Max Verstappen took a giant leap towards Formula 1 glory yesterday as he clinched victory in the Mexican Grand Prix.

After Mercedes secured a front-row lockout in qualifying, the onus was on Verstappen to do something truly special if he wanted to maintain his lead at the summit of the driver standings.

It took him just one corner to do exactly that as he superbly exploited the tow, shot round the outside and bravely kept off the brake pedal for as long as possible.

It worked an absolute treat as he tore into the lead and, with clean air in front of him and the Red Bull underneath him coming into its own, he sped away from the rest of the pack.

In truth, he had the race won on that opening corner, with Lewis Hamilton unable to keep pace in the Mercedes.

The victory saw Verstappen's lead jump to 19 points over the seven-time champion with just four races left in the 2021 season.

p1fjviptpt1ipe1fhib125ru8abb.jpg

Enter Giveaway

That first championship is within touching distance now, with the Mercedes dynasty under real threat.

Even still, Verstappen knows just how crucial each and every point could be come the end of the season and was desperate to earn himself the one extra point for fastest lap of the race.

Having spun out of contention on that dramatic first corner, Valtteri Bottas was on a mission to ensure the Red Bull star didn't get that extra point for recording the fastest lap.

p1fjvj9jvtetpmgf1t6013pr9qlb.jpg

Mercedes gave the flying Finn permission to go gung-ho to record the fastest lap himself, thereby denying Verstappen the bonus point.

However, wise to their plan, Verstappen showed some high level gamesmanship, slowing right down in the famous stadium section to get in Bottas' way.

Bottas knew exactly what he was up to as he remonstrated with his team over the radio.

Ultimately, it would all prove a moot point as Mercedes pitted Bottas, changed his tyres, and sent him out to give it one more go.

Without Verstappen in his way, he did it with ease and, while he wouldn't get the point himself due to being outside the top 10, it did crucially deny Verstappen.

The Formula 1 roadshow will now ship off to Brazil before heading off to Qatar for the final stretch of what has been an exhilarating season.