The In Lap: Mexico City Grand Prix

As we close the weekend in Mexico City, I can confidently say that this year's Grand Prix was infinitely more entertaining than the last. With Ferrari locking out the front row and the two 2024 Red Bull drivers in row 2 (lol), we were in for an interesting start to say the least. As Sainz said in the post-qualifying press conference, P2 would be in a dirtier spot and would have a disadvantage jumping off the line quickly. This proved to be true not only for Carlos, but for polesitter Charles Leclerc as well. Both Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez had incredible starts rapidly catching Leclerc into T1, but with Verstappen taking the inside line and squeezing Leclerc and Perez into a three-wide entrance, it was the hometown hero that ultimately paid the price. Don't get me wrong, this crash was completely on Sergio, but it was also just a racing incident. He could have and should have avoided the outside going into 1, but these things just happen sometimes and Perez couldn't have had worse timing.

As the race progressed, we saw exceptional pace from Norris as he made his way up to P8, Hamilton as he slowly caught the Ferraris, and of course, Verstappen who was on a flyer. But that would all be nullified as Kevin Magnussen suffered a left-rear suspension failure sending his Haas flying into the outside barrier in the esses at T9. The race was initially put under safety car, which allowed Norris and Albon a seemingly beneficial pit stop, but moments later the race would be red flagged meaning the pit stop meant nothing more than a loss in track position. Norris would now be sat in P10 and Albon in P12. For those that don't know, teams are allowed to change tyres during a red flag, so a pit stop right beforehand is a big loss for any driver. 

After a comfortable 15-20 minute wait as the debris was cleared, the cars lined up at the grid once more with Verstappen in P1, Leclerc and Hamilton following in second and third, and Sainz in fourth. Off the jump, Max did everything he needed to do and protected the lead with no positions changing in the first two rows. George Russell leaped from P7 to P5, but more notably, Lando Norris fell from P10 to P14 after nine positions gained in the first half of the race (not counting the pit stop losses). As the rest of the race unfolded, we saw Lando show his pure pace in the McLaren once again. He breezed past over half the grid to finish P5, and along with that showed a masterclass in his overtaking ability. Notably, the battles with Russell, Tsunoda, Ricciardo, and Bottas were exceptional. 

Unsurprisingly, Verstappen would ultimately take the win, but Lewis Hamilton demonstrated extraordinary pace in the second half of the race on a medium tyre that was expected to degrade much quicker than it ended up doing. This was also the case for Lando, and who knows where he would have placed if qualifying or even if the restart had gone right. The Ferraris seemed to deal with less deg than normal, but considering they were on hards when the other quick cars were on mediums, let's not jump to the conclusion that the problem has been fixed. Leclerc managed P3 and another podium on the season, and Sainz finished fourth not too far behind his teammate. Daniel Ricciardo managed to finish the race in seventh, but by only five tenths of a second as he scrapped with George Russell throughout the final lap who managed to hold onto sixth. Rounding out the points was Piastri in eighth, Albon in ninth, and Ocon rounding out the points positions in P10. The DNFs this race were notable, and they go as follows: Sergio Perez obviously retired on lap 1, Alonso retired with a mechanical issue on lap 47 (his second retirement in two races), and after a spin that caused significant internal damage, Stroll retired on lap 66. This marks the first Aston Martin double-DNF of the season, occurring just one race after Alonso broke his season-long streak of reaching Q3. Also, Logan Sargeant retired the car on the final lap of the race, but the American showed decent pace throughout the Grand Prix and was running in P12 until the very end. 

This Grand Prix definitely bumps Mexico City higher on my list of tracks, as after last year it left a very bitter taste in my mouth, and I can confidently say that this Grand Prix was one for the books, even if just for the drama.

OPINIONATED BANTER

not really any this week tbh, it's scattered amongst the race recap and team check-ins. Might just discard this segment unless it's an extra-juicy weekend.

TEAM CHECK-INS

Red Bull

Checo, Checo, Checo. My man, what are you doing? It's as if he wants to join the Red Bull #2 Driver graveyard alongside Albon, Gasly, Kvyat, and Ricciardo. This mistake was not only stupid, but unacceptable at such a highly-pressured point in his career. F*ck what the Red Bull PR teams are trying to spin, this man is fighting for his seat right now. No doubt about it. Now I get it, it's his home race and he wants to get on the podium or even fight for a win, but slinging your corpse into the outside line of turn 1 on the first lap of the race is not how you approach that. This is something he can learn from, though, and I hope he can turn things around in Brazil (I really don't, honestly I'm here for the drama)

Mercedes

In The Out Lap, I begged the question of whether or not Lewis would still have the rapid pace he had in Austin with the ride height being higher. He answered, and it was an astounding yes. But, let's hold our horses here, because although he was quick, anyone would have looked quick against two Ferraris on hard tyres. Anyone except George Russell apparently. Regardless, this was a proper drive from Lewis who shows us time and time again that he is nowhere near ready to retire and is still at the top of his game. George on the other hand drove a decent race, but it's beginning to look consistent that his pace is lacking compared to Hamilton's. With Interlagos coming at us quickly this weekend, a track where George achieved his maiden race win, I wonder if the young Brit can bounce back.

Ferrari

Honestly, there's not much to say out of the ordinary for the team in red. Aside from the fact that they had an exceptional qualifying session, the race went exactly how anyone would have predicted. Overtaken by Lewis due to tyre problems, and finished with Leclerc leading Sainz home in P3 and 4. A solid week points-wise for the Scuderia, but they should be thankful that Lando had as much ground to make up as he did as he was lapping incredibly quicker than both Leclerc and Sainz towards the end of the race.

McLaren

One of Lando Norris's most impressive drives of his career comes from not a pole position, but a Q1 exit. A nearly-flawless comeback drive with loads of incredible overtaking. It's been a common critique of Lando that he can't overtake, but this drive today says otherwise. Now yes, I understand that his car was incredibly faster than most of the others he overtook, but George Russell in a Mercedes on the same compound and strategy as you isn't an easy feat. Good on, Lando. As for Piastri, not a particularly strong weekend for him in quali or race pace. Not really sure what to attribute this to, but Lando has had quite the comeback against the young Australian after being essentially humiliated by him the entire weekend in Qatar.

Aston Martin

Well, in my prediction I said that Aston Martin and Alpine would be fighting for the top-of-the-midfield spot this weekend. I was quite wrong. Aston Martin made it their mission to disappoint all of Spain, Canada, and the British population that's over 60 years old all in one go. They certainly did so, and the fact that Alonso is now fifth in the Drivers' Championship is mind-boggling to me. This car has declined so incredibly rapidly that it can no longer be compared to the Brawn GP car of 2009. This is a team that's headed towards shambles, and headed there fast. Alonso is furious, Lance is whining to his dad, and the people in charge don't know what the f*ck to do. Abandon ship boys, the fun is looking like it's getting closer to over every weekend. If I was Mike Krack or Lawrence Stroll, I'd be sh*tting bricks right about now. 

Alpine

Alpine did okay this weekend. Not good, by any means, but just okay. Ocon snagged the last point of the race, but let us be reminded that it was graciously gifted to him by Yuki Tsunoda's three-step tutorial in how to not overtake into turn 1 (inspired by Checo Perez). Jokes aside, Alpine look like they've improved overall track dependency, and can somewhat hang with the likes of the newly-upgraded AlphaTauri (if Daniel calms down) and other midfield teams like Alfa Romeo and Williams. Good on them, because they looked like they were spiraling towards irrelevancy just a few short weeks ago.

...hold on. You thought I would let this slide?

What in the name of Ayrton Senna was that radio message from Ocon. Dude almost earned his second Clown of the Week award for that goofy ass call alone. Took the man 27 laps after that corny radio message, but he did get the overtake done.

Williams

A team that was seemingly on the back foot all weekend, Williams took what they could from this weekend. Albon was in the points, Sargeant kept up, and despite the last-second retirement from him, the weekend was pretty good all things considered. Also the pace in Free Practice was incredibly quick for Alex, but it must have been from fuel load or different practicing than the rest of the grid because that pace was nowhere to be found anywhere else.

AlphaTauri

Well hello there. Funny seeing you guys this high up in the order. With Daniel Ricciardo taking home a season-high qualifying in P4 and season-high race finish in P7, it's safe to say the old man's here to stay. This team brought upgrades this weekend, and they definitely did something right. Both cars had rapid race pace, and without Tsunoda bottling it three separate times, it would have likely been double points for the team. Excited to see what they can do in the final three races of the season.

Alfa Romeo

Honestly, not too bad. Not too good, but not too bad. Valtteri and Zhou are masters at being completely forgotten throughout a weekend, and they pretty much did that again here in Mexico. The qualifying pace wasn't too bad, though.

Haas

Kevin Magnussen fok-smashed the car into the barriers, but in all seriousness it wasn't his fault. Haas can't ever seem to have a crash that doesn't cost millions of dollars, and that's one of the many reasons why the American-based team is now sititng pretty at the bottom of the Constructors' Championship. Hulkenberg had a good battle with Ocon though, and overall had pretty decent race pace. Let's see if they can run it back in Brazil with KMag on pole.

RACE RATING & AWARDS

There was so much to take away from this race. The Magnussen crash, pace of the teams at the front, Daniel's big comeback, Perez's huge mistake, Lando making dust out of the field, Ocon being an idiot on the radio, so much to digest. A race with two standing starts is always awesome, and this one provided much more than just that.

8/10

Sigma Male Award: Lando Norris

Clown of the Week Award: Yuki Tsunoda

Juiced Up Team Award: AlphaTauri

Change Your F*cking Car Award: Aston Martin

WHAT A STUPID ACTION Award: Sergio Perez turn 1 crash

[Everyone liked that] Award: Daniel Riccairdo and Lando Norris post-race interview