Martin Brundle on the results of the Mexico City Grand Prix

Martin Brundle, former Formula 1 driver and now a popular commentator on the British television channel Sky Sports, returns to the main events of the recent Mexico City Grand Prix, which was remembered not only for Carlos Sainz’s victory, but also because of the two penalties received by Max Verstappen…

The Mexicans know how to put on a great show and before the race there was an absolutely wonderful atmosphere in the Fora Sol stadium. In the 80s and 90s I raced at the Rodriguez Brothers Circuit, both in Formula 1 and sports car racing, and I loved it, even if the experience was somewhat marred by the endless traffic jams and air quality in the Mexican capital.

When teams and drivers have to make serious efforts to maintain the normal temperature of the tires and the car as a whole in thin air conditions, the races can be boring, but this year we witnessed the dramatic Grand Prix of Mexico City.

The main star of qualifying and the race was Carlos Sainz, who, after starting from pole, spent the race generally calmly behind the wheel of his Ferrari and won. It is clear that the sweetness of this success is mixed with some bitterness, as the Spaniard will have to say goodbye to Ferrari and after four races and two sprints, Lewis Hamilton will take his place in the team. In fact, I suspect there is even more bitterness.

The results of the race brought about intriguing changes in the balance of power, both in the individual championship and in the constructors’ championship. After the Austin stage, where new instructions were announced regulating the permitted fighting methods on the track, and some drivers were fined for their actions during the Grand Prix, these topics were actively discussed in Mexico City and then worked out on Sunday.

Of course, the intense rivalry in both championship events will continue until the season finale, as the teams are quite comparable in terms of speed and the technical reliability of the cars is at a high level. Since safety standards are also high and the departure zones allow you to return to the track without any problems, riders in the entire peloton constantly and very fiercely fight for positions – this has already become the norm.

The rules for fighting on the track are determined by the International Sports Code, the Formula 1 Sports Regulations and additional instructions from the management of a particular race – in my previous column I paid a lot of attention to the “Manual of Piloting Standards” .

In most cases, every incident or accident has some unique aspects, but like any other sport, the final say should remain with the judges, who may have their own opinions and interpretations.

Surprisingly, in the multi-billion dollar world of Formula 1, there is no professional jury corps composed of specially trained and experienced professionals. We have a group of stewards, who rotate during the season, but at each race one of the ex-drivers is also present. All stewards work on a voluntary basis, they only receive travel expenses and in general they do a good job.

But personally I wouldn’t want to play this role even if I were offered all the coffee in Brazil – the pressure from the teams and drivers is too much, especially during the race on the radio, but also after the race. job interviews. And then even more toxic comments will appear on social networks, where stewards are usually accused of bias, although in most cases fans are also a very biased audience.

During the Grand Prix of Mexico City, the stewards had something to do, that much is certain, and this time it went to both Red Bull Racing drivers. Sergio Perez moved quite far forward from his starting position, for which he received a 5 second penalty, and there is nothing to even discuss about that. At the same time he started great, but it turned out that his bright breakthrough towards the first corner was in vain.

Max Verstappen was given two ten-second penalties for four turns, and these decisions are testament to the determined attitude of the stewards, which is encouraging. The first time he was penalized was before Turn 4, when Lando Norris, the Dutchman’s title rival, overtook him on the outside.

It seems that Norris was the first to enter the corner, led at the apex and at the exit, so he was entitled to free space on the track, so it was not worth pushing him to the side of the road Push. The stewards could have applied a five or ten second penalty, but seeing no extenuating circumstances, they opted for the standard second option.

Norris was on the grass and was even ahead of the leading Sainz, but of course, even before entering Turn 6, he gave the position back to the Spaniard. But almost immediately afterwards, Verstappen – probably assuming that Lando had passed him off the track – simply launched a decisive attack on the McLaren driver in Turn 8.

He should have understood that his maneuver could lead to mutual convergence, but Norris was ready for this. As a result, Max was given a further 10 second penalty for driving off the track and gaining an illegal advantage. Frankly, he could easily have been fined for driving in the pit lane for dangerous driving.

It was nothing short of an outrageous maneuver, and because both cars were far off the track, Charles Leclerc was able to gain two positions, and for a while the two Ferrari drivers led the pack. Norris had to follow Verstapen until he entered the pits on lap 26, but this delay likely lost Lando’s chance of victory.

I know Max doesn’t care about anyone’s opinion, but it upsets me when he behaves like this on the track. He has won several championships and has a talent level that surpasses most of us, but we can only regret that his reputation will be overshadowed by such an attitude, because all this will remain in our memories.

Norris then overtook Leclerc, who later said he had fallen slightly behind in qualifying and the race having missed the first practice session on Friday, while the second was mainly devoted to Pirelli tire testing.

Sainz won the race comfortably by 4.7 seconds and Ferrari moved ahead of Red Bull in the Constructors’ Championship, closing the gap to McLaren at the top of the teams’ standings.

Fourth and fifth places were taken by Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell and they started an interesting battle with each other, but at the same time were 45 minutes behind the leader. They fought in a hard but correct way and Mercedes did not intend to ask Russell, the future leader of the team, to let his partner pass.

Verstappen, after serving a 20-second penalty, had to work hard to make up for this somehow, and ultimately finished 6th, losing 10 points to Norris. But Red Bull should have been even more concerned about the fact that their car once again lacked speed.

Oscar Piastri was largely responsible for starting qualifying from a distant 17th position, but he raced confidently in a McLaren and climbed to 8th, while Haas drivers Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg finished ahead and behind him. The American team led by Ayo Komatsu is impressive because their technical innovations work very effectively and justify every pound invested in them.

Liam Lawson and local hero Sergio Perez fought a fierce battle with the Mexican’s car suffering underbody and side pontoon damage. By the way, it is his place that Liam hopes to take sooner or later.

The stewards ruled it a racing incident, although I thought the New Zealand Visa RB had moved too far under braking for Turn 4 and things didn’t go well for either of them in the next two corners.

I really like the confidence with which newcomers Lawson and Franco Colapinto, who drives for Williams, drive, even though there was an incident between them in the last laps of the race, for which the Argentinian received a penalty.

But we all learned at some point that heavy and powerful Formula 1 cars on tires that provide very good grip on asphalt cannot be driven with the same recklessness as they are used to in youth formulas.

This weekend we are already waiting for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix at the Interlagos circuit, where the races are often dramatic and full of unexpected twists in the scenario. I don’t think it will be any different this year, because the season is entering a decisive phase.