29/10/2023
NEWS STORY
It would probably me too much to expect today's race to live up to the unpredictability and downright craziness of yesterday's qualifying, but we live in hope.
While Alex Albon wasn't able to come anywhere near how he'd performed in FP1 and FP3, we did at least have Valtteri Bottas and Daniel Ricciardo to rely on.
Despite his problems yesterday, Albon is feeling much more confident today though starting from 14th he will have his work cut out.
Bottas, on the other hand, starts from ninth, just ahead of his teammate, as Alfa Romeo targets a double-points finish, like in Qatar.
And then there's Ricciardo, who stunned everyone, not just by finishing fourth on the timesheets, but by finishing ahead of Sergio Perez, the Mercedes pair and Oscar Piastri.
Despite Perez's assurances there remains much scepticism in terms of his future at Red Bull, and today offers both the Mexican and Ricciardo the perfect opportunity to serve notice.
McLaren are beginning to sound a bit like Mercedes used too, insisting on playing down their chances only to go out and obliterate pretty much the rest of the field. Though Piastri starts from a competitive seventh, teammate Lando Norris faces a tough afternoon after messing up in qualifying and ending up on the back row of the grid.
Nonetheless, the right strategy and a determined drive could yet see the Briton join his teammate in the points.
Mercedes has been unhappy all weekend, with Lewis Hamilton describing the difference in performance to Austin as "night and day". This clearly isn't a circuit that suits the W14 so it is likely that the German team will have to settle for best of the rest.
Aston Martin's decline continues, a situation not helped by the fact that - for the second weekend running - Lance Stroll will start from the pitlane after changes were made to his car under parc ferme conditions.
Having taken on a new engine and gear box, Yuki Tsunoda starts from the back of the grid alongside Logan Sargeant, who, having failed to post a time in Q1 was then hit with a 10-place grid penalty for overtaking under yellow flag conditions.
Pierre Gasly is probably Alpine's best hope of some points while, starting from eleventh, Nico Hulkenberg is likely to drop back down the order once the reality of Haas' 2023 car kicks in.
Mexico features the season's longest run to the first corner which is why Max Verstappen wasn't that bothered about losing out.
However, with Ferrari locking out the front row this will surely work against him as the Maranello pair will have no doubt spent much of the night working on a plan to keep him at bay.
Then again, if today proves to be anything like previous weekends, the Dutchman can afford to bide his time for the SF-23;s race pace rarely lives up to that shown in qualifying.
Nonetheless, id Verstappen can out -gen the Ferraris on the drag race to Turn 1 it will make his job that much easier, and though Ricciardo, Perez et al will be keen to get in on the action, each will be keeping a close watch on their mirrors.
After the pit stop frenzies of recent races, Pirelli is expecting a one-stopper today, albeit with two alternatives: starting on the medium before switching to the hard after around one third distance, or opting to start on the medium and lengthening the first stint to two thirds of the 71 lap race.
A two-stopper is a possibility, using a mix of medium and hards, but it's not as quick as one pit stop strategy.
The pitlane opens and the drivers begin to head out, among the first is pole-man Leclerc.
Air temperature is 25 degrees C, while the track temperature is 47 degrees. As was the case with qualifying it is bright and sunny. There is 0% chance of rain.
The race hasn't started but Alonso has been noted for speeding in the pitlane, while Piastri pits to have some sort of signage debris removed from underneath his car.
The pit exit closes.
"It will be a fascinating strategic race," Christian Horner tells Sky Sports, "it is traditionally a one-stop but you'll have to manage those tyres really gently in the first few laps.
"It's the usual thing, look after your tyres but pass the guy in front of you. We are running okay on the cooling, but it will be very tough."
"We need to be 1-2 after Turn 3," admits Fred Vasseur, "this is our first challenge, it is all about cooling the brakes and engine, which is easier in clean air.
"We know what we can do and how we can manage our race, Verstappen will do whatever he wants."
All are starting on mediums bar Albon and Ocon who are on hards and Norris who is on softs. As ever, the Aston Martins are on used rubber while the rest are on fresh.
They head off on the formation lap, all getting away cleanly.
The grid forms.
They're away! Both Ferraris get away well, but so does Verstappen who seeks to get between the pair who fail to close him off. On that long, long run to Turn 1 he is ahead of Sainz and alongside Leclerc with teammate Perez coming up on the outside.
Into Turn 1they are three abreast with Verstappen on the inside, Perez on the outside and Leclerc in the middle. As Perez turns in his right rear wheel touches Leclerc's left-front, the Red Bull is lifted into the air, before spinning off in a cloud of dust and frustration.
It's disaster for Mexican as the crowd sighs in disappointment.
Verstappen leads from Leclerc but the Ferrari driver has wing damage and will surely have to pit, meanwhile Piastri and Russell are battling for 6th with all the usual first lap argy-bargy.
At the end of Lap 1, it's: Verstappen, Leclerc, Sainz, Ricciardo, Hamilton, Piastri, Russell, Hulkenberg, Gasly and Zhou.
Perez pits at the end of Lap 1 but it is clear his race is over, the Mexican appearing to have suffered suspension damage.
"Some front wing damage but we stay out," Leclerc is told.
Having got up to 15th, Norris goes quickest in S2, as the endplate falls from Leclerc's front wing.
After 3 laps Verstappen leads by 2.14s.
On Lap 5 the VSC is deployed in order that Leclerc's endplate can be removed from the track.
Leclerc has been noted for driving in an unsafe condition, he has seemingly lost 5 to 10 points of downforce.
The Red Bull crew worked on Perez's car in a bid to get him back out but have now given up.
The VSC is withdrawn and the race resumes. Hamilton wastes no time in posting a new fastest lap (23.00) as he hunts down Ricciardo.
At the start of Lap 8 Hamilton makes a move under braking into Turn 1 but Ricciardo has it under control.
"The Alfa is quick on the straights," says Albon who is 11th and chasing Zhou.
"Maintain what you're doing with your brakes," Russell is told.
Tsunoda runs wide in Turn 1 and loses a position to Magnussen.
"The car is running hot," reports Hamilton, who is gulping in Ricciardo's dirty air.
Check out our Sunday gallery from Mexico City here.
A DRS train is building behind (eighth placed) Hulkenberg.
"Lando, we must pull out to the right," Norris is told.
A bold move sees Hamilton pass Ricciardo in Turn 1 to take fourth.
Norris pits at the end of Lap 11, switching to hards he rejoins in 18th (of 19), ahead of Tsunoda who has just posted a new fastest lap.
"Get those brakes under control," Hamilton is told.
"Watch the kerb at Turn 3," Verstappen is told, "it's not helping you I think."
Gasly (ninth) is told that Hulkenberg ahead is suffering tyre deg.
Behind them, Albon makes a nice move on Zhou for tenth.
"The longer we can extend the better," Piastri is advised.
"We'll keep our powder dry for the next couple of laps," Hamilton is told. "Let the deg come to us."
Teammate Russell has his latest time deleted for exceeding the limits at Turn 12.
"The tyres are giving up, there's not much more I can do," says Verstappen.
Hamilton is just 0.502s down on Sainz as Verstappen pits at the end of Lap 19. The world champion rejoins in 7th on hards. Is he intending to go to the end on those or will Red Bull go for a two-stopper?
"Just be sensible in these next 3 or 4 laps," Verstappen is told. The Dutchman immediately goes quickest in S3.
"Tyre life is as expected," Leclerc is told. The Monegasque is currently 6.3s clear of his teammate.
Verstappen makes short work of Russell to claim 6th, as Sainz is told that a one stop remains the main option.
Zhou pits at the end of Lap 22, the Alfa driver rejoining in 19th.
Verstappen leads Piastri for dead as Norris passes Ocon for 15th and then Alonso for 14th.
Next up for Verstappen is his former - possibly future - teammate, Ricciardo.
Hulkenberg and Magnussen both pit at the end of Lap 23, rejoining in 16th and 19th.
Next time around it is Hamilton who pits. The Briton rejoins in 7th on hards.
Verstappen passes Ricciardo as the Australian is told not to fight the Dutchman.
"Our best bet is to extend and go optimal 1," Sainz is told.
As Verstappen posts a new fastest lap (22.354), Piastri pits. He rejoins in tenth, 2.7s ahead of his McLaren teammate.
Russell pits at the end of Lap 26, the Briton rejoining in 10th, sandwiched between the McLarens.
"Why have we pitted right behind Albon," asks Russell. "We were at risk from Norris on the hard tyre," he is told.
Verstappen passes Sainz as the head into Turn 1 to take second. Next up is Leclerc who is 7.886s up the road.
Gasly pits at the end of Lap 28, as Leclerc is asked how many more laps he can manage. "I don't know, but it's under control," he replies.
Tsunoda passes Stroll for 11th.
Sainz pits at the end of Lap 30, as does Alonso. The Ferrari driver rejoins in 4th, 6s down on Hamilton, while Alonso rejoins in 19th.
"Something smells really burning in the car," reports Zhou.
Leclerc pits at the end of Lap 31, thereby allowing Verstappen to reclaim the lead. The Monegasque rejoins in second, 2.5s ahead of Hamilton. Bottas also pits.
"We have a long way to go, do you think I can make it on this tyre," asks Hamilton.
Magnussen has crashed heavily at Turn 8. The Safety Car is deployed.
The Dane is out his car which is very badly damaged.
Verstappen takes the opportunity to pit, as flames appear at the back of the Haas.
Norris and Albon also pit - both switching to mediums - as the replay suggests that the rear suspension broke on Magnussen's car.
The race is red-flagged after 33 laps.
The order is: Verstappen, Leclerc, Hamilton, Sainz, Ricciardo, Piastri, Russell, Tsunoda, Hulkenberg and Norris.
Gasly is eleventh, ahead of Albon, Zhou, Ocon, Sargeant, Bottas, Stroll and Alonso.
Verstappen doesn't understand the need for the red flag. However, as the cameras cut to the TecPro barriers the reason is clear.
With the race stopped at half-distance, 35 laps of 71, there is a lot of concern amongst the drivers as to whether their tyres will last for the remainder of the race. Adding to the conundrum is the lack of fresh rubber some have.
Ocon is the only driver yet to stop.
The order for the restart will be Verstappen, Leclerc, Hamilton, Sainz, Ricciardo, Piastri, Russell, Tsunoda, Hulkenberg, Norris, Gasly, Albon, Zhou, Ocon, Sargeant, Bottas, Stroll and Alonso, confirms race control.
The race will resume at 15:13. "It will be a standing start," Bottas is told.
"A standing start with hard tyres is going to be a huge mess," warns Leclerc.
The field heads out of the pitlane ahead of the Safety Car. Most are still on hards though Hamilton, Piastri, Russell, Hulkenberg, Norris, Albon, Ocon and Sargeant are on mediums.
The drivers are advised who is on fresh rubber and who is on used/scrubbed.
They're away! Verstappen leads again, as Leclerc is under pressure from Hamilton, while Sainz takes to the grass. Further back, Russell and Ricciardo touch, while wheelspin causes Norris to lose a number of positions, dropping from 10th to 14th.
In his efforts to hold off Hamilton, Leclerc weaves from side to side, while Sainz is under pressure from Russell, with Ricciardo and Piastri just behind.
As Verstappen heads off into the distance, Hamilton is moving out of Leclerc's dirty air.
As Hamilton shadows Leclerc, Verstappen posts a new fastest lap (22.185).
Piastri and Tsunoda are battling hard for seventh.
"Sainz is weaving on the straight," reports Russell.
"Good job," Hulkenberg is told," everyone is going to have to use these tyres till the end Good job.
The crowd roars as Hamilton passes Leclerc as they head into Turn 1, a bold, brave move from the seven-time champ.
Norris passes Bottas for 13th.
"I'm locking way too much," says Albon who is currently ninth under pressure from Hulkenberg.
"That's a long way on this tyre," warns Hamilton. "There's plenty of opportunity here," he is told.
Check out our Sunday gallery from Mexico City here.
Piastri is under pressure from Tsunoda, as AlphaTauri anticipates a possible double-points finish.
"We believe that in 5 laps the hard will be faster than the medium," Leclerc is told.
Norris passes Gasly for 12th, subsequently passing the second Alpine for 11th.
Piastri is really struggling as he seeks to hold off Tsunoda, while Alonso has retired for the second successive weekend.
Having almost clashed once, when Tsunoda makes another attempt they are not so lucky, as the Japanese spins off after running too deep.
"He just chopped across," says Piastri, as Tsunoda, who has dropped to 16th, utters a string of expletives.
The incident has been noted.
Bottas and Gasly having a great battle for 12th, with Stroll looking to pick up the pieces.
The stewards are looking at two incidents involving Piastri and Tsunoda.
"You're faster than the cars in front," Tsunoda is told. "I don't need any more information," he replies.
"You can say to Haas that I'm going to go for it," says Ocon, "so they'd better be ready." He subsequently makes a move on Hulkenberg but without success.
Out front, Verstappen leads Hamilton by 10.7s, with Leclerc a further 5s behind. Sainz, Russell and Ricciardo are each about 2 - 3 seconds adrift of one another.
"If this is our pace we would need to let Lando past to go and attack Ricciardo," Piastri is told. "We would need to find half-a-second."
The Australian subsequently moves aside for his British teammate, who says: "Thank you!"
After 56 laps, Leclerc (hards) is matching Hamilton's medium pace.
"What is this guy doing," asks Sargeant of Stroll as they battle for 14th. "That's too much moving on the brakes," he adds.
Replays show that Stroll's defence was questionable to say the least.
In tenth, Hulkenberg continues to frustrate the Alpine pair.
Norris is all over the rear of Ricciardo's AlphaTauri. The Australian resits but Norris is having none of it and nails him in Turn 5, much to the delight of the crowd.
Up to sixth, Norris's next target is Russell who is 4.8s up the road.
"Eleven laps to go, P10 is in sight, see what you can do," Ocon is told.
After 61 laps, it's: Verstappen, Hamilton (+ 12.7s), Leclerc (+ 6.6s), Sainz (+ 4.1s), Russell (+5.1s), Norris (+ 2.7s), Ricciardo (+ 3.2s), Piastri (+ 2.1s), Albon (+ 8.1s) and Hulkenberg (+11.3s).
"We know what Russell's like," Norris is told, "he's all or nothing. So just have patience." The McLaren driver is 1.3s down on his prey.
Ocon finally passes Hulkenberg to claim the last of the point scoring positions.
Russell has a wobble and Norris wastes no time in nailing him, as a three-way battle involving Tsunoda, Bottas and Stroll sees the Finn and Canadian touch sending the Aston Martin into a spin.
Stroll subsequently pits and retires, a double DNF for the Silverstone-based outfit.
After that costly mistake, Russell is now just 0.877s ahead of Ricciardo.
As Verstappen begins his final lap, Ricciardo is just 0.773s down on Russell.
Verstappen takes the flag, ahead of Hamilton - who posts a new fastest lap - Leclerc, Sainz, Norris, Russell, Ricciardo, Piastri, Albon and Ocon.
Gasly is eleventh, ahead of Tsunoda, Hulkenberg, Bottas, Zhou and Sargeant who pits and retires on the final lap.
While the stewards have decided that no further action is needed in terms of the Piastri/Tsunoda clashes, Bottas is under investigation for the Stroll incident.
Having frustrated the Alpines for so long, Hulkenberg, having succumbed to Ocon, drops to 13th as he is passed by Gasly and Tsunoda.
"I had nowhere to go," insists Leclerc as the crowd's booing almost drowns him out, "I was between the two Red Bulls and unfortunately I touched Checo, but I had nowhere to go.
"It's life," he adds, "of course I'm disappointed but I didn't do it on purpose and I had nowhere to go.
"We struggled a bit with the hard at the restart, Mercedes were just better today, that's life."
"A big thank you to this incredible crowd, I love coming to this city," adds Hamilton. "This is a great result considering we started sixth, it's been a difficult couple of weeks and to bounce back from last week - well done to the team.
"I thought the medium wouldn't last," he grins.
"The crowd have been amazing, it's been incredible," says Verstappen. "We are experiencing an incredible season, the pace of the car was very, very good.
"We tried to do a different strategy to everyone else but thanks to the red flag we couldn't show it."
For what at times appeared to be a processional race on a track with a poor reputation for overtaking, there was in fact plenty going on, with various skirmishes throughout the field.
Of course, we had that incident at the first corner, then Magnussen's crash at half-distance, effectively splitting the race in half.
We have opined in our newsletter about the worrying direction the sport is taking, and sadly there was further evidence of this this afternoon, not that it is likely to get much coverage.
There is footage on social media of a fight erupting in the stands between fans of Leclerc and Perez following that first lap crash. We do not want this sort of thing tainting our sport.
Rather than ignoring it, much like the helicopter incident in Austin last week, the sport's powers that be must address it. Also, they must stop trying to build controversy where it isn't needed.
That said, another masterclass from Verstappen sand Red Bull, and while Hamilton saved the day for Mercedes, and Ricciardo won a few million for AlphaTauri, Aston Martin's decliner continues.
All in all an entertaining afternoon, though not for many of those in the grandstands, especially as this could be the day that decides their hero's future.
Check out our Sunday gallery from Mexico City here.