Kiwi driver Liam Lawson has been involved in two incidents, including a tangle with Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, and finished 16th in an eventful Mexican Grand Prix this morning.

Lawson, who started in 12th place, quickly moved up to 10th after teammate Yuki Tsunoda and Alex Albon crashed out on the first corner and got as high up the field as fourth due to his team’s pit strategy before being caught up with two rivals later in the race.

A clash with Williams’ Franco Colapinto on the 67th of 71 laps, which damaged Lawson’s front wing, forced him into a second pit stop and the back of the grid.

The 22-year-old Lawson did have the satisfaction of finishing ahead Perez, who was driving in his home grand prix, however.

Earlier the pair came wheel to wheel in a battle for 10th place, with Lawson ahead at the corner apex and holding his line, much to the dissatisfaction of Perez, who said on his race radio “what the f*** is this idiot doing?. Is he OK?”

Lawson, who finished ninth in the recent United States Grand Prix, was just as irate.

“Is he f****** serious?” Lawson asked on his radio.

"Loud and clear, we'll review it, head down," Lawson was told by his RB team.

Ironically, Perez, who suffered minor damage to the right side of the car in the scrape, attempted a very similar move against Lance Stroll seconds later.

The race was won by Carlos Sainz, with Lando Norris closing the gap in the Formula 1 championship race after another contentious battle with Max Verstappen.

Sainz, meanwhile, 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 Hamilton next year at Ferrari. Sainz 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.

“Now, four races left, I want to enjoy as much as possible and if another one comes, I will go for it.”

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 Tsunoda and 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 penalised last week. This time it cost Verstappen two penalties totalling 20 seconds.

“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. “Not very clean driving in my opinion, but I avoided it.”

Norris was penalised 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 today's race.

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.

“I just keep my head down,” Norris said. “I'm doing my best. We're doing a very good job as a team. I will keep my head down, that's all I can do for now, focus on ourselves and we keep pushing.”

Leclerc 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 Lewis 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.

Perez's long day began with a five-second penalty for being outside his box at the 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 the penalty dropped him to 16th and he finished 17th.

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.