Max Verstappen crossed the thin white line of his genius in a chaotic, fierce and potentially dangerous Mexico City Grand Prix, leaving the world title by a margin that Lando Norris cut with his own hand. And suddenly the championship fight becomes lively and active.

Verstappen, who has never escaped the motor racing equivalent of a pub brawl, was unlikely to yield to his fellow McLaren British driver, who admitted just days ago that he could not live with such talent.

In shocking scenes, Verstappen was handed two separate 10-second penalties, a few minutes apart, for boxing in Turns Four and Eight as he tried to resist Norris’ papaya car trying to pass him on lap 10 of the 71st lap.

At the end of this dramatic race, Norris, who passed Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc with nine laps remaining, finished second and Verstappen finished sixth.

That reduces the reigning champion’s points lead to 47 points, with three rounds remaining after which the 120-point bid goes ahead to Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Sunday.

While the focus remains on the title fight and the conflict unfolding on this cloudy afternoon, we must take our sombreros to Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, who took a stunning win from pole position.

Carlos Sainz takes second win of the season in thrilling Mexico City Grand Prix

Lando Norris had to settle for second place, but reduced Max Verstappen’s point gap to 47 points

The Dutchman had to serve two 10-second time penalties for aggressive defensive work

The 900-yard drift on the opening corner was always going to be put under the microscope after last week’s drama on the opening corner in Austin.

There Norris started on pole position but gave Verstappen unimaginable space on the inside.

The Dutchman doesn’t need a welcome mat. He went straight through the front gate without knocking and finished third behind Norris. That was the context for everything that was about to unfold.

Verstappen very quickly moved away from second place in the standings and was soon alongside Sainz. He reached the first corner in front but ran wide as he tried to turn. Sainz came forward again, crossing the grass outside. But he gave the place back.

The close dance was a sign of things to come. Before we got there, there was theater in the middle of the starting set.

RB’s Yuki Tsunoda charged on the inside, his rear wheel interlocking with the front end of Alex Albon’s Williams. Tsunoda’s right rear rolled away. His RB was partially airborne and stuck the wrong way inside the barrier. The safety car was called. Tsunoda and Albon escaped unharmed.

After a six-lap break, the safety car was withdrawn. Verstappen crept forward before effectively pulling away. A smart restart that left Sainz unable to attack. Norris remained where he started; third place.

It was a good day for Mercedes with Lewis Hamilton fourth and George Russell fifth.

Norris accused Verstappen of ‘dangerous’ driving after coming into contact with him twice

Dutch Red Bull driver faced pressure from Norris after the duo clashed during the race

Seconds later the rivals continued their relentless battle and, taking advantage of the chaos, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc became a one-two team with Sainz.

Verstappen then radioed his support team: ‘Dude, what can I do with a dead battery? What is this stupid mod?’

Sainz managed to take the lead at the start of the ninth lap by putting pressure on Verstappen. This brought Verstappen and Norris back together for second and third. Now the stage was ready.

It was only a matter of time before they came face to face. Norris pressed on the outside of Turn Four but Verstappen pushed him out. Norris ran across the grass and into the front of the Red Bull.

The McLaren driver tried to give back his place at Turn Eight – having learned last week that he had failed to do so in the closing stages – but Verstappen took a seemingly retaliatory dart and swerved, pinning Norris. Since he had nowhere to go, he left too. The radio lit up.

Regarding the turn four tussle, Norris said: ‘This guy is dangerous. Same as last time. I’ll be at the wall in a minute. “I was ahead the whole corner.”

And the complication in Turn Eight: ‘Max must be given a penalty or give the place back.’

The referees investigated, although it didn’t take long. They gave Verstappen a 10-second penalty for ‘letting another driver off the track’ at Turn Four; That was twice the penalty Norris received for overtaking outside the white lines in Texas last weekend.

‘Front!?’ shouted Verstappen. ‘That’s pretty impressive.’ Race engineer Gianpiero ‘GP’ Lambiase replied: ‘There was a lot of whining. Too much.’

Both Ferrari drivers were on the podium, with Sainz winning and Charles Leclerc third.

Haas put in a good performance with Kevin Magnussen seventh and Nico Hulkenberg ninth.

But that wasn’t the end of it. A few minutes later, Verstappen received a second 10-second penalty for the Turn Eight incident; ‘to leave the track and gain an advantage’. Both were to be served at the pit stop.

‘Wow,’ said George Russell when informed of the decision.

Verstappen pitted on lap 26. He finished the race in third place, 41 seconds behind Norris in 15th place. When the Englishman stopped later the gap was 17.6 seconds.

Verstappen would always improve on the relative ahead of him, but he would never be able to make an impression at the front again.

Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez is a roasting pot that invites pressure. There’s no more jumping, dancing or shouting than at Foro Sol, the old baseball stadium through which the track passes. There were plenty of red shirts among the crowd of 30,000, but Ferrari fans were outnumbered and noisy by the Sergio Perez partisans.

On Saturday, his qualifying performance was short-lived as he broke out in the first quarter. The pressure is increasing on Perez at Red Bull. He is 34 years old and having a crisis of confidence.

Pressure is mounting on Sergio Perez after he qualified 18th and could only move up to 17th

It was Sainz’s first win since March and he helped Ferrari to second in a tight challenge

He’s under contract for next year, but it’s almost certain it won’t run out. My understanding is that he will probably be gently guided towards the exit door and as honorable a retirement as the choreography allows.

He closed in on 13th place, applauding the echo on the grid. Everything suddenly looked a little more rosy for the poor guy, but he was starting to make his way out of the pit box. A five-second penalty halted his progress. He finished a dismal 17th.

Lewis Hamilton could not reach the top in his last year at Mercedes, but he won the long battle with his teammate Russell and finished fourth, one place ahead of him, and third behind Leclerc.