Christian Horner: "Not the race we had hoped for. Penalties and damage really impacted our race. Pace was an issue for us today and that is something that we will really need to look at and understand where we lost out in the race. We had good pace yesterday, but we were lacking today so there will need to be a lot of hard work between now and Brazil. Checo's race really suffered which is a huge shame in his home race. He picked up some significant damage early on and that coupled with the penalty really meant his race was shot from then on."
Lewis Hamilton finished P4 with George Russell P5 in Sunday's Mexico City Grand Prix. George lined up P5 with Lewis P6, both on the Medium tyre and through the opening corners, Lewis managed to get ahead of his team-mate.
Later in that first stint, George used DRS to regain the position before both cars boxed and cycled ahead of the Red Bull of Max Verstappen who served a 20-second penalty for forcing the McLaren of Lando Norris off track in multiple incidents.
Early in his second stint, it became clear that the top element on George's front-wing had suffered damage. Despite that issue, his pace was still strong and both cars began to edge away from Verstappen behind.
In the closing stages, Lewis passed George for P4 into turn one with his team-mate therefore following him home across the line in P5.
The team now heads to Brazil for the São Paulo Grand Prix, the third race of this Americas triple-header.
Toto Wolff, Team Principal & CEO: Overall, P4 and P5 is likely where we are pace-wise with our car at the moment. On circuits that demand good traction, we are not able to compete with those right at the very front. That is frustrating but we are working hard to bring more performance and build momentum for 2025. These final few races are a good opportunity for us to test different things and put ourselves in as strong a position as possible for next year.
In today's race, George was hindered by front-wing damage which was costing him a good chunk of performance. He still drove strongly, and his pace was decent compared to Verstappen behind. The Red Bull never became a threat to our race after the first pit stop. We also saw that, once he was in free air, Lewis' speed was good on the Hard compound and comparative to those at the front. We now head to Brazil and will be looking to end the triple-header as strongly as possible.
Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director: Without incidents, P4 and P5 is likely the best result we could have brought home today. Once Verstappen picked up his penalty, we believed we would be interacting with him at some point after those first stops. Encouragingly, both George and Lewis had the speed to pull away from him and score solid points. George was hindered when the front wing flap collapsed after he hit a bump during an overtake at the start of the second stint. Despite that, he still maintained good enough pace to bring it home in fifth. We let the drivers race each other throughout; that meant that Lewis' tyres were past their best once he made it into clear air. We didn't get a great read on our ultimate pace but clearly we need to find more speed if we are to challenge right at the very front.
It has not been the smoothest of weekends here in Mexico or at the previous race in Austin. We have learnt a lot as a team though over both Grands Prix. With our position in the Constructors' Championship likely set, we also have the opportunity to further our learning over the final four races. We will continue to do that as we head to Brazil and Interlagos for the final race in this triple-header.
Seven days on from victory in Austin, Scuderia Ferrari HP again stood on the top step of the podium with another dominant performance, thanks to brilliant team-work, perfectly completed on track by Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc. The Spaniard was the dominant force this weekend and followed up yesterday's pole with the win that owed much to a brilliant passing move on Max Verstappen, before he flew off and took an unchallenged victory. Charles made the most of the fight between Verstappen and Lando Norris to move up to second, but towards the end, had to concede second place to the Englishman. However, he then kept a clear head and deprived the McLaren driver of the additional point for the fastest race lap, so that the team leaves Mexico with a further 41 points. This was Ferrari's 248th win, its 825th podium finish and, with four round remaining, it is now second in the Constructors' standings, 29 points behind McLaren, having overtaken Red Bull. For Carlos this was his fourth Formula 1 win, all of them with Ferrari and his second this season, following on from victory in Australia. He now joins the likes of Eddie Irvine, Clay Regazzoni and John Surtees on the Ferrari all-time list.
Prior to the race, the team had studied in great detail all the possible and most likely scenarios for the start, given that at the Hermanos Rodriguez track, the pole sitter has generally not been able to lead at the end of the long straight going into the first corner. In fact, Verstappen came alongside Carlos on the inside and went on to take the lead. Charles opted not to take any risks and tucked in behind Norris to stay fourth. Halfway round the opening lap, the Safety Car came out following the collision between Yuki Tsunoda and Alexander Albon, resuming on lap 7 with the DRS enabled two laps later. Carlos realised he had to try and surprise Verstappen and on the main straight he tucked into the Red Bull's slipstream before passing him in the braking zone, at which point there was no time for the Dutchman to respond. Carlos pulled off an impeccable move and then began to pull away, finally able to run the SF-24 in clean air. Shortly after, the sparks began to fly between Verstappen and Norris, with Leclerc the main beneficiary, slipping by the duelling pair without too much effort. Carlos' pace was so strong that the team was able to pit Leclerc first, on lap 31, so that he was safe from attack, while the Spaniard was the last of the leaders to pit without ever losing the lead. Towards the end, came the only slight disappointment of the afternoon for the team, as Charles was slowed a lot by backmarkers and Norris was able to close the gap. The Englishman attacked the Monegasque, eventually passing him for second place on lap 62, as the Ferrari lost grip and ran wide at the final corner. Charles and the team were not done yet and, as he had a big enough lead over fourth placed Lewis Hamilton in the Mercedes, he came in for Soft tyres and went out to set the fastest race lap in 1'18"336.
The team is delighted with this result, not only because it had not won in Mexico since 1990, but above all because the performance proved how well it has worked since the summer break. However, there will not be much time for celebrations as the squad flies to Brazil tomorrow for the last part of the American triple-header, the Sao Paulo Grand Prix at the Jose Carlos Pace circuit at Interlagos.
Fred Vasseur - Team Principal: We are very happy with this second win in a row. Carlos had a perfect weekend, he was on the pace from the first lap in FP1 and he drove a very clever race, losing the lead on the opening lap, before overtaking Max with a great move after which he had the race under control. Charles also had good pace, but he lost some time with backmarkers and that cost us P2. But, honestly, it was a good weekend for him too, even if he was not happy with the final result, which I understand completely.
The car is not designed for Mexico, which is too much of a one-off track and that means we didn't have any particular advantage and had to do a lot of management because of the altitude, always monitoring the temperature of the engine and the brakes to keep them at the limit, so today we can really say the team did a very good job. Since Monza, our car has now worked well at very different types of track, so I feel we can be competitive at the remaining races also.
We must continue working like this, because it's not just down to the potential of the car but also the way the team executes the race. Now we start from scratch in Sao Paulo next week. We have won two races in a row, we have done a good job so we must continue to push. As for the championship, we are continuing to take it one race at a time. It's not a given that we will be in front in Sao Paulo, what is a given is that we will tackle it with the same approach.
Andrea Stella - Team Principal : "The mission for today at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez was, with both cars, to finish ahead of where we qualified. The pace was very good. We beat one of the Ferraris and, realistically, looking at the data, without the time lost at the beginning behind Verstappen, Lando would have had a shot at victory. This is very encouraging for future races.
Lando raced our upgraded car this weekend, and once again I'd like to say a big thank you to the Technical Department for preparing this car and to the entire team for getting it to the track.
"Oscar will also have the upgrade in Brazil. He drove a beautiful race today. It wasn't easy to get through the field, but he was patient when he needed to be and brought home some useful points. Those could be critical at the end of the season, because this championship is going to the wire.
"Now we focus on São Paulo. We're looking forward to another entertaining race with Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes. This is good for Formula One - and we're having fun!"
Mike Krack, Team Principal: "Lance drove a very strong race today, but points were just out of reach. We did not have great pace all weekend, but Lance managed the race well, looked after the tyres, and enjoyed some fun battles on the track. It was a shame Fernando's 400th Grand Prix weekend ended early with a front brake issue. The temperatures were getting too high so we had to retire the car. Even though we just missed out on points today, we take the learnings and the positives into Brazil next week. Full credit to the trackside team, too, for their continued hard work across this triple-header."
Oliver Oakes, Team Principal:"It's nice to come away from Mexico City with a point and return to the top ten. Pierre drove a good race; we did not have the pace to challenge the Haas cars today. We took the opportunity to change components on Esteban's car, which meant he started from the pit lane running him long in the first stint and he did well to recover some places throughout the race. We were not as competitive in race trim as we were in Qualifying, so we have a bit of work to do in the coming races."
Sven Smeets, Sporting Director: Similar to last week, we decided to split the cars on different start tyres with Alex starting on the Medium tyre and Franco on the Hard. Unfortunately, Alex's race was over before it began after being squeezed under braking into Turn 1 by Gasly and Tsunoda, meaning immediate retirement. There was nothing Alex could've done to avoid the accident and it's disappointing for him after being in a great position to fight for points today.
For Franco, he had a good race but unfortunately couldn't climb into the points and had to settle for P12, after some big fights on track with other cars. A difficult and frustrating afternoon for the team, especially knowing that the car had the pace to fight for points. We will now regroup and put our full focus into Brazil which will be the second Sprint Race of this triple-header.
Guillaume Dezoteux (Head of Vehicle Performance): "We were hoping for more today. The mechanics did a fantastic job to repair Yuki's car after the crash yesterday, but unfortunately there was contact between him and Albon immediately after the start, which put an end to his race. Liam was on an offset strategy starting on hard tyres. He did a solid first stint and had a couple of good fights with cars around. After his pit-stop, he was in traffic the whole time and eventually had a contact damaging his front wing and forcing us to pit him again. It's a frustrating end to a weekend during which both drivers showed good pace in our car that keeps improving."
Laurent Mekies (Team Principal): "It's very frustrating to leave Mexico with no points. We feel the car has improved in the last two races with the updates we have introduced in Austin. We had a further update this weekend on Yuki's car only but both drivers should have it next week in Brazil. It's been one of our most competitive weekends in quite a while, in terms of pure pace, it's clear to see in all three free practice sessions with both cars running in the top 10 nearly the whole time.
"Yesterday, Yuki's crash was costly as the domino effect was that it also prevented Liam from getting to Q3, but that's motor racing. The weekend was derailed from that point onwards and on the opening lap of the race, Yuki was the unfortunate victim of some squeezing, which is the sort of incident that can happen in the midfield.
"Liam was on an inverted strategy to try and jump some of the cars ahead of us. He had a strong first stint and some good fights throughout the race, but it did not really work for him, as he found a lot of traffic in the second part of the race. The contact with Colapinto pretty much ended any slight chance to fight for points.
"We will focus on having a smoother weekend in Sao Paulo in a few days' time and push very hard to see where the car's recent upturn in pace can take us."
Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber had a busy afternoon fighting within the midfield pack, with Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu displaying an improved pace on their way to eventually finishing 14th and 15th respectively.
It was a step forward in comparison to recent rounds, as already seen yesterday, when Valtteri claimed a spot in Q2, and it shows the team is working hard to move in the right direction. With more upgrades coming before the end of the season, the Hinwil team will aim to move even closer to the front of the midfield.
Alessandro Alunni Bravi, Team Representative: "We made a slight improvement in terms of pace, and we looked better out there today, even though the race had a similar outcome to the previous ones, looking purely at positions. We saw this step forward on track, as we were on a much closer pace to our competitors: however, the lack of pace in the second part of the stint continues to hinder our ability to truly fight with our direct competitors. Valtteri's one-stop strategy on hard-medium tyres was just enough to defend P14 due to higher degradation, which left him exposed to Ocon in the later stages. Zhou's race was compromised as he struggled with balance and brake cooling, finishing in P15. Besides the improvement in pace, we were also satisfied with the pit stops, as both were good. We need the next upgrades the team is relentlessly producing back in Hinwil to find the extra pace required to make another step forward towards the front of the midfield, which is closer than before in this season."
MoneyGram Haas F1 Team finished with Kevin Magnussen seventh and Nico Hulkenberg ninth, at the Mexico City Grand Prix, Round 20 of the 2024 FIA Formula 1 World Championship, held Sunday at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
Magnussen started from a season-best seventh on the grid on Pirelli P Zero Yellow medium tires and preserved his position throughout the course of the opening stint. Magnussen remained in sight of the Mercedes drivers before coming in on lap 30 of 71, switching onto White hard tires, cycling back through into seventh once the rest of the pack also stopped. Magnussen faced pressure from the recovering Oscar Piastri in the closing stages but kept the McLaren driver at bay to record seventh place - collecting his best result of the 2024 campaign.
Hulkenberg took the start from 10th on the grid and avoided a collision that accounted for Yuki Tsunoda and Alex Albon to slot into eighth place. Hulkenberg came in for his sole pit stop on lap 29, taking on hard tires, and worked back through to eighth, before ceding a spot to Piastri. Hulkenberg nonetheless came home in ninth to secure a double points finish for MoneyGram Haas F1 Team.
It marked the sixth race in a row - including Sprints - in which the team has scored, equaling its record, while seventh and ninth represents the team's best result at the Mexico City Grand Prix.
MoneyGram Haas F1 Team further cemented sixth position in the Constructors' Championship, the American squad now on 46 points - 10 points clear of RB behind in seventh.
Ayao Komatsu, Team Principal:"I don't know what to say, it's another amazing result for this team. I'm so happy that everyone's hard work is paying off, with the updates, and the car getting better. I'm so happy for Kevin, he drove very well in Austin, but we couldn't quite deliver on Sunday, but this weekend he had an amazing qualifying - today everyone delivered. His pace in the second stint was unbelievable, he was catching Verstappen in his Red Bull and was finishing just four seconds behind. That was probably the best I've seen Kevin drive, I'm so happy for him. In a way, Nico being disappointed with P9 is a great sign for the team as well. Today Kevin showed what the car is capable of, so we'll look at the data to see why Nico couldn't perform the way he could perform. I'm looking forward to going to Brazil, another Sprint weekend, and really trying to go for another double points finish. A huge congratulations to everyone and a big thank you."
1200 kilometres separate Austin from Mexico City, but on the racetrack not that much seems to have changed since last week. A Ferrari won in Texas and a Ferrari won in the Mexican capital. This time it was Carlos Sainz first past the chequered flag, while team-mate Charles Leclerc came home third. Splitting the two Italian cars was Lando Norris. For the Spaniard, this was career win number four, the second this season after Melbourne. It is the 248th win for Ferrari, the second in a row and the fifth this year, and the most wins it has scored in a season since 2018. It is also the Scuderia's third win on the track named after the Rodriguez brothers, following on from victories for Jacky Ickx in 1970 and Alain Prost in 1990.
Verstappen's lead in the Drivers' classification has now come down to 47 points ahead of Norris and 71 more than Leclerc. In the Constructors' standings, McLaren still leads on 566 points while Ferrari has 537 and has moved ahead of Red Bull who are now third on 512.
14 drivers opted to start on the Medium, while six (Perez, Ocon, Colapinto, Lawson, Bottas and Zhou) went with the Hard. The Safety Car was required right from the opening lap following the collision between Tsunoda and Albon, which led to both of them retiring. In the first few laps after the restart, the race was action-packed with drivers passing and repassing, giving the Stewards plenty of work to do... Then the race settled down, especially the leading positions, before springing back to life in the closing stages with duels between Leclerc and Norris and the Mercedes pair. The only unusual aspects were Verstappen's climb through the field, having dropped down the order with a double penalty totalling 20 seconds, before he eventually made it up to sixth place. There was also a long distance chess game as some drivers tried to gain, or stop others from gaining, the extra point for the race fastest lap.
Piastri drove the longest stint on the Medium, doing the opening 39 laps on a set of the C4. The longest stint of all on one set of tyres came from one of the specialists in this discipline, namely Bottas who ran 49 laps on the Hard.
Aside from the final pit stops at the very end in the chase for the fastest lap time, all the drivers ran a one-stop race with the exception of Perez who, starting down the back, tried something different.
Mario Isola:"A race that provided plenty of excitement right from the start, before gradually settling down, at least as far as the leaders were concerned, before livening up again towards the finish with duels between Leclerc and Norris and an even longer one between Hamilton and Russell. There was plenty of action behind the top five, and at the very end, several drivers pitted for fresh tyres to go for the fastest race lap.
“In terms of strategy, the predictions going into the event were confirmed, with the one-stop being the outright favourite and starting on the Medium before switching to the Hard proving to be the quickest of all the various combinations. Piastri was a good example of this, because even starting from a long way back on the grid, he adopted the same strategy as those at the front and was able to finish in the points.
“Usually, one-stop races require careful tyre management, but today we saw that the drivers were able to push without worrying too much about degradation, which was very limited on both compounds. The Medium showed a few signs of graining, but that did not affect performance excessively, while the Hard always performed well, even for those running the longest stints which came close to the 50 laps mark."
