All Eyes on Mexico F1
Posted on October 26, 2023 Tags: Mexico F1 Grand Prix
DQs add spice to Texas end result
Sprint Underwhelming
DESPITE A RECORD 430,00 CROWD at the United States Grand Prix in Austin, it did not turn out quite the way organisers expected., as the F1 juggernaut heads south of the border to Mexico.
Perhaps the Texas Sprint was not the most exciting event of 2023 and, as a result, may not be back in ‘24 without some serious tweaking.
Apart from that hiccup, it was all guns blazing as new triple world champ Max Verstappen completed a hat-trick of Texan victories in claiming the 50th win of his career in a tense and strategic battle, after starting sixth.
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 DQ’d after FI stewards discovered a discrepancy with the Merc’s floor, elevating McLaren’s Lando Norris to second, and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz to third.
“Now we keep on pushing for more!
“Starting from sixth position made things a little more difficult, and I think the whole race I was struggling with the brakes,” said Max, who won his third straight title last time out in the (much more exciting) Sprint at Qatar.
“Fifty wins is incredible and to do it here (in the United States Grand Prix) I am very proud.
“Now we keep on pushing for more.” Max Verstappen, triple F1 World Champion.
“South of the Border, down Mexico way…”
The second stop on Formula 1’s tour of the Americas is Mexico City on the circuit named after Pedro and Ricardo Rodriguez: the brothers who were local motorsport heroes throughout the ’60s and ’70s.
• 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 Ferrari’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 drivers’ 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
George Russell, also in his 100th race, was fifth in the second Mercedes ahead of Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and Lance Stroll who had started in the pit-lane in his Aston Martin.
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
Four cars were chosen at random following the US race. Both Max’s #1 and Lando’s #4 passed the scrutineering checks.
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
“Turning to the race result and the disqualification, set-up choices on a sprint weekend are always a challenge with just one hour of free practice – and even more so at a bumpy circuit like COTA and running a new package.
“In the end, all of that doesn’t matter; others got it right where we got it wrong and there’s no wiggle room in the rules.
“We need to take it on the chin, do the learning, and come back stronger next weekend.”
Toto Wolff, Mercedes Team Principal, in much happier times!
Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez
The Mexico City circuit is located on the west side of the city and is just over four kilometres long with 17 corners. It sits at more than 2000 metres of altitude.
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 – 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
There’s a big difference in temperature between the start and the end of each day: a factor to bear in mind when it comes to analysing potential degradation rates.
But the weather in this vast city is looking decidedly both fan and driver friendly this weekend.
• 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
This year Pirelli decided to bring the three softest compounds to Mexico – C3 P Zero White hard, C4 Yellow medium and C5 Red soft: one step softer compared to 2022.
“This follows careful reflection based on last year’s information, as well as the simulations that the teams have as always supplied to us.
“This should lead to a wider variety of strategy choices throughout the race, opening the door to a two-stop strategy as well.
“Last year, when the chosen compounds were C2, C3, and C4, nearly all the drivers stopped only once, mainly using soft and medium.
“Mexico also gives us the chance to try out a new variant of the C4 with all the teams.
“During the two hours of free practice on Friday each driver will have two sets of these new prototypes to use as they wish.
“Once 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.
“I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this article and trust it might add to your enjoyment of the weekend’s TV coverage from Mexico City. Please feel free to comment on anything you wish. I always enjoy your feedback. Thank you. And cheers!” Adrian.
EDITED by AC
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