27/10/2024
NEWS STORY
We've said it before and we'll say it again, I our humble opinion Ferrari is dropping the wrong man.
Charles Leclerc might have a lot going for him, but there are too many mistakes, while Carlos Sainz is that reliable pair of hands one needs and can rely upon.
There is no mistaking the fact that over the last couple of weeks the Spaniard has been keen to make a point and we think he's made it.
Losing the Ferrari drive is one thing, however to see him heading to Williams is sad beyond belief.
Yes, James Vowles is doing a remarkable job, but the Grove outfit is some way off challenging for wins again, far less titles, and one can only hope that it is a stop-gap for Sainz, especially when there are a couple of (nameless) drivers who really have no place on the grid moving forwards.
Of course, whatever Sainz does today is going to be of little interest to most, for the real focus will be the Verstappen/Norris show, especially in the wake of last weekend's fun and games.
McLaren clearly has the better car, but Verstappen is fast developing into a driver as wily as Mr Alonso, who is able to dig deep into his arsenal of tricks.
As was the case last week and on so many weekends before, the race cannot be won in the first corner but it can be lost, and that long, long, long run to Turn 1 could well end in disaster.
The 1-2 last weekend sees Ferrari join the battle for the constructors' title, and what wouldn't Sainz give to assist the Maranello outfit to a historic win. Leclerc is up there with him meaning that, unlike Red Bull and McLaren, it has two cars in contention.
Mercedes performance continues to change from session to session, witness Hamilton's complaints in qualifying yesterday, and is therefore unlikely to play a significant part in today's proceedings, a situation not helped by the fact that both drivers have wildly different set-ups.
On the other hand, Gasly has been having a good weekend, as have the Haas pair, while Albon will be keen to stamp his authority at Williams.
Some are looking forward to seeing Piastri and Perez work their way through the field, and while the Australian is sure to finish in the points, the Mexican really does appear to go from bad to worse.
Having questioned Norris' mental; stability in recent weeks, Helmut Marko has now described Yuki Tsunoda as "unstable", the Austrian clearly as kind and caring as ever.
That said, RB has lost out to Haas, and now that Williams has two drivers capable of scoring points, the Faenza outfit's current seventh place could be under threat, while Haas could yet give the ailing Aston Martin a scare in the coming races.
Theoretically, the quickest strategy involves starting on the mediums before switching to the hards between laps 25 and 32. Those who opt to start on the hard should pit between laps 36 and 43 to switch to the medium.
The soft cannot be ruled out entirely: it could come into play as an option either at the start or towards the end, paired with the hard, or maybe as a set to start on for those gambling on a two-stop to make the most of having two sets of mediums available, which is on paper the most competitive of the three compounds brought here.
"Once the launch happens, a lot of it is down to instinct, your racing instinct kicks in," says Sainz. "Obviously breaking the tow is important, but it is difficult to know what your rivals will do.
"I'd like to leave the team on a high, maximise my chance of finishing on the podium. It could have been easy to lose some motivation, knowing I'm leaving the team but I've managed to keep myself in check."
The pitlane opens and Verstappen leads the way, followed by Perez, Lawson, Norris and Ocon.
Tsunoda thanks his crew for repairing his car.
Ocon is starting from the pitlane after changes to his car were made under parc ferme, however having qualified nineteenth it should make too much difference to the Frenchman.
Ahead of the formation lap the air temperature is 19 degrees C, while the track temperature is 36 degrees. The sun is shining but as ever it is a little murky. Humidity is 51%.
All are starting on mediums bar Lawson, Bottas, Colapinto, Perez, Zhou and Ocon. Fresh rubber all round bar Alonso and Stroll - as ever - and Zhou.
They head off on the formation lap, all getting away cleanly.
The grid forms.
They're away! Verstappen out-drags Sainz into Turn 1 but further back Tsunoda has gone off on the approach to the first corner.
Verstappen and Sainz are side-by-side into Turn 1 but the Spaniard cuts the corner and finds himself ahead, however he subsequently hands the position back to the Dutchman.
While Tsunoda climbs from his car, Albon subsequently stops on the approach to Turn 3 his car clearly damaged.
Replay shows that as they were heading towards Turn 1, Tsunoda was passing Albon when the two touched as Williams moved aside to create space for Gasly.
In the melee that followed, Hamilton was able to pass his Mercedes teammate who was lucky not to be collected by the wildly spinning RB.
"Alex was squeezed both sides, and Yuki didn't do much wrong," says James Vowles. "We still have a car in this race in a good position with Franco."
The Safety Car is deployed, behind it Verstappen leads the field ahead of Sainz, Norris, Leclerc, Hamilton, Russell, Magnussen, Hulkenberg, Gasly and Lawson. Perez is up five places to 13th while Piastri remains seventeenth.
Perez is under investigation for a false start. Indeed, replay shows the Mexican was well ahead of his starting slot.
The field continues behind the Safety Car, as Leclerc reports that his drink is spilling when he "zig-zags" to keep his tyres warm. Jokes on a postcard to...
Perez is given a 5s time penalty.
Everything points towards Plan A," Piastri is told.
The Safety Car is withdrawn at the end of Lap 6, Verstappen showing Sainz a clean pair of heels. That said, the Ferrari gets a strong tow but the Spaniard is unable to pass the Red Bull.
Despite being on mediums Piastri is making no impression on the cars ahead.
On Lap 10 Sainz passes Verstappen into Turn 1, the Dutchman fights back but the Spaniard keeps his cool and his position.
"What can I do with an empty battery," moans Verstappen.
Norris passes Verstappen but in the process carries to much speed and runs wide - a la Austin - as the Dutchman runs him wide. The McLaren driver rejoins ahead of Sainz (and Verstappen). He slows to allow the Ferrari through but remains ahead of the Red Bull.
The Dutchman subsequently attacks the McLaren driver in Turn 8 and in the process they both run wide, allowing Leclerc through to take second.
"I was through," says Norris. "This guy is dangerous."
The three-time world champion is noted for forcing another driver off track as Magnussen closes on Russell.
The Turn 8 incident involving Norris and Verstappen is under investigation.
Piastri is up to sixteenth.
Verstappen is given a 10s penalty for forcing Norris off track.
Hamilton and Russell are battling for 5th as Magnussen looks to pick up the pieces.
Verstappen is actually quite sanguine when told of the penalty.
Despite a staunch defence, Hamilton is passed by his Mercedes teammate.
"Come guys, Charles is taking the ****, honestly," reports Sainz as he is hassled by his Ferrari teammate.
Alonso pits at the end of Lap 15, sadly it is to retire... a sad ending to his 400th outing.
"Keep it clean," Leclerc is told, "you have good pace, keep it clean."
Perez makes a move on Lawson in Turn 5 but the kiwi is having none of it, and holds the Mexican off.
"What the **** is this idiot doing," asks Perez, "is he OK?"
The Mexican comes under attack from Stroll, who mount a challenge every bit as feisty as Lawson.
Verstappen is given another 10s penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage.
The detour across the kerbs at Turn 5 has left Perez with damage to his floor.
Piastri and Colapinto battle for 12th as Perez pits. The Mexican rejoins in 17th (last) having served his penalty.
Told of Verstappen's 20s penalty, Russell merely says: "Wow!"
Gianpiero Lambiase finally summons up the courage to tell Verstappen about the second penalty. The Dutchman doesn't take it well.
Piastri passes Stroll for eleventh as his McLaren teammate closes to within DRS range of Verstappen.
"My tyres are not holding on guys," reports Verstappen, "really bad."
Out front, after 25 laps, Sainz leads his Ferrari teammate by 5.1s.
Verstappen pits at the end of Lap 26, serving his 10s penalty he rejoins in 15th on hards. Stroll also pits.
In clean air, Norris is 6.5s down on Leclerc but 7.02s ahead of Russell.
Ocon passes Zhou who has Verstappen 1.8s behind.
"Box, box," Hamilton is told on Lap 29. He duly obliges - as does Gasly - the Mercedes driver rejoining in 10th.
Verstappen passes Zhou for 13th and subsequently dispatches Ocon for 11th.
Norris pits at the end of Lap 30, rejoining in 4th as Magnussen also stops.
As Verstappen posts a new fastest lap (21.252), Hamilton passes Colapinto for 7th.
Leclerc pits at the end of Lap 31, rejoining still in second as Russell also stops.
Lap 31 sees a new fastest lap for Hamilton (20.371) as Verstappen passes Bottas for 10th.
Told to "box", Sainz wants to do one more lap but actually obeys the instruction. He rejoins still leading by 8s.
Piastri closes on Russell who is chasing Lawson.
"Why have we done this," asks Russell, "surely we could have done one or two laps more."
"Mate, think about pulling me out of this," asks Piastri as he remains embroiled in a battle with Lawson and Hamilton.
As Lawson defends his position against Hamilton, Piastri nips through on the inside, with the Mercedes driver passing the RB at the next corner. In two corners Lawson has lost two positions.
On fresh rubber Hamilton subsequently passes the Australian.
Verstappen sweeps by Colapinto to claim 8th, next up is Lawson, the Dutchman's potential 2025 teammate.
Hamilton closes on Russell who appears to have damage to his left front wing.
"I had a big misfire out of Turn 3," reports Leclerc.
Passing Lawson, Verstappen sets off after Piastri who is 2.7s up the road.
Hulkenberg passes Bottas for 11th, his Haas teammate just ahead in tenth.
Something is wrong with the steering," reports Colapinto.
Piastri pits at the end of Lap 39, as does Lawson. They rejoin in 13th and 17th respectively.
"It's getting really dark," says Verstappen as Perez resumes battle with Lawson.
Lap 41 sees Norris post a new fastest lap (20.371), as Piastri sweeps by Ocon to claim 12th.
"I've got very small rain drops on the visor," reports Russell. But is it sweat, we ask.
Gasly passes Bottas for 10th as Piastri lines up the Finn. Indeed, the McLaren driver passes the Stake just a couple of corners later.
As Leclerc slips 6.3s behind his teammate, Norris closes to within 4.9s of the second Ferrari.
Lap 45 sees Norris post a new fastest lap (20.370), as Colapinto, Bottas and Ocon remain the only drivers yet to pit.
Perez passes Zhou for sixteenth.
Colapinto finally pits at the end of Lap 47, the Argentine rejoining in 15th following an issue with his right-rear.
"We are free to race here," Russell is told as Hamilton closes in, "just give each other enough room."
"Absolutely no need," says Sainz as he closes on a number of backmarkers, the Spaniard fearing that his teammate might seek to take advantage.
Bottas pits at the end of Lap 50, rejoining in 14th.
As Hamilton closes on Russell, Colapinto posts a new fastest lap (20.090).
As he closes to within 1.7s of Hulkenberg, Piastri goes quickest in S2.
Piastri nails Hulkenberg in Turn 1 for 8th, as he sets off after Magnussen 8s up the road.
Having made their way past most of the backmarkers, Norris is 2.3s down on Leclerc.
Stroll moves aside to allow Norris through, the gap to Leclerc just 1.1s.
"You need your best driving now, let's go," Leclerc is told, as Hamilton continues to hassle Russell.
The Mercedes pair are side-by-side, wheel-to-wheel through Turn 6.
"Go and get Max," Piastri is told, however first there is the little matter of Magnussen who is 6.3s ahead.
A new fastest lap (20.045) sees Norris get within DRS range of Leclerc who appears to be struggling.
Indeed, the Monegasque runs wide in the final turn and almost hits the barriers as Norris is through.
With 8 laps remaining Norris is 7.8s down on the race leader.
"Think about the fastest lap," suggests Leclerc.
"No risk on track limits," Piastri is told as he remains 5.3s down on Magnussen.
After 66 laps, it's Sainz, Norris (+ 7.6), Leclerc (+ 3.8s), Russell (+ 31.1s), Ham (+ 0.7s), Verstappen (+ 11.5s), Magnussen (+ 4.8s), Piastri (+ 4.4s), Hulkenberg (+ 11.1s) and Gasly (+ 16.7s).
As they battle for 12th in Turn 1, Lawson and Colapinto touch, the kiwi subsequently having to pit.
"I honestly had nowhere to go," says the RB driver who has dropped to last.
Perez and Hamilton are warned of debris in Turn 12,
Leclerc makes a late stop for softs as he targets the fastest lap, as Perez also stops for the red-banded rubber, as does Lawson.
Sainz takes the flag as his teammate goes quickest in S1. He maintains the pace in S2, crossing the line at 18.336. Neither Perez nor Lawson can go quicker.
Norris claims second, ahead of Leclerc and Norris, who has passed Russell, Verstappen, Magnussen, Piastri, Hulkenberg and Gasly.
Stroll is eleventh, ahead of Colapinto, Ocon, Bottas, Zhou, Lawson and Perez.
Climbing form their cars, Sainz goes to greet his teammate, but Leclerc is having none of it and walks past the Spaniard. Pathetic.
The drama continues as Colapinto is handed a 10s penalty for the clash with Lawson.
"It was a difficult one," says Leclerc, "the first stint was all about managing the temperatures.
"The whole weekend I have been on the back foot," he adds, "so third was the best we could achieve on my side. But a great race by Carlos and for the team which is the most important thing.
"We are working super well as a team, we are back at the level we should be at. The constructors' is still the target and with weekends like this, we are getting closer to it."
"It was a very tough race," adds Norris, "the first few laps were just about staying in the race and avoiding any crashes. Congrats to Carlos and Ferrari, they were very quick today but I tried my best.
"I knew what to expect," he says of Verstappen. "This is not very clean driving in my opinion, but I avoided it and it was a good race."
"It's incredible to see this crowd," grins Sainz, "I have been feeling their support all weekend.
"Honestly, I really wanted this one. I needed it for myself, I said I wanted one more win for Ferrari and now I have it I'll enjoy the last four races.
"I was annoyed I lost the position," he says of the start, "but I said I had nothing to lose, I sent one down the inside from quite far back and I was confident I could make it."
To say it was an eventful race would be an understatement, and if nothing else we have learned that whatever happens with Perez - and surely today marked an absolute low point - Mexico deserves a place on the calendar, at least this circuit does.
While we enjoyed the drama and the various battles, it is clear that overtaking remains a major issue.
And then there's Max... not the cheeky black and white feral cat that will shortly be moving to the new Pitpass HQ, but Max Verstappen who is sadly resorting to the tricks we witnessed when he first entered the sport.
In the Drivers' Championship, Verstappen's lead has slipped to 47 points, while Ferrari has leapfrogged Red Bull in the Constructors' Championship and is just 29 points down on McLaren.
All of which sets us up nicely for next weekend's Sprint at another circuit the produces classic races... Interlagos. We can't wait.