Red Bull

Verstappen may face two penalties if Mercedes win appeal

Kevin Peterson05 mins

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen could face a range of penalties after Mercedes submitted a review of the decision not to penalise the world championship leader for forcing Lewis Hamilton wide at the Brazilian Grand Prix. After being awarded a five-place grid penalty, Hamilton had one of his great drives to climb from P10 and take the chequered flag at Interlagos. The result saw the Brit close the gap to championship leader Verstappen to 14 points ahead of the final three races of the season. On lap 48 on Sunday, the two rivals were battling for the lead with Hamilton’s Mercedes appearing to narrowly edge ahead of the Red Bull, which was on the inside. Verstappen ran wide and the move forced both drivers off the track, with the Dutchman holding the lead for a few more laps before the seven-time world champion finally took the lead. While Hamilton took the lead and won anyway, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff believes Verstappen should have received a penalty. An investigation was deemed unnecessary after the FIA consulted footage provided by broadcast cameras – but Verstappen’s on-board footage shows the Dutchman clearly didn’t turn as aggressively as he could have, forcing Hamilton from the road. Mercedes have submitted a ‘right of review’ after seeing the footage, which officials did not have during the race but emerged on Tuesday. If accepted and the FIA opt to penalise Verstappen, the 24-year-old could be given a retrospective five-second time penalty – which would boost Valtteri Bottas to second-place with the Dutchman dropping three points. It is more likely that Verstappen would be awarded a grid penalty ahead of the Qatar Grand Prix this weekend. The most extreme punishment of all, used for seriously endangering the life of another driver, is to be excluded from the drivers’ world championship that year – but, needless to say, that punishment will not be handed down to Verstappen. Red Bull are reportedly surprised their rivals have protested as they believe the on-board camera from Verstappen’s car supported the view of race director Michael Masi that it was simply hard racing. The sporting code of governing body the FIA says: “Manoeuvres liable to hinder other drivers, such as deliberate crowding of a car beyond the edge of the track or any other abnormal change of direction, are strictly prohibited. “Any driver who appears guilty of any of the above offences will be reported to the stewards.” Mercedes F1 team principal Wolff said after the race that it was ‘laughable’ that Verstappen had not been penalised for the incident. It was not the only controversial incident in Brazil, as Red Bull made several visits to the FIA claiming that Hamilton’s rear wing was illegal, granting the Mercedes a performance advantage on the straights. This led to the investigation that ended with Hamilton being disqualified from qualifying when his wing was found not to be in compliance with the regulations – although in a different way than the one Red Bull had believed. Verstappen admitted he thought the Mercedes wing was flexing backwards on the straights. Red Bull are monitoring the situation but reportedly have no plans to lodge an appeal.

Red Bull ready to forget drivers’ title if Hamilton keeps new form

Kevin Peterson03 mins

Helmut Marko isn’t giving Max Verstappen much of a chance of holding on to his lead in the drivers’ championship if Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton uphold in the final three races of the season the supremacy they displayed in Brazil. Despite starting a lowly tenth in Sao Paulo, Hamilton was on it from the get-go, carving his way through the field and catching Verstappen, whom he overhauled with twelve laps to go. The straight-line speed of the Briton’s Mercedes – especially relative to Red Bull’s RB16B – was a hot topic all weekend in Brazil, and Marko fears that if Hamilton’s dominant form persists in the final three races of the season, the title will elude Verstappen and Red Bull. Ahead of this week’s Qatar Grand Prix, Verstappen sill holds a 14-point advantage over his rival, but Mercedes’ edge in the Constructors’ standings is now 11 points. “If Hamilton is also so superior this weekend in Qatar, and then in Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi, we can write off the title,” admitted Red Bull’s motorsport boss. “I have never seen such a rocket engine from Mercedes. We couldn’t hold Hamilton on the straights, even though he was driving with a rear wing set at a similar steep angle to Monaco. “But only Hamilton has that speed, the other Mercedes drivers are no cause for concern for us.” Red Bull team boss Christian Horner has suggested on multiple occasions that it is closely monitoring Mercedes’ impressive velocity, while questioning how it is being generated, with the team’s focus centered on the Brackley squad’s engine and on a potential ride-height ploy that reduces the W12’s drag on the straights. “We are mainly concerned with two things, which we may also take up with the FIA for clarification,” said Marko. “But there will only be a protest if we have evidence that something is not compliant with the rules on Hamilton’s car.”

Red Bull monitoring Hamilton’s engine and ride height system – Marko

Kevin Peterson04 mins

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko says the team are monitoring “two things” that they suspect may be behind Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes’ outright speed. Hamilton twice charged through the field at last weekend’s Sao Paulo Grand Prix, bouncing back from his qualifying exclusion to go from 20th to fifth in the Sprint race, and then a five-place grid engine change penalty to rise from 10th to victory in the main event. Hamilton’s impressive straight-line speed raised questions from the Red Bull camp after the race, with team boss Christian Horner explaining that “it’s important to understand where the speed has come from”. Marko admits that Red Bull are keeping a close eye on Hamilton and Mercedes ahead of the final three races of the season. “We are mainly concerned with two things, which we may also take up with the FIA for clarification,” Marko said. “But there will only be a protest if we have evidence that something is not compliant with the rules on Hamilton’s car.”The two main concerns that Marko and Red Bull have are based around Hamilton’s engine and an apparent ride height system that lowers the W12 on the straights, reducing drag and increasing top speed. Separately, onboard footage from the Sao Paulo Grand Prix weekend appeared to show Hamilton pulling backwards on his steering wheel as he approached braking areas around Interlagos, leading to a host of different theories emerging. However, these have been shut down by Mercedes, given that the steering systems have been homologated all year and cannot be modified, with the team stressing that the only plane in which the wheel moves is left to right.In any case, Marko has admitted to concerns over Red Bull’s bid for both championships, with Max Verstappen’s lead over Hamilton cut to 14 points, and Mercedes rebuilding an 11-point advantage in the Constructors’ standings. “If Hamilton is also so superior this weekend in Qatar, and then in Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi, we can write off the title,” Marko added. “I have never seen such a rocket engine from Mercedes. We couldn’t hold Hamilton on the straights, even though he was driving with a rear wing set at a similar steep angle to Monaco. “But only Hamilton has that speed, the other Mercedes drivers are no cause for concern for us.”

F1 releases ‘missing’ Verstappen’s onboard footage

Kevin Peterson04 mins

Formula 1 has released footage from Max Verstappen’s on-board camera in his first Turn 4 battle with title rival Lewis Hamilton. On lap 48 of the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, Hamilton attempted to overtake Verstappen around the outside of Turn 4, but found himself off the track with Verstappen, on the inside, pushing both cars extremely wide and into the run-off area. At the time, the stewards noted the incident but then quickly came to the decision that no investigation was necessary. Later, Hamilton would eventually make the move stick on Verstappen at the same corner and go on to win the race, narrowing the gap to 14 points behind the Red Bull driver at the top of the Drivers’ Championship. News emerged after the epic battle that the FIA did not have the on-board footage from Max Verstappen’s car to further assess whether an investigation was needed or not. Two days after the race, the missing footage has miraculously been found with Formula 1 posted an ‘all the angles’ video of Lewis v Max on their website. In the UK, Sky Sports also published the on-board footage via their Twitter account. Mercedes boss Toto Wolff called the decision not to penalise Max Verstappen as “laughable”, while Red Bull’s team principal Christian Horner said the incident should form part of the “let them race” mentality. Asked in the post-race press conference about the incident, Verstappen said his worn tyres were to blame in running wide at the corner. Asked by Motorsport.com for viewpoint, Verstappen said: “We both, of course, tried to be ahead into the corner and so I braked a bit later to try and keep the position. “The tyres were already a bit worn, so I was really on the edge of grip. That’s why I think I was already not fully on the apex, so then it’s a safer way of just running a bit wide there. “In a way I was, of course, happy that the stewards decided that we could just keep on racing because I think the racing in general was really good.”

Verstappen will not be easing pressure on Mercedes, wants to win last four races – Marko

Kevin Peterson03 mins

Max Verstappen is not going into ‘cruise’ mode to simply manage his 19-point championship lead over Lewis Hamilton for the last four races of 2021. “He will drive for victory in every race,” declared Dr Helmut Marko, who revealed that he is recovering from a case of gastrointestinal ‘Montezuma’s Revenge’ after Verstappen’s most recent win in Mexico. “It’s nothing dramatic,” said the 78-year-old Austrian. “I’ll be fit again in Sao Paulo.” Also fit and strong, Marko insisted, will be Hamilton and Mercedes, even though Interlagos is expected to be another circuit that suits Red Bull better. “Mercedes is an extremely strong opponent,” he told f1-insider.com. “We have to keep applying the pressure and setting ourselves high goals. “That’s why we want a one-two in Sao Paulo. “Trying to just get podiums and points to win the title in the end is useless,” Marko continued. “It’s not in Max’s blood. “Experience also shows us that the error rate can actually increase if you try to take it more slowly than usual.” He is sure, however, that Verstappen will not creak under the pressure of trying to win his first F1 title against the sport’s most successful driver in history. “Max still surprises us,” said Marko. “You think he’s already at his peak performance and then he goes one better. It’s unbelievable what kind of capacities he has at his relatively young age.” Verstappen, 24, confirmed Marko’s claim that he won’t be easing off the throttle in Brazil and beyond. “I know I’m in the fight, but it doesn’t change my approach,” he told Square Mile magazine.

Red Bull reverts on Tsunoda’s criticism after Mexican GP Qualifying mix-up

Kevin Peterson04 mins

Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner backtracked on some of the criticism directed at AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda after seeing both his drivers finish on the podium in Mexico. Yuki Tsunoda was heavily criticised after qualifying in Mexico, but Red Bull team boss Christian Horner was much more understanding of the AlphaTauri driver’s blunder following Sunday’s race. The Japanese rookie, who races for Red Bull’s development team Alpha Tauri, was slammed as a “dumb idiot” by Verstappen for running off the track in the decisive moments of Q3. Red Bull team boss Christian Horner said Verstappen and also Sergio Perez had been “Tsunoda-d”, while Dr Helmut Marko accused the 21-year-old of “killing both of our cars”. Predictably, Mercedes poked fun at the situation on social media. “Keep your head up, Yuki. Don’t let the haters get you down,” the team quipped on Twitter. Tsunoda also defended himself, writing on social media that there was “nothing more” he could do to get out of the way of the two Red Bulls. “I’m worried because I have to talk to Red Bull now,” the Japanese also told reporters. “But I did nothing wrong.” Tsunoda was indeed summoned to a one-on-one meeting with Marko – and afterwards, the 78-year-old Austrian had changed his tune. “The incident was not Tsunoda’s fault,” Marko insisted. “The team knew what was happening on the track and should have asked him to leave the line earlier.” When asked what he told Tsunoda during the meeting, Marko revealed: “I told him that the engineer was responsible.” Alpha Tauri boss Franz Tost also said the young driver, who was moved to Italy by Red Bull earlier this year and is now being personally coached by Alex Albon, did nothing wrong. “We told him on the radio that the Red Bull was coming and he just needed to get out of the way so they could drive by safely,” said the Austrian. “But Perez flew off the track after Tsunoda. It wasn’t Yuki’s fault,” Tost added. “To be honest, I absolutely do not understand why Perez left the track after Yuki.” Sergio Perez, whose run off the track inspired Verstappen to lift the throttle and ultimately miss pole by two tenths, explained: “Yuki suddenly went off track in front of me.

Toto Wolf annoyed with Bottas for letting Verstappen through on Turn 1

Kevin Peterson03 mins

Toto Wolff is unhappy with how poleman Valtteri Bottas failed to prevent Max Verstappen from overhauling both Mercedes drivers at the start of the Mexican GP. Ahead of Sunday’s race, Hamilton vowed to work with Bottas to fend off any attacks from the Red Bull camp. But as the front-runners barreled down to the first corner, Bottas remained alongside his teammate in the middle of the track rather than move towards to the left towards the racing line to block Verstappen’s charging Red Bull. And to add insult to injury, the Finn was then tagged and spun around by McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo, a setback from which Bottas could not recover. “That should not happen,” Wolff told Sky. “I think we had two cars in front and seemed to open up the scene for Max to come around the outside.” “And even the spin afterwards, and the complete loss of points with Valtteri’s car when there could have been a third or fourth place is annoying, to say the least.” Bottas eventually secured the fastest race lap, depriving Verstappen of an extra point, but Wolff appeared indifferent to the feat. “I mean, that doesn’t really console me at that stage.” Looking back on the race, the Austrian conceded that Mercedes would have likely been hard-pressed to prevail against Red Bull in Mexico if the start had gone according to plan “You have to congratulate Red Bull because the pace was just on another level,” Wolff said. “I don’t think we could have won the race even if he would have stayed ahead in the first corner, because they could have driven circles around us around the pit stops. “In the end, I think for Lewis’s championship it was damage limitation. And for the constructors’, Valtteri spinning out at turn one was very painful.”

Mexican GP: Verstappen wins ahead of Hamilton, Perez third in home race(full results)

Kevin Peterson07 mins

Max Verstappen stretched his Formula 1 world championship lead by dominating the Mexican Grand Prix, as his Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez narrowly failed to deprive Lewis Hamilton of second. Verstappen had surged down the outside of the front-row-starting Mercedes into Turn 1 on the opening lap, braking later and instantly sweeping into the lead. Polesitter Valtteri Bottas looked set to fall into third behind Hamilton, but was tapped into a mid-corner spin by seventh-place starter Daniel Ricciardo – who was passing Perez down the inside on the dusty line. The ensuing traffic chaos triggered by Bottas spinning in front of the pack led to Yuki Tsunoda and Mick Schumacher sandwiching Esteban Ocon and both sustaining race-ending damage, though the Alpine they had both bounced over continued. After a four-lap safety car period, Verstappen simply stormed away. By lap 20 he was 8s clear of Hamilton, who could not shake Perez off. Mercedes brought Hamilton in for his sole pitstop long before the two Red Bulls in the hope of gaining an undercut advantage. While that made no difference to Verstappen’s comfortable margin, Red Bull responded by extending Perez’s first stint so that he came in a full 10 laps later than Hamilton. That long run on older tyres dropped Perez 8s away from the Mercedes by the time he rejoined, but the hope was he could hunt down Hamilton on his fresher tyres. Sure enough, Perez caught Hamilton with 10 laps to go. Despite his best efforts, and amid various traffic headaches, the home favourite couldn’t quite make it a Red Bull 1-2. Verstappen’s points lead is now up to 19 as he was denied a fastest lap point by Mercedes bringing in the delayed Bottas (who had made little progress from the back after his spin then had a poor second scheduled pitstop) for two extra pitstops for fresh tyres late on so he could deny Verstappen that bonus point. Bottas’s first effort to take fastest lap was ironically denied when he came across Verstappen on track. The second attempt finally proved successful on the last lap. Pierre Gasly spent most of the race in a comfortable fourth for AlphaTauri, but did have to be wary of the closing Carlos Sainz late on. The Ferrari driver had left his sole pitstop very late and was charging on fresh tyres, being let through by team-mate Charles Leclerc along the way. They swapped places back as it became clear Sainz wouldn’t catch Gasly. Ferrari’s fifth and sixth places meant it swept past McLaren into third in the constructors’ championship as its rival only scored one point for Lando Norris’s 10th place – achieved from 18th on the grid. Ricciardo smashed his front wing hitting Bottas and could only recover to 12th. Sebastian Vettel took Aston Martin’s best result in nearly two months with seventh, while Kimi Raikkonen’s eighth place ahead of Fernando Alonso’s Alpine was Alfa Romeo’s highest finish all season. Raikkonen’s team-mate Antonio Giovinazzi looked like he would be Alfa’s hero as he emerged from the first-corner mess sixth, but pitting too early for his sole stop left him in the midfield and he finished 11th. George Russell and Nikita Mazepin had also leapt forward through the lap one chaos and briefly ran ninth and 11th for Williams and Haas. That proved unsustainable and they fell back to 16th and 18th respectively by the finish. 2021 F1 MEXICO CITY GRAND PRIX – RESULTS POS DRIVER NAT. TEAM TIME 1 Max Verstappen NED Red Bull Racing 71 Laps 2 Lewis Hamilton GBR Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team + 16.555s 3 Sergio Perez MEX Red Bull Racing + 17.752s 4 Pierre Gasly FRA Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda + 63.845s 5 Charles Leclerc MON Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow + 81.037s 6 Carlos Sainz ESP Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow + 1 Lap 7 Sebastian Vettel GER Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team + 1 Lap 8 Kimi Raikkonen FIN Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen + 1 Lap 9 Fernando Alonso ESP Alpine F1 Team + 1 Lap 10 Lando Norris GBR McLaren F1 Team + 1 Lap 11 Antonio Giovinazzi ITA Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen + 1 Lap 12 Daniel Ricciardo AUS McLaren F1 Team + 1 Lap 13 Esteban Ocon FRA Alpine F1 Team + 1 Lap 14 Lance Stroll CAN Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team + 2 Laps 15 Valtteri Bottas FIN Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team + 2 Laps 16 George Russell GBR Williams Racing + 2 Laps 17 Nicholas Latifi CAN Williams Racing + 2 Laps 18 Nikita Mazepin RUS Uralkali Haas F1 Team + 3 Laps DNF Mick Schumacher GER Uralkali Haas F1 Team DNF DNF Yuki Tsunoda JPN Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda DNF

Verstappen says Perez and Tsunoda ruined his bid to take pole for Mexican GP

Kevin Peterson03 mins

Max Verstappen confirmed Yuki Tsunoda and Sergio Perez running wide through the middle sector in Q3 “destroyed” his chances of pole position for the Mexico City Grand Prix. Mercedes took a shock one-two spearheaded by Valtteri Bottas, with Verstappen finishing third, over three-tenths down on the Finn. Verstappen had his chance of improving in his final run taken away by the AlphaTauri of Tsunoda running wide through turns 10 and 11, followed by Perez. Despite no yellow flags being waved, Verstappen revealed he had lifted off. The championship leader explained: “On the last lap, I was on for a good lap. “I don’t know what happened in front of me but there were two guys going off so I thought there was going to be a yellow flag so I backed out and then you know the lap is then, of course, destroyed. “Even without that, I think we could have still gone for that pole lap. Third is not amazing but I think it is still better than starting second.” Red Bull had performed extensive work on the rear wings of both cars throughout the day but Verstappen ruled out any effect on qualifying from the issues. “We had to repair them but I think in the end, when we went into qualifying, everything was like normal,” said Verstappen. “Of course, it is not ideal but I don’t think it was the reason why it was a bit of a struggle for us in qualifying. “Qualifying did not go our way but we are not using these tyres [softs] anyway so still all to fight for.”

Mexican GP FP3: Sergio Perez leads a Red Bull 1-2 in final practice

Kevin Peterson07 mins

Sergio Pérez topped the final free practice session in front of his adoring home crowd at the 2021 Mexican GP. Max Verstappen was in second position, 0.193 seconds behind the Mexican. Lewis Hamilton was in third position with a gap of 0.651 seconds behind the leader. The sixty-minute long all-important third free practice session started under sunny conditions with air temperatures at 17 degrees C and track temperatures at 35 degrees C. The track had cement dust deposited on it due to oil leakages from the support races making it even more slippery. The Pirelli tyre choice at this race is the white-striped hard compound tyres (C2), yellow-striped medium compound tyres (C3), and red-striped soft compound tyres (C4). After silence for the first five minutes, Yuki Tsunoda was the first driver on the track on a used set of soft compound tyres. The young Japanese driver was joined by Lance Stroll and George Russell. Tsunoda and Stroll will start from the back of the grid due to penalties for new power unit components. Lando Norris and Esteban Ocon will also join them at the back for the same reason. Russell has a five-place grid penalty for a gearbox change. Tsunoda set the first timed lap and improved on it with a lap time of 1m19.744s. Norris joined the fray on a new set of soft compound tyres and slotted into second position. With less than forty minutes to go, the Scuderia Ferrari drivers came out on the track on a set of soft compound tyres. Both drivers kicked up cement dust and slid around on the oily patch. Bottas went to the top of the time charts with a lap time of 1m18.661s with Hamilton 0.109 seconds behind him. Pérez cheered by his home crowd went faster than Bottas by 0.036 seconds. Times started tumbling as the track improved and Charles Leclerc went to the top of the time sheets. With less than thirty minutes to go, Verstappen finally came out of the garage and took first position with a lap time of 1m17.537s. Verstappen was faster than Pérez by 0.397 seconds. Bottas then improved to take second position, just 0.171 seconds behind the Dutchman. Verstappen further improved on his lap time by 0.320 seconds. With less than fifteen minutes to go, Leclerc was the first driver to come out for the final qualification simulation runs on a set of new soft compound tyres. But Leclerc had a spin and went back into the pits. Hamilton on his first flying lap improved to third position but still 0.686 seconds slower than Verstappen. Pérez then slotted into second position, just 0.055 seconds behind Verstappen. On his second flying lap, Pérez went fastest with a lap time of 1m17.024s. Verstappen could not get his brand new set of soft compound tyres in the right temperature range and stayed in second position, 0.193 seconds behind the Mexican. Hamilton and Bottas were in third and fourth positions. Sainz and Tsunoda finished in fifth and sixth positions, nearly one second slower than the leaders. Daniel Ricciardo and Pierre Gasly were in seventh and eighth positions. Leclerc and Norris rounded off the top ten positions. It is advantage Red Bull Racing going into the qualification session. 2021 Mexican GP FP3 Results: Pos No Driver Nat. Team Time Gap Laps 1 11 Sergio Perez MEX Red Bull Racing 1:17.024 15 2 33 Max Verstappen NED Red Bull Racing 1:17.217 +0.193s 12 3 44 Lewis Hamilton GBR Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team 1:17.675 +0.651s 14 4 77 Valtteri Bottas FIN Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team 1:17.708 +0.684s 17 5 55 Carlos Sainz ESP Scuderia Ferrari 1:18.029 +1.005s 20 6 22 Yuki Tsunoda JAP Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda 1:18.037 +1.013s 25 7 3 Daniel Ricciardo AUS McLaren F1 Team 1:18.121 +1.097s 15 8 10 Pierre Gasly FRA Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda 1:18.202 +1.178s 18 9 16 Charles Leclerc MON Scuderia Ferrari 1:18.213 +1.189s 20 10 4 Lando Norris GBR McLaren F1 Team 1:18.312 +1.288s 16 11 18 Lance Stroll CAN Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team 1:18.352 +1.328s 20 12 7 Kimi Räikkönen FIN Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN 1:18.531 +1.507s 22 13 99 Antonio Giovinazzi ITA Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN 1:18.556 +1.532s 19 14 5 Sebastian Vettel GER Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team 1:18.614 +1.590s 17 15 14 Fernando Alonso ESP Alpine F1 Team 1:18.847 +1.823s 15 16 31 Esteban Ocon FRA Alpine F1 Team 1:18.999 +1.975s 17 17 63 George Russell GBR Williams Racing 1:19.211 +2.187s 19 18 47 Mick Schumacher GER Uralkali Haas F1 Team 1:19.238 +2.214s 14 19 6 Nicholas Latifi CAN Williams Racing 1:19.313 +2.289s 12 20 9 Nikita Mazepin RAF Uralkali Haas F1 Team 1:20.479 +3.455s 15

Hamilton admits Red Bull are ‘too quick’ after Friday practice

Kevin Peterson03 mins

Mercedes team secured a one-two in the first practice session at the Mexican Grand Prix on Friday, but that glory was short-lived as Red Bull’s Max Verstappen outperformed both Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas in FP2. The defending world champion got candid about the situation and admitted that his championship rival may simply be too quick this weekend. The Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez has always seen strong performances from the Red Bull, and this weekend may not be any different. Hamilton knows that he needs to step up his game, with even his teammate Bottas trumping him in both the practice sessions so far. More significantly, Verstappen was half a second quicker in FP2. “They’re definitely too quick for us at the moment,” Lewis Hamilton said after the session, before adding that he still feels like they have a strong chance to keep pace with the Red Bulls. “The car has been feeling OK. I’ve not really had any major issues,” he said. Lewis Hamilton is always one to stay positive, but his honest assessment reveals that the Red Bulls currently have an advantage. “We’re giving it absolutely everything we’ve got, and I think they are just quicker than us at the moment,” he said, before pointing to their lack of downforce as a possible culprit. He then assured that the Mercedes team will be busy finding a solution to the pace disadvantage. Bottas also spoke up and complained about low grip on his car. He said that it was a dusty track and that made things more difficult for him and his teammate. Nevertheless, practice pace is often not necessarily reflective of race pace. The Mercedes drivers have always been strong for the long haul on Sunday, and the tight results of the practice sessions make it impossible to predict which team will be dominant on Saturday qualifying and on the main race on Sunday.

130,000 fans show up in central Mexico to see Perez

Kevin Peterson02 mins

Red Bull driver Sergio Perez demonstrated Red Bull’s title-winning RB7 along the Paseo de la Reforma and around the iconic El Ángel de la Independencia. Perez ended Mexico’s 50-year wait for a Formula 1 victory last season when he triumphed for Racing Point at the Sakhir Grand Prix. Perez switched to Red Bull Racing for 2021 and added a second career win in Azerbaijan. He was joined at the event by Mexican riders Didier Goirand and Ivan Ramirez, along with rally driver Benito Guerra. “It feels amazing to back here in Mexico City, I never really imagined a moment like this, I think as an athlete and a driver you always think about being on track making memories, but today was crazy, we took over Mexico City,” said Perez. “It was such a special way to start my home Grand Prix weekend. Everyone was full of energy and the people have been amazing, even camping here since last night. “I am really looking forward to seeing all the fans back at track this weekend too. “My ambitions for this weekend are to be in the mix to win the race on Sunday and it would mean everything to me to come out on top in Mexico.”

Mercedes rear suspension is not ‘illegal’- Mattia Binotto

Kevin Peterson04 mins

Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto says there is nothing “wrong or illegal” with the rear suspension of Mercedes’ W12. Mercedes’ suspension made headlines last month when Red Bull were said to have questioned it. According to Auto Motor und Sport, Red Bull “made the FIA take a closer look at the rear suspension of the Silver Arrows” in regard to its legality. The FIA investigation was “inconclusive” with seven other teams having the same suspension, some “apparently even more radically than Mercedes”. One of those teams being Ferrari. As such it is no wonder that Binotto says there is nothing wrong with the Mercedes design. “Honestly I’m not too interested in this discussion,” the Italian said when asked about Red Bull’s queries. “I’m not really following them, I heard about it. “I do not see anything wrong or illegal in that. I mean I’m even not somehow surprised the way the car behaves.” McLaren team boss Andreas Seidl also isn’t concerned that Mercedes are running an illegal design. “To be honest, I only saw, I think the Sky video when the analysis was done,” he said as per Autosport, “but we didn’t spend any energy yet on on this topic. “We have enough to do just focusing on ourselves and executing a good race weekend. “So let’s chat a bit about it again in a week’s time, once we have looked into this as a team. And if there’s actually something behind it or it is just a ghost which is going through the paddock at the moment.” Speaking after the Turkish Grand Prix, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner voiced his suspicious about the Mercedes suspension. But, he added, while he fears it will give Mercedes an advantage, he does not believe it is illegal. “It will have more effect on one straight than the other,” he told Sky Sports. “On a circuit like Jeddah, I think it will bring them a lot. “Based on what we’ve seen now, I don’t believe it’s illegal and I see no reason to make a protest.” As for Mercedes, Toto Wolff called Red Bull’s complaints “noise”. “I think we recognise absolutely this is a sport where competitors will always try to find out if there is some kind of silver bullet,” said Wolff. “My experience is there is no such thing, it’s all the small gains, marginal gains that have been added and bring performance. “We are trying to really comprehend our car better and add performance in lap time without listening too much to the noise.”

Max Verstappen was also unwell during US Grand Prix, Marko reveals

Kevin Peterson02 mins

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has revealed that Max Verstappen was “unwell” during the United States Grand Prix at the weekend. Sergio Perez was visibly struggling post-race and Marko has confirmed Verstappen was not feeling 100 percent despite converting pole position to victory to extend his lead in the Drivers’ Championship to 12 points over Lewis Hamilton. “During the race it turned black in front of his eyes,” Marko told Auto Motor und Sport. “It’s incredible how much mental capacity Max still has. He drives a car at the limit despite feeling unwell, but also still thinks about the strategy. “Max brought himself back into shape with breathing exercises and drinking.” Perez’s illness affected him more and he was hindered further because he completed the 56-lap Grand Prix without a working drinks system. The Mexican described the experience as his “toughest race ever”. Marko believes Perez’s and Verstappen’s performances should be rated more highly due to both drivers not being at full fitness. “For Perez, too much water flowed in the warm-up lap [in his car],” said Marko. “The stuff splashed around like the devil. “Then he had to change the balaclava. He had no water in the race. When changing the car, to have less water, something went wrong. So that was a good performance. “The performance of both [drivers] is to be valued even higher.”

Why Red Bull did not pit Sergio Perez for the fastest lap

Kevin Peterson03 mins

Red Bull boss Christian Horner says they never considered a late pit-stop for Sergio Perez at the US Grand Prix to try and deny Lewis Hamilton the point for fastest lap. Even though a maximum of 133 points still remain up for grabs in the Drivers’ title fight between Max Verstappen and Hamilton, the consensus is that every single one is important. Therefore, the point the reigning World Champion gained for setting the fastest race lap around the Circuit of The Americas in the United States Grand Prix could yet make a difference in the final reckoning. However, Red Bull did not want to sacrifice the 15 points earned by Perez for finishing third behind his team-mate Verstappen and Hamilton, preferring to keep the extra three in the Constructors’ battle rather than dropping to fourth place behind Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc due to a stop for fresh tyres. Red Bull are the outsiders against Mercedes in the chase for the teams’ crown and trail by 23, so a deficit of 26 would have made that task even harder. However, also to the forefront of Horner’s mind was wanting to see both of his drivers on the victory rostrum for the second consecutive race, the one-three finish in Austin following a two-three at Istanbul Park a fortnight earlier. “It would have been brutal to pit ‘Checo’ and take him off the podium,” Horner told Motorsport.com when it was put to him about the possibility of Perez going for the fastest lap. “Leclerc was obviously too close behind. In the collective position of the team it was better for Checo to take the points, so that’s what we did.” From the human side of it also, the Mexican driver was struggling physically because he had been feeling below par on race day anyway and also had to drive the grand prix without hydration because his drink system had failed.

Red Bull will not protest Mercedes rear suspension trick

Kevin Peterson04 mins

Red Bull boss Christian Horner says Red Bull have no plans to protest against Mercedes’ rear suspension ‘trick’, which came to light at the United States Grand Prix. TV footage emerged over the weekend of the rear of the Mercedes, a high-rake concept car, dropping to the ground as the car increases in speed. This essentially stalls the airflow under the car and would contribute to a higher top speed. Red Bull team boss Horner and advisor Helmut Marko both noted Mercedes’ apparent straight-line speed gains following the Turkish GP, with Horner then making reference to a “system” during practice in Austin. Despite the initial furore, Horner ruled out the possibility of Red Bull lodging a protest. “We’ve never said we don’t think it’s legal, so therefore there’d be absolutely no reason to protest,” Horner told the media. Horner did note, however, that the system could play a key role at certain tracks during the title run-in. After the “extreme version” seen in Turkey, the system was limited by the high-speed, bumpy nature of the Circuit of the Americas, but Horner reckons the Jeddah Street Circuit is one venue where it could shine. “It’s something that has been used historically. We’ve seen it with them in the past, but obviously what we saw in Turkey was quite an extreme version of it, which that circuit seemed to allow,” He added.“It will have a greater influence at some tracks than others. It was a reduced effect here [in Austin]. At somewhere like Jeddah, for example, it could be quite powerful.” Mercedes boss Toto Wolff had already dismissed the “noise” from Red Bull earlier in the US GP weekend. “We recognise absolutely that this is a sport where competitors will always try to find out whether there is some kind of silver bullet,” he told the press. “My experience is there is no such thing. It’s always small gains, marginal gains, that have been added and then bring performance. And we’re trying to really comprehend our car better and add performance and lap time without listening too much to the noise.”

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