team members celebrate after Carlos Sainz of Spain won the Formula One Mexico Grand Prix auto race at the Hermanos Rodriguez racetrack in Mexico City, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)

Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz of Spain celebrates after winning the Formula One Mexico Grand Prix auto race at the Hermanos Rodriguez racetrack in Mexico City, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)

Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz of Spain celebrates after winning the Formula One Mexico Grand Prix auto race at the Hermanos Rodriguez racetrack in Mexico City, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)

Charles Leclerc, of Monaco, steers his Ferrari followed by McLaren driver Lando Norris of Britain during the Formula One Mexico Grand Prix auto race at the Hermanos Rodriguez racetrack in Mexico City, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

Lando Norris, of Britain, steers his McLaren followed by Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc of Monaco during the Formula One Mexico Grand Prix auto race at the Hermanos Rodriguez racetrack in Mexico City, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

Carlos Sainz, of Spain, steers his Ferrari during the Formula One Mexico Grand Prix auto race at the Hermanos Rodriguez racetrack in Mexico City, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)

RB driver Yuki Tsunoda of Japan crashes during the Formula One Mexico Grand Prix auto race at the Hermanos Rodriguez racetrack in Mexico City, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

RB driver Yuki Tsunoda of Japan crashes during the Formula One Mexico Grand Prix auto race at the Hermanos Rodriguez racetrack in Mexico City, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

Formula One Mexico Grand Prix auto race winner Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz of Spain, right, talks with the second-place finisher, McLaren driver Lando Norris of the United Kingdom, at the Hermanos Rodriguez racetrack in Mexico City, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

Carlos Sainz, of Spain, steers his Ferrari followed by Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands during the Formula One Mexico Grand Prix auto race at the Hermanos Rodriguez racetrack in Mexico City, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz of Spain celebrates after winning the Formula One Mexico Grand Prix auto race at the Hermanos Rodriguez racetrack in Mexico City, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

RB driver Yuki Tsunoda of Japan, back, crashes during the Formula One Mexico Grand Prix auto race at the Hermanos Rodriguez racetrack in Mexico City, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz of Spain celebrates after winning the Formula One Mexico Grand Prix auto race at the Hermanos Rodriguez racetrack in Mexico City, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)

Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz of Spain gets champagne sprayed in his face by second placed McLaren driver Lando Norris of Britain after winning the Formula One Mexico Grand Prix auto race at the Hermanos Rodriguez racetrack in Mexico City, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz of Spain celebrates after winning the Formula One Mexico Grand Prix auto race at the Hermanos Rodriguez racetrack in Mexico City, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

ST. LOUIS (AP) — World champions Ilia Malinin and the ice dance duo of Madison Chock and Evan Bates will anchor one of the strongest U.S. Figure Skating teams in history when they head to Italy for the Milan Cortina Olympics in less than a month.

Malinin, fresh off his fourth straight national title, will be the prohibitive favorite to follow in the footsteps of Nathan Chen by delivering another men's gold medal for the American squad when he steps on the ice at the Milano Ice Skating Arena.

Chock and Bates, who won their record-setting seventh U.S. title Saturday night, also will be among the Olympic favorites, as will world champion Alysa Liu and women's teammate Amber Glenn, fresh off her third consecutive national title.

U.S. Figure Skating announced its full squad of 16 athletes for the Winter Games during a made-for-TV celebration Sunday.

"I'm just so excited for the Olympic spirit, the Olympic environment," Malinin said. “Hopefully go for that Olympic gold.”

Malinin will be joined on the men's side by Andrew Torgashev, the all-or-nothing 24-year-old from Coral Springs, Florida, and Maxim Naumov, the 24-year-old from Simsbury, Connecticut, who fulfilled the hopes of his late parents by making the Olympic team.

Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova were returning from a talent camp in Kansas when their American Airlines flight collided with a military helicopter and crashed into the icy Potomac River in January 2025. One of the last conversations they had with their son was about what it would take for him to follow in their footsteps by becoming an Olympian.

“We absolutely did it,” Naumov said. “Every day, year after year, we talked about the Olympics. It means so much in our family. It's what I've been thinking about since I was 5 years old, before I even know what to think. I can't put this into words.”

Chock and Bates helped the Americans win team gold at the Beijing Games four years ago, but they finished fourth — one spot out of the medals — in the ice dance competition. They have hardly finished anywhere but first in the years since, winning three consecutive world championships and the gold medal at three straight Grand Prix Finals.

U.S. silver medalists Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik also made the dance team, as did the Canadian-born Christina Carreira, who became eligible for the Olympics in November when her American citizenship came through, and Anthony Ponomarenko.

Liu was picked for her second Olympic team after briefly retiring following the Beijing Games. She had been burned out by years of practice and competing, but stepping away seemed to rejuvenate the 20-year-old from Clovis, California, and she returned to win the first world title by an American since Kimmie Meissner stood atop the podium two decades ago.

Now, the avant-garde Liu will be trying to help the U.S. win its first women's medal since Sasha Cohen in Turin in 2006, and perhaps the first gold medal since Sarah Hughes triumphed four years earlier at the Salt Lake City Games.

Her biggest competition, besides a powerful Japanese contingent, could come from her own teammates: Glenn, a first-time Olympian, has been nearly unbeatable the past two years, while 18-year-old Isabeau Levito is a former world silver medalist.

"This was my goal and my dream and it just feels so special that it came true,” said Levito, whose mother is originally from Milan.

The two pairs spots went to Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea, the U.S. silver medalists, and the team of Emily Chan and Spencer Howe.

The top American pairs team, two-time reigning U.S. champions Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov, were hoping that the Finnish-born Efimova would get her citizenship approved in time to compete in Italy. But despite efforts by the Skating Club of Boston, where they train, and the help of their U.S. senators, she did not receive her passport by the selection deadline.

“The importance and magnitude of selecting an Olympic team is one of the most important milestones in an athlete's life,” U.S. Figure Skating CEO Matt Farrell said, "and it has such an impact, and while there are sometimes rules, there is also a human element to this that we really have to take into account as we make decisions and what's best going forward from a selection process.

“Sometimes these aren't easy," Farrell said, “and this is not the fun part.”

The fun is just beginning, though, for the 16 athletes picked for the powerful American team.

AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Amber Glenn competes during the women's free skating competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Alysa Liu skates during the "Making Team USA" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Maxim Naumov skates during the "Making Team USA" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Madison Chock and Evan Bates skate during the "Making the Team" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Gold medalist Ilia Malinin arrives for the metal ceremony after the men's free skate competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)