A colourful paddock, some wrestling, and some insights into midfield life. Motorsport Week takes a look behind-the-scenes, and at some other talking points, from Formula 1’s Mexican Grand Prix.
Perez rewards incredible local fans
Sergio Perez is a national hero in Mexico. His face adorns the enormous billboards and fans flock from all over for a glimpse at the driver who puts his country on the world stage in Formula 1. Perez’s every move is tracked and cheered, and when his car made it to the Foro Sol stadium on the drivers’ parade there was an eruption of noise and the chant of “Checo, Checo, Checo” emanated across the circuit. Perez had been unintentionally masterful in securing the P11 on the grid that gave him free tyre choice, and the one-stop strategy elevated him ahead of the Soft-starting McLaren and Toro Rosso drivers. His reward was seventh and, given the superior pace of Formula 1’s leading three teams, it was the best possible outcome for Perez and the other 138,435 people who attended the race.
Ricciardo gives Renault reason to smile
It was undoubtedly a lacklustre few days for Renault. On Wednesday it was stripped of its Suzuka points for use of a driver aid – an element it was none too happy about – and on Friday it was confirmed that the F1 project as a whole will be reviewed as part of a company-wide assessment, amid a dip in sales and revenue. On Saturday it missed the entirety of FP3 owing to a pollutant in the cooling system on both cars while later in the day the drivers were unable to make Q3. But come Sunday Ricciardo boldly opted for the Hard tyres, ran a mammoth stint, and profited by emerging eighth, giving him a shot at Sergio Perez. Riccardo went too deep – “the postman wasn’t there” – but eighth was a fine reward for a beleaguered team. It should have been eighth and ninth but for Daniil Kvyat’s late assault on Nico Hulkenberg, but Kvyat’s post-race penalty nonetheless elevated Hulkenberg back into 10th.
Funky paddock
Not only is the Mexican Grand Prix one of the best-attended events of the year, from Thursday through Sunday, but the paddock is also given a makeover. Alongside the usual set-up of garages/walkway/hospitality buildings there was a Mexican-themed paddock village, which included a barber shop, a stall where you could have personalised spray-painted jackets and shoes, an ice cream stand, a churro stall and a taco vendor – the latter proving to be exceptionally popular throughout the course of the weekend. The rear of the ‘shops’ were vibrantly painted to reflect the array of colours usually found in Mexico City, while such a wild arrangement of colours was plastered on the entrance to the media centre, along with a giant lizard (maybe they were inferring something about journalists?). The Heineken bar was in place once more and there was the typecast DJ who spent the weekend standing there with his mixtape. The arrangement wasn’t without a bit of drama. The torrential rain that fell post-race caused a neon sign to short-circuit, prompting a quick response from those nearby with extinguishers, while a few hours later the roof of the barber stand collapsed due to the water. Fortunately, no-one was in the vicinity at the time.
Lucha Libre
On Friday night a portion of the F1 paddock attended a Lucha Libre event in the centre of Mexico City, once the frantic traffic – made worse by torrential rain – was cleared. The ‘freestyle wrestling’ competitions are characterised by colourful masks, storylines between the respective competitors, with impressive acrobatics and manoeuvres in such a small arena. Among the attendees was Williams’ George Russell, who posed for photos with a couple of the luchadores afterward, and who was given a very brief taste of the acrobatic movements, much to his surprise and alarm. Of more concern to Russell was the wrestlers’ sweat rubbing off on his crisp new hoodie…
Mexico sh***y
Unfortunately, despite most of the paddock adoring Mexico City, there was one major talking point on Saturday, and it was an unpleasant one. A risk of travelling to different countries in a short space of time is the chance of picking up illness and a large swathe of the paddock was wiped out at various stages of the weekend. Some speculated that the cause originated in the paddock toilets, with those teams towards the lower end – Williams, Toro Rosso and Racing Point – worst affected. At one stage it was estimated that over 200 people had been troubled by the illness, with some preserving, and others sent back to respective hotels. Pierre Gasly was the only driver impacted but he resiliently battled through the illness to score some points for Toro Rosso.
Verstappen’s attitude unwelcome
Max Verstappen’s performance in qualifying was immense but what followed after Valtteri Bottas’ crash was unwelcome. Inconsistent information from the FIA plagued an afternoon in which the talking point was directed from Verstappen’s pole lap to his transgression and, more pertinently, his attitude. A defensive Verstappen smirked as he appeared perplexed as to why he should have slowed down for a yellow flag, and when pushed on the safety aspect quipped “Do we have to go there? To safety? I think we know what we are doing – otherwise we would not be driving an F1 car.” It is a rash attitude to adopt, particularly in light of events two months ago. The current FIA Presidency has been largely founded on road safety but the drive for better safety at racing events should never relent – but its competitors must also be in on the push. Verstappen’s comments showed a disregard for his fellow racer as well as the trackside marshals, while the entire Red Bull team dreadfully mishandled the situation. With pole in the bag, Verstappen’s engineer should have issued a quick abort message (though perhaps expected his driver to back off) while Christian Horner’s post-session assertions over the lack of a yellow flag were laughable.
In the TV pen, a colleague was attempting to quiz Verstappen on the situation while her arm was being yanked by Red Bull’s press officer in a clear sign of deterrent. Verstappen undoubtedly erred, and there was a little schadenfreude at his undoing due to his comments, but there is also a secondary aspect in the FIA’s handling of the situation. It was yet another three hours before a result was confirmed – the fourth time this has happened either after qualifying or the race in 2019 – and while there are legal loopholes the stewards are mandated to jump through it paints Formula 1 in a negative picture from an external perspective. Ways of finding a speedier resolution, along with regulations that are not so foggy, is one element the championship should have a look at going forward.
McLaren reminded of task it faces
McLaren has enjoyed a strong run of late as it all-but-secured fourth in the standings with immense displays, pulling clear of the midfield, and battling the front-runners where it could. It maintained its performance in qualifying and during the opening laps – with Carlos Sainz Jr. running in fourth – but the slump later on was as sudden as it was unexpected. Sainz Jr. was all over the place on the Hard tyres, with the Spaniard suspecting that warmer track temperatures contributed to its downfall. Lando Norris ran with his team-mate but a loose wheel at his pit stop heavily compromised his prospects. In terms of pure race performance, it was comfortably McLaren’s worst display since China, with the team hopeful that it was a dip that highlighted certain inadequacies. McLaren has been mightily impressive in 2019, considering its position 12 months ago, but the Mexican GP was a horror show. “A day like this is part of the process for our team to become a better team,” conceded boss Andreas Seidl. “Lots of opportunities to learn from and [we were] simply reminded that we still have a lot of work to do to become a better team.”
Daniil angry
Toro Rosso had been in the mix for the top 10 throughout the weekend but its chances were compromised by having to run the first stint on the Soft tyres, having made it through to Q3 during qualifying. Nonetheless, Kvyat held P10 on the last lap and he attempted to pass Nico Hulkenberg for P9 exiting the stadium on the final lap. It was a hugely optimistic move and the inevitable happened, with Hulkenberg pitched into the wall, and Kvyat picking up P9. Stewards intervened. Kvyat was demoted to P11, though ironically it elevated Gasly to P9, with Toro Rosso still picking up two points! Kvyat was unamused. “Fuck ‘em” he briefly told MBC in the press pen before walking away, and once calmer reiterated his dissatisfaction in a more PR savvy manner. “I disagree with it because we are told we are allowed to race,” said Kvyat. “Nico was defending and I was attacking and these things happen, especially on the last corner of the last lap.”
Albon impresses once more
Only two drivers have scored at each of the last eight grands prix. One of them is Lewis Hamilton, and the other is Alexander Albon. The Anglo-Thai, whose rise from anonymity to a front-running F1 seat is among the most rapid in history, was again impressive in Mexico, as he bounced back from a hefty FP2 shunt to score fifth. Albon’s early pace was such that it put Ferrari under pressure to react with Leclerc, and while his two-stop strategy did not play out he was just 20 seconds down on race winner Hamilton after 70 laps. Red Bull has yet to confirm Max Verstappen’s 2020 team-mate but Albon is impressing with each passing event, and his rise has caught the attention of Hamilton. “It’s a real challenge to go up against a driver that’s been spoken so highly of by so many people and built up onto a pedestal,” said Hamilton.“And to come in so young, and with all the difficulties he’s had in his life as well – his life story is quite an interesting one – against all adversity. It was quite cool to just sit and view him for a second. He’s got a bright future ahead of him. I hope Red Bull give him the support over the years. It’s very, very important because they often spit drivers out pretty quick if they don’t always do the job. I hope they’re good to him.”
during the early stages of the Mexico GP
