F1. Mexico City 2023 Review
0
By Chelsea Wintle, Aiden McLaughlin and Gavin Huet
Driver of the day
Gavin – Lando Norris. Starting in 17th and ending in 5th was quite the drive for the McLaren man, it included some great overtakes and racing and begs the question of just when will Lando win a race. He has so much talent and coupled with a competitive car it has to happen sooner rather than later, he just needs that luck of being in the right position at the right time and that will only happen once he has more consistency, but it will happen.
Chelsea – Lando Norris, again. What an outstanding performance – starting from 17th after an embarrassing qualifying, he managed slick overtakes on Ocon, Russell and eventually Ricciardo to finish in fifth. What a joy the McLarens have been to watch this year. I wonder how I’d look in papaya? I jest, Enzo; I’m yours forever.
Aiden – He was a busy fella in Mexico wasn’t he – Lando Norris started in 17th, made it into the top 10, fell back to 14th after a red flag and then continued to show his class with an excellent car at his disposal to finish fifth with an overtaking masterclass. Talent in the extreme, my money is on a first race win for Norris by the end of 2023.
Moment of the weekend
Gavin – Lights out and away we go, and as we all know three cars cannot take a corner without there being a casualty. This time it was Sergio Perez in his home Grand Prix. In what was his best start to a race in ages he sped off the line in fifth and by the first corner he was looking at taking the lead, but unfortunately for him there was contact with the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc which sent the Red Bull into the air and smashed the underside of the car. The team tried to get him out again but the damage was too much and a very forlorn Perez was left to face the media having once again come up short.
Chelsea – Kevin Magnussen’s race came to an abrupt end with a suspension failure halfway through the race. The result was a sudden jolt, then a veer into the barriers, and a swift exit from the vehicle as the brakes caught on fire. The resulting red flag split the race in two and gave the drivers to come in for a tea break, tyre change or (in Leclerc’s case) a badly needed new front wing.
Aiden – Oh boy…it was risky, it was understandable, but was it worth it? Sergio Perez, roared on by the passionate home fans, wanted the race lead so badly on that first corner, but as so many observers have pointed out, three into one simply doesn’t go. “The gap was there,” Perez said. “I tried to go for the win at my home grand prix. What else could I have done? I went for the gap. I risked it too much, but I wanted the win today.” He had started the race in fifth, so maybe consolidating in third place at the first corner, settling into the race and potentially getting a podium to get his season back on track was the wisest move, but racers will be racers.
Hot take of the weekend
Gavin – Aston Martin are having a shocking second half of the season and this weekend we saw Lance Stroll finishing in 17th while Fernando Alonso got the dreaded DNF. With Lance having a meltdown a couple of weeks ago, and the development of the car stalling, and Fernando not getting any younger, will team owner (and Lance’s daddy) Lawrence Stroll make some moves to rectify their slump, or at least set them up for next year? As they slide down the constructors table that prize money pot is getting smaller and smaller as the temptation to do something different is getting larger and larger.
Chelsea – Three into two doesn’t go. Full props to Sergio Perez for making a go of it in front of his home crowd on the first corner, but it wasn’t to be. A nudge into Charles Leclerc saw Perez pitch into the air and within seconds of the lights going out, his race was over. He’s been criticised by some for the reckless move, but I think it was the right call. If it had paid off, the crowd would have gone bananas, and maybe delivered that extra quarter second per lap that Nigel Mansell often spoke of. Any decisions regarding Perez’s future are likely to have been made by now, regardless. I did find Christian Horner’s snuggly cuddles on the pit wall to be slightly performative.
Aiden – It’s happening…surely…2024 will see Daniel Ricciardo and Sergio Perez swap seats. Red Bull can’t have their second driver continue to underperform like this. Perez has a contract for 2024 so swap them over. Perez can look to rebuild his career and move elsewhere for 2025 and then Liam Lawson can take his seat at AlphaTauri.
Cold take of the weekend
Gavin – The rumour mill will be in overdrive again with Daniel Ricciardo in the AlphaTauri having a great race (relatively having finished seventh after a surprise fourth in qualifying) and showing some real hunger for racing, whilst Sergio Perez once again came up short. I keep coming back to the fact that Red Bull need two drivers who are competing and not just the one, it is just not good team management to have a pairing like that.
Chelsea – Danny Ricciardo loves Mexico, and Mexico loves him. Fans are all aquiver after the Ricciardo of old seemed to return, getting the absolute best out of his AlphaTauri and finishing in seventh. This in turn helped boost his team up two places in the constructor’s championship – the equivalent of around $20 million in prize money for the team. Ricciardo was ecstatic, declaring, “I just want to tear my shirt off,” in a post-race interview. Happy days, but it’s far too early to say Red Bull should get the 2018 gang back together. My money’s still on Perez holding his seat.
Aiden – Has there been such a fall from grace as the one Aston Martin have had in 2023? Hey, it’s F1, so probably, but let’s go with the recency bias anyway. Stroll finished 17th and Alonso failed to finish. Suddenly, from the dizzy heights at the start of the year, when Alonso seemed the biggest single threat to Verstappen, they now trail McLaren by 20 points in the fight for fourth in the constructors championship. I can imagine Lawrence Stroll being a pretty scary boss to work for right now.
Follow Chelsea Aiden Gavin on Twitter