Mexico Race Reaction
Image: Red Bull Content Pool
It was a perfect storm of on-track action, shock qualifying results, home heartbreak and record-setting glory at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez this weekend just gone. Max Verstappen has now stamped his mark on another F1 record, winning his 16th grand prix in 2023, now the most in history - besting his own record from last year of 15 and further cementing his lead over the legendary Michael Schumacher’s record of 13 wins back in 2004. Don’t forget, there are still three races left this season, meaning Max could extend this to 19 wins if all goes his way.
Qualifying
We saw the usual order of the top 10 in Q1, with Verstappen setting the benchmark time, followed by the McLaren of Piastri, however there were a few pleasant surprises this time around in Mexico as Daniel Ricciardo was sat P3 and lap-record holder Bottas sat in P5. Clearly those teams further down the performance ladder were able to make the most of the slipperiness of their cars this weekend! Aston Martin had a nightmare session, seeing a baffling spin from Alonso at Turn 3, the car appearing to not like exit curbs all too much. Meanwhile, teammate Lance Stroll wasn’t able to make it out of Q1, qualifying 18th - a decidedly dreadful result for the team that looked to be the second quickest car at the start of the year. The biggest twist of fate for Q1 was that of Lando Norris, who (due to yellow flags caused by Alonso’s spin debacle) wasn’t able to get a clean lap in towards the end of the session.
Q2 featured the same top-three composition as the session prior, with home hero Perez just behind in fourth to start with. Hamilton was able to pull out a pole-worthy lap, leading teammate and compatriot Russell by two positions. Zhou Guanyu was initially able to knock out Hulkenberg and Gasly for P10, however he himself was pushed down into the danger zone by Alexander Albon despite his best efforts. China’s driver would see the top ten again, though, as the stewards declared that Albon’s lap was invalid for crossing the white lines at Turn 2, thus knocking Albon out and pushing Zhou back up. Alonso was also unable to escape Q2.
The final qualifying session rolled around and things were looking on the up for the man from Guadalajara, Sergio Perez, as he set the fastest lap right out the gate, heralded by the cheers of thousands of local supporters. Reigning world champion Verstappen swiftly put an end to that, however, and scrubbed off half a second from the Mexican’s lap time. Alpha Tauri’s Ricciardo fell only a tenth and a half short of the Dutchman while both Ferraris locked out the front row, Leclerc being just 0.067s faster than Sainz. 8 minutes would pass and this order would not change, meaning Charles Leclerc took pole position for the 22nd time in his career. All eyes were then on Perez in P5 to deliver what his adoring fans wanted…
Mixed feelings for Red Bull
As mentioned above, Max Verstappen had yet another dominant weekend (if you ignore missing out on pole), levelling himself with the great Alain Prost on 51 wins and leaving the chance to best Sebastian Vettel for 53 wins by the end of the year. The team must be elated to be performing at such a high level, right? I mean, look at them:
Image: Red Bull Content Pool
Well, if you squint really hard, you’ll notice there’s a distinct lack of driver no. 11 - he had a race to forget this weekend.
In what has been dubbed a ‘racing incident’ by both parties, Sergio Perez was sent (literally) hurling onto the run-off at Turn 1 on the opening lap by the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc.
Image: @F1 on Twitter
In what could be called an opportunistic move around the outside, Perez found his rear-right tyre tangled up in the front-left of Leclerc’s car, causing the Mexican’s Red Bull to be lifted into the air and rolling onto the run-off. You have to commend Checo for attempting what would’ve been a fantastic move for P2 in front of the home crowd, however he did - in his own words - “pay a high price” for this eagerness. He retired at the end of lap 1 with damage, assumed to be to the floor and/or suspension. Perez remains staunch and is looking forward to the remaining three races of the season.
Lewis looking competitive once again
Mercedes’ seven-time world champ has had a far better season this year compared to 2022, coming ever so close to a 104th victory at COTA last week. Lewis showed the same rapid form in Mexico this weekend, moving up to achieve a P2 finish from sixth on the grid. He also managed to set the fastest lap of the race on the final lap on decently worn-out mediums. He now places himself twelve fastest laps behind the great Michael Schumacher, with 65.
The Brit is hoping to maximise the remaining races of the season, especially next week at Interlagos, a track bearing a lot of meaning for the driver.
When asked about whether Mercedes will be able to provide him a more competitive car next year, Lewis had this to say:
“I have total faith in the team … I know we can build a great car.”
On the other side of the garage, Russell had a race of management, putting the entire weekend down to one summarising word:
“Tyres.”
Ricciardo’s rampant return to form
The ever-happy-go-lucky Aussie we all know and love drove a brilliant race around the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez on Sunday, finishing an astonishing seventh after qualifying a shock fourth. He admits that he could’ve finished even higher if it weren’t for the red flag being brought out for Kevin Magnussen following a suspected rear-left suspension failure-induced crash on lap 33.
The Alpha Tauri driver is hopeful to close out the year on a high:
“We’ll try to keep this thing rolling”
