From one epic crowd to the next, the final three races of the season await, but there’s still a lot to play and a feud between the two teams on the track. Here are some stories we think everyone will be talking about in Mexico City this weekend…
1. Verstappen chasing record
The United States Grand Prix was another exciting race as three teams struggled to win, but once again Max Verstappen came out on top as he did this year.
READ MORE: Verstappen links Schumacher and Vettel’s record of 13 wins in one season – facts and statistics from Texas
In fact, he’s done it so many times that Verstappen is on the verge of setting a new Formula 1 record in Mexico this weekend and is looking for his 14th victory of the season. With the Dutch driver now on par with Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel, no driver has won more than 13 in a campaign.
Verstappen has succeeded in the same number of races as Vettel, though modest when it comes to the potential record, as Verstappen rightly points out that there are more races this season than in any year where the two German drivers have achieved 13 wins. It did – 19 – and just one more than Schumacher directed in 2004.
This means that if he wins in Mexico, Vettel will have a better percentage than he did in 2013 and could make Schumacher’s percentage even better this season, but that would require him to win all three remaining races.
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2. Checo-mania as the fight for P2 heats up
While Verstappen is the Red Bull leader this season, it cannot be denied that he would have been a very popular result for the team had he been the other driver to win in Mexico.
This is because Sergio Perez, who created an incredible atmosphere when he first stepped on the podium a year ago (like every year), received great support from the audience at his home.
READ MORE: 6 Winners and 5 Losers from the United States Grand Prix – Who stood up the Austin crowd?
On that occasion, he was chasing Lewis Hamilton for second place, but had to settle for third place and will be hoping to go better twice this time.
It’s important for Perez not only in the sense that it’s his own race, but also because he’s locked in an exciting battle for second place in the drivers’ championship with Charles Leclerc. Leclerc took a fifth podium finish in a row in Austin on Sunday, two points ahead of Mexico, as the fight looks poised to go straight to the wires.
3. Mercedes approaching
Leclerc had to settle for third place despite finding himself in a strong position at the Americas Circuit. He was forced to move into third place after just 18 laps when a well-timed Safety Car allowed him to pit stop and come out fourth behind Perez at the time. A grid penalty that saw it start at P12.
While it might not come as a surprise, perhaps, to see Verstappen have the pace to beat Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton could have been Ferrari’s target, but Mercedes had the edge in race setup.
TECH TUESDAY: Why Mercedes’ experimental front wing caused a stir in Texas
Hamilton ran an excellent race and kept Verstappen honest throughout as a number of new Mercedes updates introduced in Austin helped close the gap with the top two teams a bit more. Although George Russell initially saw podium hopes dashed by causing a collision with Carlos Sainz, he had the fastest lap pace of late on the soft tyres.
Mercedes still seem to lack that final performance that would make them favorites for a win anywhere, but their form fluctuates from track to track and it feels like they’re in a position where they have a good enough car right now. find a suitable circuit for them.
4. Difficulty of height
Returning to Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez and the unique challenge he presented, we’ll see if Mexico can provide that opportunity for Mercedes.
The track is by far the highest of the season, at more than 2,200 meters above sea level, about 1,400 meters above the next listed track in Interlagos. And at this altitude, the air is less dense, so cooling is something the crews have to put their heads down on.
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Items such as the power unit and brakes require extra care as they can become harder to cool down, while less dense air affects both power unit performance and the level of downforce produced by cars.
A simple way to think about it is that even when the cars are on the highest downforce setting – the same as they used in Monaco – they get more similar downforce levels to the Monza, where they just set the lowest settings.
5. Protests and counter-protests
While there were some sensational races during the United States Grand Prix, we are actually still waiting for the final confirmation of the race result. An official result has been released, but there is a time penalty for Fernando Alonso, which was handed out long after the race following Haas’ protest.
This protest was successful, with Haas claiming that Alonso’s car was unsafe when it had a loose side mirror, which resulted in it crashing and subsequently reduced visibility. However, Alpine thinks the problem is that there is no call from Race Control during the race, and it also has a way to reverse the decision.
READ MORE: Haas and Alpine summoned to hearing Thursday over Alonso’s COTA sentence
According to Otmar Szafnauer’s team, Haas made its protest decision after the deadline, so we are now in a situation where Alpine is making its own protest against the admissibility of the original Haas protest. At this point they are not protesting the outcome, just the fact that the Haas protest was allowed to be heard in the first place.
The next hearing will be held in Mexico City on Thursday evening.
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