Search
Close this search box.
Search
Close this search box.

All Eyes on Mexico F1

Views : 1318 views


Posted on October 26, 2023 Tags:



DQs add spice to Texas end result

Sprint Underwhelming

The 26-year-old Red Bull miracle Dutchman powered his way through the field to take control before he came home 2.225 seconds ahead of resurgent seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes.

That was short-lived though, as the classy Brit was DQโ€™d after FI stewards discovered a discrepancy with the Mercโ€™s floor, elevating McLarenโ€™s Lando Norris to second, and Ferrariโ€™s Carlos Sainz to third.

“Now we keep on pushing for more!

“South of the Border, down Mexico way…”

โ€ข         Max Verstappen is the most successful driver in Mexico City, with four wins from seven participations, which means Red Bull has more victories than any other team in Mexico.

Lando, in his 100th Grand Prix, initially finished third after a wizard start to lead the race and blowing away Ferrariโ€™s pole-sitter Charles Leclerc.

For Max it was his third consecutive victory at the Circuit of the Americas and brought him level with last season’s record tally of 15 wins. His runaway lead in the driversโ€™ championship now stands at 228 points ahead of Sergio Perez, who eventually finished fourth.

Earlier, Hamilton congratulated Red Bull and Verstappen on a flawless performance and season. That was before he was dumped on his butt!

Yuki scores valuable points for AlfaTauri

Yuki Tsunoda finished an impressive eighth for Alpha Tauri and secured an extra point for fastest lap. Daniel started 14th, finished 15th.

And the surprise DQ ruling meant Williams driver Logan Sargeant earned his first F1 point in bizarre circumstances at his home race. He became the first American to score in the sport since Michael Andretti 30 years ago for McLaren at the Italian Grand Prix.


Breaches often result in DQs

Breaches of technical checks of the car often result in disqualification, with a recent example being Lewis from qualifying in Brazil in 2021.

Michael Schumacher was disqualified from the 1994 Belgian Grand Prix for an illegal floor, allowing Damon Hill to win the race.


How a gun team fell afoul of the rules

Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez

This has an important effect on car performance, with the rarefied air reducing drag and downforce.

As a result, the aero settings on the cars are like those used on high-downforce circuits โ€“ only with a much-reduced effect on the tyres.

The grip from the asphalt is also much less than average, as surface roughness is among the lowest of the entire calendar.

Mexico City, Mexico

But the weather in this vast city is looking decidedly both fan and driver friendly this weekend.

โ€ข         A one-stopper was the most popular strategy last year. Max Verstappen started on a used set of softs and then finished the race on mediums, ahead of Lewis Hamilton who instead started on the medium tyre and finished on the hard.

The Tyres on Track

โ€œThis follows careful reflection based on last yearโ€™s information, as well as the simulations that the teams have as always supplied to us.

โ€œThis should lead to a wider variety of strategy choices throughout the race, opening the door to a two-stop strategy as well.

โ€œLast year, when the chosen compounds were C2, C3, and C4, nearly all the drivers stopped only once, mainly using soft and medium.

โ€œMexico also gives us the chance to try out a new variant of the C4 with all the teams.

โ€œDuring the two hours of free practice on Friday each driver will have two sets of these new prototypes to use as they wish.

โ€œOnce we have analysed all the data, we will then decide whether or not to homologate this version for use in 2024.”

Mario Isola, Head of Pirelli F1 Motorsport.  


-->

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

SUBSCRIBE

Sponsors

GLOBAL CALENDAR

FOLLOW US