Paul Henman formula1 Mexico Grand Prix

Mexico Grand Prix

Hot on the heels of the COTA GP, so not much in the way of news. McLaren appealed the stewards decision to penalise NOR but not VER for the lap 52 incident; as expected, the FIA refused to review McLaren’s appeal because that might mean they have to accept the stewards were wrong, and we can’t have that!

It’s ALO’s 400th race weekend but apparently he’s been unwell and missed the press conference.

Free Practice

  1. FP1: RUS (1:17.998), SAI, TSU, VER, HUL
    ALB fighting with the Williams, collides with Ollie Bearman (in LEC’s Ferrari) and takes them both out; ALB spins into the tyre wall, bringing out the red flag [video]
    Looks like ALB took too much kerb and unsettled the Williams, then hit BEA’s front wing
    SAI and VER seem to be racing rather than practicing
    VER reports a problem with the engine
    “Robert Shwartzman has been handed a five-place grid drop for the next race he participates in” – he was penalised for overtaking under yellow flags, but it might be some time before he serves it given he doesn’t have an F1 seat this season or next
  2. FP2: SAI (1:17.699), PIA, TSU, LEC, NOR
    Ferrari and Williams mechanics rebuilding ALB and LEC’s cars respectively after the FP1 incident
    RUS hit the kerbs in Turn 8, spun and side-swiped the tecpro barriers; red flag [video]
    VER reports his brakes “didn’t work at all”
  3. FP3: PIA (1:16.492), NOR, SAI, VER, HAM
    Ferrari mechanic takes a tumble as he steps back to tell LEC when to exit the garage
    VER is now running on an older engine; instead he complains about grip
    PER has a huge lock up in the stadium section
    Both Haas drivers ran wide in the stadium
    LAW spun in Turn 14, stalling the RB and blocking most of the track

Qualifying

Air temperature 22°C; track 44°C; humidity 41%
The circuit’s altitude means less oxygen for the engine, and of course for the drivers

Qualifying session 1 (Q1)
Green light; Q1 has started but there’s no movement in the pit lane
LEC 1:17.887
SAI 1:17.444
(PER P7) despite the fans cheering him throughout his lap
NOR 1:17.203
(ALB P3, COL P4 – the Williams duo are on soft tyres but everyone else around them are on mediums)
VER 1:16.998
(HUL P2)
(GAS P2)
5mins left; bottom 5 are COL, OCO, ZHO, PIA, PER
PIA P13, MAG P16 …but PIA’s lap time is deleted so he’s back to P19
NOR 1:16.505
COL P12, MAG P16
PIA P14, LEC P16
PER P15, BOT P16
LEC P3, PER P16
MAG P4, PIA P16
ZHO P20
BOT P14, COL P16
Chequered flag; bottom 5 are COL, PIA, PER, OCO, ZHO
OCO P19
Back of the grid: COL, PIA, PER, OCO, ZHO

Qualifying session 2
ALB 1:17.090
VER 1:16.629
LEC had a twitch but that lap was deleted anyway
NOR 1:16.301
(RUS P3, HAM P4)
5mins left; bottom 5 are MAG, STR, HUL, BOT, LEC
LEC P3, ALO P11
MAG P9, LAW P11
HUL P8, TSU P11
Red flag – TSU is in the tyre barrier in Turn 12
Race control: Q2 will not resume

Middle of the grid: TSU, LAW, ALO, STR, BOT

Top 10 shootout is between NOR, VER, SAI, LEC, RUS, HAM, ALB, HUL, MAG, GAS

Qualifying session 3
The Haas duo are first out of the pits but there’s a queue forming as the drivers try to open a gap for their quick laps; only HAM and RUS remain in their garage
Did VER cut Turn 2?
MAG 1:18.104
HUL 1:17.581
VER 1:16.368
NOR P2
ALB P3
GAS P3
LEC P2
SAI 1:16.055
VER’s lap time has been deleted
RUS P3
HAM P4
Order after the first run: SAI, LEC, RUS, HAM, NOR, GAS, ALB, HUL, MAG, VER
Everyone in the pits; new soft tyres going on, and then they all head out at the same time with the Mercedes pair last out again
ALB P7
GAS P6
Chequered flag; order is SAI, LEC, RUS, HAM, MAG, GAS, NOR, ALB, HUL, VER
LEC P2
SAI 1:15.946
VER P2
NOR P3
RUS P5
HAM P6
Front of the grid: SAI, VER, NOR, LEC, RUS, HAM, MAG, GAS, ALB, HUL

Provisional grid: SAI, VER, NOR, LEC, RUS, HAM, MAG, GAS, ALB, HUL, TSU, LAW, ALO, STR, BOT, COL, PIA, PER, OCO, ZHO

Race

Pit lane is open; drivers can make their way to the grid
Grid: SAI, VER, NOR, LEC, RUS, HAM, MAG, GAS, ALB, HUL, TSU, LAW, ALO, STR, BOT, COL, PIA, PER, ZHO; OCO starting from the pit lane due to power unit changes during parc ferme

Air temperature 20°C; track 37°C; humidity 51%
SAI leads everyone away on the formation lap; all on medium compound tyres except LAW, PER, BOT, COL, ZHO and OCO

01/71: TSU is tagged, spins before Turn 1
VER nosing ahead; takes P1
Safety Car deployed
ALB has parked his Williams on the grass

02[SC]: VER, SAI, NOR, LEC, HAM, RUS, MAG, HUL, GAS, LAW, STR, ALO, PER, COL, BOT, ZHO, PIA, OCO; out: ALB, TSU
It’s going to take a while for the tyre wall at Turn 1 to be checked/rebuilt
Replay shows TSU tapped ALB three times as he tried to pass the Williams

03[SC]: PER under investigation for a jump start – he was clearly ahead of his start box

04[SC]: Radio for PER informing him he’s under investigation for a false start; PER says “No, it was a great start” – presumably he couldn’t see he was out of position

05/71[SC]: VER, SAI, NOR, LEC, HAM, RUS, MAG, HUL, GAS, LAW, STR, ALO, PER*, COL, BOT, ZHO, PIA, OCO
*PER given 5-sec penalty
Turn 1 is almost ready but a little further down the track ALB’s car is still being moved

06[SC]: SC in at the end of this lap

07: VER scampers away at the restart

08: VER fastest lap 1:21.442
DRS enabled

09: SAI f/lap 1:21.284
SAI makes a move on VER and takes P1
Radio from VER complaining his battery is empty

10/71: SAI, VER, NOR, LEC, HAM, RUS, MAG, HUL, GAS, LAW, STR, ALO, PER*, COL, BOT, PIA, ZHO, OCO
NOR passes VER but the child pushed NOR wide again
VER has another go at pushing NOR off track – they’re both off track
LEC takes advantage and steals P2

12: Two incidents involving VER have been noted

13: LEC f/lap 1:21.262

14: VER given 10-sec penalty for forcing NOR off track
RUS all over HAM’s tail

15/71: SAI, LEC, VER*, NOR, HAM, RUS, MAG, HUL, GAS, LAW, PER*, STR, ALO, COL, PIA, BOT, ZHO, OCO
Radio for VER informing him of 10-sec penalty; the engineer says there was lots of whinging, which is ironic given they’re the masters at that

16: RUS takes P5 from his teammate
Radio from SAI – he sounds concerned that teammate LEC is pushing him
ALO pits from P13; retires the Aston Martin

17: MAG closing on HAM
PER has a look at passing LAW

19: Now it’s PER’s turn to whine over the radio, complaining about LAW
STR filling PER’s mirrors
PER pushes STR off track
VER given another 10-sec penalty, for the 2nd time he pushed NOR off track

20/71: SAI, LEC, VER*, NOR, RUS, HAM, MAG, HUL, GAS, LAW

21: COL and PIA squabble over P12; PIA comes out ahead
PER pits; rejoins P17

23: Incident involving LAW and PER – no further action

24: PIA takes P11 from STR

25/71: SAI, LEC, VER*, NOR, RUS, HAM, MAG, HUL, GAS, LAW
NOR closing on VER; will the child take NOR out?
Radio from VER saying his tyres aren’t holding up; is that preparing for a “I slid wide” defence when he hits NOR?

27: VER pits; serves his 20-sec penalty😀; hard tyres go on; rejoins P15

29: LAW has DRS behind GAS; VER has DRS behind ZHO
HAM pits from P5; hard tyres go on; rejoins P10
VER takes P13 from ZHO

30/71: HUL pits from P6; hards; P14
VER harrying OCO; easily takes P11

31: NOR pits from P3; hards; P4
MAG pits too; hards; P12
VER f/lap 1:21.252
HAM takes P7 from COL

32: LEC pits from P2; hards; P2
RUS pits too from P4; hards; P6
HAM f/lap 1:20.371
VER takes P9 from BOT

33: SAI pits from P1; hards; P1
Yet to pit are LAW, PIA, COL, BOT, OCO and ZHO
RUS past PIA and LAW to return to pre-pit stop P4

34: HAM now all over PIA but PIA has DRS behind LAW
PIA past LAW but HAM past LAW too

35/71: SAI, LEC, NOR, RUS, PIA, HAM, LAW, COL, VER, BOT, MAG, HUL, OCO, GAS, ZHO, PER, STR; out: ALO, ALB, TSU
HAM inside PIA for P5

Half distance

36: Radio from RUS asking the team to check his front wing; looks like the left side is broken

38: LEC and NOR are slowly catching SAI
VER takes P7 from LAW
HUL past BOT for P11

39: SAI picking up his pace
Radio from COL reporting “something wrong with the steering wheel”

40/71: SAI, LEC, NOR, RUS, HAM, PIA, VER, LAW, COL, MAG
MAG now on COL’s tail
PIA pits, followed by LAW; they rejoin P13 and P17 respectively
MAG takes P7

41: Radio from VER reporting “It’s getting really dark” but he’s told there’s no rain expected
LAW takes P16 from PER – they’re the only ones on medium tyres

42: PIA takes P12 from OCO
Radio from RUS reporting rain drops on his visor
Radio from PER saying he has no grip

44: PIA takes P11 from BOT

45/71: SAI, LEC, NOR, RUS, HAM, VER, MAG ,HUL, COL, PIA
PER pits again; new medium tyres; P17

46: NOR f/lap 1:20.370
Red Bull tweeted that PER “has serious damage to his floor”

47: NOR f/lap 1:20.221 – building a nice gap in case they need to pit again, e.g. if it rains
PER blasts past ZHO for P16

48: PIA looking to pass COL, but COL pits

49: STR takes P12 from LAW
Radio for RUS telling him they’re free to race (with HAM)
Radio from SAI asking the team to tell LEC to back off

50/71: SAI, LEC, NOR, RUS, HAM, VER, MAG, HUL, PIA, GAS, BOT, STR, LAW, COL, OCO (pitting), PER, ZHO

51: BOT pits; he’s the last to make the mandatory stop
HAM closing on RUS’ gearbox

52: COL f/lap 1:20.090 – that takes the point away from NOR
(LAW, COL, BOT, OCO, PER and ZHO have all been lapped)

54: HAM has a look at RUS but isn’t close enough to attack
SAI has lapped STR (P11)

55/71: SAI, LEC, NOR, RUS, HAM, VER, MAG, HUL, PIA, GAS
RUS takes the defensive line

57: NOR continues to close on LEC
PIA dives past HUL for P8

59: HAM still can’t get quite close enough to attack RUS
NOR under 1.2sec behind LEC
Radio for LEC telling him “We need your best driving now”

60/71: SAI, LEC, NOR, RUS, HAM, VER, MAG, PIA, HUL, GAS, STR, LAW, COL, BOT, OCO, PER, ZHO; out: ALO, ALB, TSU
HAM alongside RUS through Turn 6 but RUS keeps P4

62: NOR f/lap 1:20.045 and he’s now got DRS behind LEC

63: LEC has a big twitch in the final turn and just saves it but NOR takes P2

64: NOR f/lap 1:19.858
SAI is 7.8sec ahead of NOR but NOR is 0.7sec/lap quicker
Radio from NOR reporting “The wind has picked up”
Radio for LEC suggesting he “Think about fastest lap”

65/71: SAI, NOR, LEC, RUS, HAM, VER, MAG, PIA, HUL, GAS, STR, LAW, COL, BOT, OCO, PER, ZHO
RUS defends as HAM is as close as he’s ever been

66: HAM around the outside of RUS to take P4 from his teammate
COL has a look outside LAW; COL runs wide but when he rejoins the track he damages LAW’s front wing
LAW pits; new front wing; softs; rejoins P17

68: SAI’s lead down to 6.8sec, which means NOR isn’t going to catch him in time
Drivers are being warned of debris on track in Turn 12

69: NOR f/lap 1:19.691
LAW f/lap 1:19.502

70/71: SAI, NOR, LEC, HAM, RUS, VER, MAG, PIA, HUL, GAS
LEC pits; softs; rejoins still P3
PER pits too; softs; P17

71: SAI laps HUL (P9)

SAI takes the chequered flag, kicking up a lot of dust
LEC f/lap 1:18.336
(PER fails to take f/lap)

Provisional result: SAI, NOR, LEC, HAM, RUS, VER, MAG, PIA, HUL, GAS; STR, COL, OCO, BOT, ZHO, LAW, PER
DNF: ALO, ALB, TSU
Fastest lap: LEC on the final lap

Expect a heap of complaining from Whiny Spice, the petulant child and his teammate…

Post-race penalties
Nothing yet!

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[2024 calendar and driver line-up]

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