Red Bull Max Verstappen celebrated his Mexican GP victory with a familiar dominant performance, but his teammate Sergio Perez failed miserably in his home race.
Alfa Romeo was awarded points before the start of the race. Valtteri Bottas was 15th after many stages and a five-second time penalty. The Finn crashed at the end of the race By Lance Stroll with.
What solved it?
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen took the lead at the start, after which the new world champion was able to control the race until the end. Although the race was stopped in the middle by Kevin Magnussen due to the exit, the Dutchman was able to keep the top spot on the restart with his top reaction.
– Verstappen took the top start, after which the team dominated a very difficult race in terms of tires and cooling. When Verstappen got to the top, he drove safely in open air, Urheilu’s F1 expert Jukka Mildh evaluate.
– The same story as until now the whole season has been regarding the win.
What are we talking about?
Over the weekend, slowing down in qualifying came to the fore even more, when Verstappen was investigated for slowing down in the pit area. Verstappen was not penalized for his actions.
The slowdown is due to the drivers looking for the optimal time and place for their time trial lap. The issue is not new, but now there has been more discussion about it.
– This is also emphasized on the track in Mexico, where you have to drive in the open air. There is a lot of noise about this. We are trying to find a solution to avoid such a slowdown.
Surprise
Returned to the wheel of AlphaTauri for the previous race in Austin Daniel Ricciardo drove unexpectedly seventh. Mildh reminds us that AlphaTauri shouldn’t even have done well in the competition.
– Their car hasn’t shone. They are last in the Manufacturers’ World Series. Suddenly, Ricciardo drove so well in difficult conditions, says Mildh.
– Ricciardo has gathered himself during the break. Ricciardo had a backwater phase, but now he is on a new rise. He certainly got a good shout in the driver’s market.
A flop
Red Bull’s Sergio Perez started his home race with high expectations, but his race ended at the first corner.
Perez, who left grid five, turned his car towards Charles Leclerc, who had no room to change his driving line. The Mexican’s car flew into the air on impact and he had to stop the race immediately.
Mildh reminds that Perez is still driving from second place in the World Series Lewis Hamilton against.
– Now he got so greedy that he hit Leclerc and drove out. I think it was all Perez’s fault, Mildh shakes.
– It was cramped, and Leclerc had nowhere to go. Perez completely misjudged the situation, flew high into the air and badly damaged his car.
Mildh reminds that Perez drives the best F1 car in the world. The Mexican should try to keep his second place in the World Series, but the crash causes new tension in the situation.
The expert says that a similar mistake should not be made, especially in a home competition.
– This was a catastrophic and nightmarish race for Perez. This crash shows that he doesn’t have the situation under control mentally. The pressures are really high at the moment.
Perez’s situation in the Red Bull team has been talked about recently. The Mexican had a strong early season, but has struggled since then.
Stable advisor Helmut Marko has commented in harsh words Perez’s performances, for example, in time trials. He has also hinted Perez fired.
Mildh describes Red Bull as an organization as very strict. The team is only satisfied with the best, and it doesn’t have time to wait for the drivers’ new promotion. Drivers can change at a fast pace.
– Perez was selected for the team based on his strong performances and development picture. Now he has turned out to be quite a disappointment for the team management.
– Now he has to give really strong displays during a few competitions at the end of the season. However, it looks like Perez has somehow lost his grip really badly. It wouldn’t be surprising if Red Bull were seriously considering another driver.
However, the expert reminds that the situation is also affected by Perez’s comprehensive contract for next season and the related conditions.
– But it is true that they are able to make a decision brutally and quickly. Of course, it requires that Red Bull gets a much better alternative.
What about Bottas?
Valtteri Bottas started the race from the ninth grid, but the race went on the wrong track at the start. Bottas explained to Viaplay that the bad first round was due to gearbox problems.
The Finn also had bad luck, as he went to change fresh tires less than a couple of laps before Kevin Magnussen’s crash and red flags.
Falling out of the points, the rider from Nastola still tried to grab the points at the end of the race, but it was difficult to overtake. In the end, Bottas crashed with Lance Stroll.
The crash was mostly considered the fault of Nastola and he received a five-second time penalty. It was dropped by Bottas’ teammate Guanyu Zhou back to 15th place.
– Bottas started off the line well, but due to gearbox problems, three guys passed right away. It messed up the rhythm. Alfa also had tactical mistakes and bad luck in the safety car situation. The tactic didn’t hit and it took a toll on the result.
– The final nail was the hit to Stroll’s car. A pity, because the Alfa Romeo seemed to go surprisingly well in these conditions.
What next?
The formula circus will next head to Brazil, where they will compete already this coming weekend. There are still three races left in the season.
The battle between Perez and Hamilton for second place in the World Series will provide excitement. The Mexican leads the Briton by 20 points.
– Hamilton drove strongly in Mexico and Mercedes is under attack. The layout brought to Austin seems to be working great. Hamilton will surely fight to the end for second place.