2021 - Race 18 Mexico

[F1nKS]

Race moves to Mexico for race 18. Suppose to be a Red Bull track - but it seems conventional wisdom can be thrown out because this is not a conventional season.

Since the break (w/expanded standings) the drivers ranks are:

Tier 1
1. Verstappen
2. Bottas
3. Hamilton
4. Ricciardo
Tier 2
5. Leclerc
6. Sainz
7. Perez/Norris
Tier 3
9. Alonso
10. Gasly/Stroll
12. Russell
13. Vettel
14. Ocon
15. Giovanzzi
Tier 4
16. Latifi
17. Riakkonen
18. Yuki
19. Schmacher
20. Mazepin

[Fortitude]

FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO DE LA CIUDAD DE MÉXICO 2021 - PRACTICE 1
05 07 Nov 2021 Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City

https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2021/races/1103/mexico/practice-1.html


FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO DE LA CIUDAD DE MÉXICO 2021 - PRACTICE 2
05 07 Nov 2021 Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City

https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2021/races/1103/mexico/practice-2.html

[F1nKS]

Perez topped FP3 today - which continues to fuel the media "Will RBR make Perez give up the win to Max?". If RBR is leading the race, it will be Max IMO. But it would be great if Perez can qualify 1 or 2 this weekend. He is becoming what RBR was hoping he would be this year.

It does seem that Mercedes and RBR are diverging on a strategy based on their tire usage so far this weekend. Maybe we will know more in qualifying.

Norris, Ocon and Yuki all are taking engine penalties.

[Bagwan]

Alright , cue the epic traffic jam .
Things are going to get stupid , and stewards are going to be busy .

[Zico]

Perez topped FP3 today - which continues to fuel the media "Will RBR make Perez give up the win to Max?". If RBR is leading the race, it will be Max IMO. But it would be great if Perez can qualify 1 or 2 this weekend. He is becoming what RBR was hoping he would be this year.

It does seem that Mercedes and RBR are diverging on a strategy based on their tire usage so far this weekend. Maybe we will know more in qualifying.

Norris, Ocon and Yuki all are taking engine penalties.

Of course they would. Perez isn't in contention for the championship so he has to. If he doesn't, he will be sacked the moment he steps out of the car. They would likely just do it by pit strategy though.

[F1nKS]

Mercedes shocks Red Bull with provisional pole and front row lock-out. RBR now on the back foot for the 2nd run.

[F1nKS]

Wow - underperformance by Red Bull. Gasly almost beat the bulls. Again - throw the books out on this season. This was supposed to be RBR track but Mercedes locks out the front row.

[Zico]

Wow - underperformance by Red Bull. Gasly almost beat the bulls. Again - throw the books out on this season. This was supposed to be RBR track but Mercedes locks out the front row.

Bit of a RB mess up.. but looks like Merc have also been sandbagging a bit lol.
Max allegedly happier with p3 than p2, will be an interesting start tomorrow for sure.

[F1nKS]

Bit of a RB mess up.. but looks like Merc have also been sandbagging a bit lol.
Max allegedly happier with p3 than p2, will be an interesting start tomorrow for sure.

Yeah, there is no real advantage between cars, it is all about individual performance and Bottas was on it today. Max never looked really comfortable during qualifying.

[Nitrodaze]

Heehah!

What a turn of events? I bet Baggie is jumping up and down saying l told you Mercedes is hiding something. Mercedes taking pole on a Redbull track suggests that this championship is going to the wire.

What a lap from Bottas? A Mercedes one-two suggests Redbull have got something to worry about. They have either messed up or Mercedes has finally got their gizmo working properly again. Whatever the case, Brazil is set to be just as challenging for Redbull as Mexico.

It is crunch time!!!

Can Verstappen win from 3rd on the grid? Hamilton did it, so can he. But easily said than done.

[airshifter]

Wow - underperformance by Red Bull. Gasly almost beat the bulls. Again - throw the books out on this season. This was supposed to be RBR track but Mercedes locks out the front row.

It seemed like they weren't as planted as the track heated up, and the Mercs were better planted with the heat. Max might have lost a shot at a better time with the Yuki/Sergio offs, but I don't think he could have challenged much more regardless. The car just didn't look hooked up.

Bottas absolutely beasted qually, those were some great laps he put in. The only downside to that is that if RB can stick with them tomorrow, swapping positions could be hard for Merc unless they do it at the right time. Either way, it looks like any real track dominance is out the window, and at least 4 cars are capable of being in the fight at the front. The first turn is going to be a tense one for sure, and hopefully all the frontrunners (and others) all make it out the other side in one piece and on track.

Looks like we might have a race on our hands.

[Nitrodaze]

It seemed like they weren't as planted as the track heated up, and the Mercs were better planted with the heat. Max might have lost a shot at a better time with the Yuki/Sergio offs, but I don't think he could have challenged much more regardless. The car just didn't look hooked up.

Bottas absolutely beasted qually, those were some great laps he put in. The only downside to that is that if RB can stick with them tomorrow, swapping positions could be hard for Merc unless they do it at the right time. Either way, it looks like any real track dominance is out the window, and at least 4 cars are capable of being in the fight at the front. The first turn is going to be a tense one for sure, and hopefully all the frontrunners (and others) all make it out the other side in one piece and on track.

Looks like we might have a race on our hands.

Bottas and Verstappen in 3rd are on the rubbered side of the track. And we have seen the Redbulls have a better start than the Mercedes more often. Hence, Verstappen could very easily be in the lead before the first corner. Obviously depending on the defensive strategy that Mercedes have planned for the start of the race. I am sure they have planned for both cars to work together to prevent Verstappen from jumping ahead at the start.

But if Verstappen can manage a brilliant start, he may win this race from third on the grid. But the Mercedes manage to keep a one-two formation, then chances are that they would streak away and an intra-team fight for the lead would ensue. I hope they do not impose team orders so that it is a fair fight for the win. That said, Sergio may well sjump into the lead as both Mercedes are focusing on Verstappen.

[Fortitude]

FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO DE LA CIUDAD DE MÉXICO 2021 - PRACTICE 3
05 07 Nov 2021 Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City

https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2021/races/1103/mexico/practice-3.html


FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO DE LA CIUDAD DE MÉXICO 2021 - QUALIFYING
05 07 Nov 2021 Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City

https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2021/races/1103/mexico/qualifying.html


‘A terrible qualifying’ – Verstappen frustrated after Perez-Tsunoda incident thwarts pole ambitions in Mexico
06 November 2021

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.a-terrible-qualifying-verstappen-frustrated-after-perez-tsunoda-incident.2r7O9v7OPlY00wns5tu3lv.html


WATCH: Ride onboard with Bottas as he takes a stunning Mexico City pole position
06 November 2021

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.watch-ride-onboard-with-bottas-as-he-takes-a-stunning-mexico-city-pole.64Z96WSD4dupFSgPOUgW0H.html


Sainz surprised by P6 after struggling for rhythm – and with phantom engine issue – in qualifying
06 November 2021

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.sainz-surprised-by-p6-after-struggling-for-rhythm-and-with-phantom-engine.6xrmdl2ZflSbytBTR6dWmi.html

[Bagwan]

Merc has pole , with the right guy ahead , to give Lewis the tow into the first corner .
Max will follow him through .
It will be exciting .


With the potential impending replacement of a Merc lump , I think they'll want to win this one , just to be safe from Aesop's commentator's curse .
That depends , though , on how far ahead they believe they are sitting , being that they just pulled 3 tenths on a "Red Bull" track .

"That was a very good bluff from Mercedes" , said Marko .

Is he starting to smell the truth ?

[airshifter]

Bottas and Verstappen in 3rd are on the rubbered side of the track. And we have seen the Redbulls have a better start than the Mercedes more often. Hence, Verstappen could very easily be in the lead before the first corner. Obviously depending on the defensive strategy that Mercedes have planned for the start of the race. I am sure they have planned for both cars to work together to prevent Verstappen from jumping ahead at the start.

But if Verstappen can manage a brilliant start, he may win this race from third on the grid. But the Mercedes manage to keep a one-two formation, then chances are that they would streak away and an intra-team fight for the lead would ensue. I hope they do not impose team orders so that it is a fair fight for the win. That said, Sergio may well sjump into the lead as both Mercedes are focusing on Verstappen.

At this point in the season I think it's a given that either team will use team orders if it helps their respective driver.

With the title battle this tight I don't think anybody can really blame them.

[truefan72]

All bottas had to do was to move left to give hamilton the tow and maintain a 1-2 but he gives max the tow instead. Bravo smh


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[truefan72]

And had no defense for max either. Seemed to be more interested defending from Hamilton


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[truefan72]

Brundle “ they left him the racing line…” no
Bottas left him the racing line


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[F1nKS]

LOL, Bottas.....

[F1nKS]

Bit of a RB mess up.. but looks like Merc have also been sandbagging a bit lol.


I wonder - could have Max been sandbagging in qualifying?

[airshifter]

Check trying to get in the fight...

[F1nKS]

It's good to see Perez on the podium in his home country! Perez drove a great race and gave Hamilton all he wanted.

[Zico]

I wonder - could have Max been sandbagging in qualifying?

I doubt it, he sounded pretty pissed at what happened. If he was that means he considers P3 to be a better starting position than P1?

I'm noe thinking the cooling track temps in qualy must just have moved away from RB... but with today being a bit warmer, the harder on the tires setup Mercs may have been tire temp limited and it moved into the perfect sweet spot for RB. Just a theory that I haven't really looked into though.

Haven't watched it yet, just been listening on 5 live, has it been a good race?

[denkimi]

A good result for the constructors championship, not so good for the drivers.

[Zico]

A good result for the constructors championship, not so good for the drivers.

I don't think Max will be complaining... but I know you didn't mean it that way. lol

[denkimi]

I don't think Max will be complaining... but I know you didn't mean it that way. lol
Max can't complain, but personally i would like it to stay as close as possible till the very end.

[Tazio]

"That was a very good bluff from Mercedes" , said Marko .

Is he starting to smell the truth ?

:sailor: Sorrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry

:blackeye: + :blackeye: = :spanner: +:andrea: + :arrowed:

[Nitrodaze]

All bottas had to do was to move left to give hamilton the tow and maintain a 1-2 but he gives max the tow instead. Bravo smh


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Well, it happened just like l called it. Bottas showed why he was dumped for Russell. Great in qualifying but crap in the race.

We sort of expected Redbull to win here. Mercedes gave them a scare but they still have the better car for this altitude track.

[Zico]

Either Bottas had zero awareness or just doesn't care about helping his team mate any more now that he has his contract with Alfa for next season. There was absolutely zero attempt to defend. I imagine Toto and Lewis must be pretty livid with him.

Signing Russell may well cost Lewis this years WDC.

[denkimi]

Although i agree that bottas did a terrible job in the first corner, breaking way to early, hamilton was never going to hold off verstappen. Without accidents, it would have been another verstappen-hamilton one-two.

[Nitrodaze]

Either Bottas had zero awareness or just doesn't care about helping his team mate any more now that he has his contract with Alfa for next season. There was absolutely zero attempt to defend. I imagine Toto and Lewis must be pretty livid with him.

Signing Russell may well cost Lewis this years WDC.

It seems Mercedes did not have a plan for the start of the race. Bottas drove his own race, but it would have been credible if he had won the race in the process. He did not race for the team today. He raced for himself and finished 15th.

[F1nKS]

Either Bottas had zero awareness or just doesn't care about helping his team mate any more now that he has his contract with Alfa for next season. There was absolutely zero attempt to defend. I imagine Toto and Lewis must be pretty livid with him.

Signing Russell may well cost Lewis this years WDC.

I don't understand what Botta's (or Mercedes's) plan was to hold off Verstappen. Before the race, he was saying it was a team effort at the start, but it seemed that he did the exact opposite of what he should have done. He did prove he was the king of early breaking.

[airshifter]

I personally thought that Bottas stayed mid track expecting Lewis to get behind him then go outside. By the time he realized that Lewis was on his right, Max had the run and was moving before Bottas could cover him. It's easy for us to pick it apart in hindsight, but things are happening pretty quick on track.

Other than the start, no big changes up front. I was really expecting RB to pit Perez earlier and go for the undercut, but they went the other way. It was great to see him lead a lap in Mexico though. RB might have had a shot if they pitted with Lewis or the following lap, but in the end the newer tires didn't have enough left to really make a solid challenge.

Really the entire top 10 all had good drives today. Gasly is just quietly putting that car where it really doesn't belong. Sainz and Leclerc both had good races, and at least Ferrari rolled the dice on trying the position change hoping to catch Gasly. Kimi pulling points and sandwiched by two other WDC drivers. Lando overall had a decent race, and was at least in the points.

I think Merc should have had that start detailed out better, and it appears they were just winging it. I'm not sure if the RB could have made it past them if they stayed in front, as the track passing areas are more on the long straights were Merc has the speed advantage. Watching Bottas struggle to get by Danny Ric was telling of his race.


Great atmosphere at this race. I think the crowd there is one of the best of the season usually. And they rightfully lost their crap when Sergio was on the podium. Good on them, and Sergio.


On to the next one... things are still dicey and anything can happen.

[Fortitude]

FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO DE LA CIUDAD DE MÉXICO 2021 - RACE RESULT
05 07 Nov 2021 Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City

https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2021/races/1103/mexico/race-result.html


DRIVER OF THE DAY: Perez gets your vote with popular home podium in Mexico
07 November 2021

Sergio Perez - 36.9%
Max Verstappen - 13.5%
Pierre Gasly - 7.4%

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.driver-of-the-day-perez-gets-your-vote-with-popular-home-podium-in-mexico.6s1Y3A8qQwCBsfEGsXeT27.html


'I wanted more, I wanted to win' admits Perez after making history with Mexico City podium
07 November 2021

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.i-wanted-more-i-wanted-to-win-admits-perez-after-making-history-with-mexico.5JQWlsF50p28vQlxT5Obed.html


'It can turn around very quickly' – Verstappen insists he’s not thinking of the title despite dominant win in Mexico
07 November 2021

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.it-can-turn-around-very-quickly-verstappen-insists-hes-not-thinking-of-the.7LowL2Nbd3YXe0xEtJ4bFu.html


Verstappen extends championship lead after jumping both Mercedes at the start to win in Mexico
07 November 2021

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.verstappen-extends-championship-lead-after-jumping-both-mercedes-at-the.5MuxQBFZyfPdlnwaJDT0j0.html


Video
RACE HIGHLIGHTS: Catch up on all the action from the Mexico City Grand Prix
07 November 2021

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.race-highlights-catch-up-on-all-the-action-from-the-mexico-city-grand-prix.3njuEOVAspS13KrJdTEaVA.html

[Nitrodaze]

I personally thought that Bottas stayed mid track expecting Lewis to get behind him then go outside. By the time he realized that Lewis was on his right, Max had the run and was moving before Bottas could cover him. It's easy for us to pick it apart in hindsight, but things are happening pretty quick on track.

Not really, Bottas did not want to do that at all. It was up to Hamilton to tuck in behind him. All he had to do was hang on to the racing line. By moving right to the dirty side of the track to block Hamilton, he opened up the left side to Verstappen and consequently gave up the clean racing line on the left. Which invited Verstappen through.

Bottas is very experienced and he knew precisely what he was doing. He did not race for the team, he raced for himself and did his best to stymie Hamilton's charge on the right for fear of Hamilton overtaking him when his eye ought to be on Verstappen and Redbull. After all, he is not in the championship fight.

Whichever way you look at it, Mercedes would not be impressed with him. If he had won the race doing what he did, it would have been forgivable. But finishing 15th after gifting Redbull and Verstappen the lead from the start, would not go down well in the Mercedes garage for him.

He messed up, plain and simple.

After what we saw in Mexico, l think they should do an early swap with Russell. The way Bottas is driving could put both the constructors and driver championship at risk for Mercedes. He is now looking like a loose cannon. It is very unpredictable what he would do at the remainder of the races.

[F1nKS]

N
Whichever way you look at it, Mercedes would not be impressed with him. If he had won the race doing what he did, it would have been forgivable. But finishing 15th after gifting Redbull and Verstappen the lead from the start, would not go down well in the Mercedes garage for him.



I believe Toto agrees with you. He said that Bottas had "opened up the sea" for Max."

[Bagwan]

Not really, Bottas did not want to do that at all. It was up to Hamilton to tuck in behind him. All he had to do was hang on to the racing line. By moving right to the dirty side of the track to block Hamilton, he opened up the left side to Verstappen and consequently gave up the clean racing line on the left. Which invited Verstappen through.

Bottas is very experienced and he knew precisely what he was doing. He did not race for the team, he raced for himself and did his best to stymie Hamilton's charge on the right for fear of Hamilton overtaking him when his eye ought to be on Verstappen and Redbull. After all, he is not in the championship fight.

Whichever way you look at it, Mercedes would not be impressed with him. If he had won the race doing what he did, it would have been forgivable. But finishing 15th after gifting Redbull and Verstappen the lead from the start, would not go down well in the Mercedes garage for him.

He messed up, plain and simple.

After what we saw in Mexico, l think they should do an early swap with Russell. The way Bottas is driving could put both the constructors and driver championship at risk for Mercedes. He is now looking like a loose cannon. It is very unpredictable what he would do at the remainder of the races.

You may be angry with him for screwing up , but does that give you special insight into his thoughts ?

[Mia 01]

Both Toto and Lewis is tad disrespectful to Bottas. He is made the scapegot for the second loss in a row.

[denkimi]

Nobody is to blame for this los, verstappen was just way faster this time. Unless bottas took him out, he was always going to win.

[Nitrodaze]

You may be angry with him for screwing up , but does that give you special insight into his thoughts ?

I am not angry with Bottas. He is there to drive his own race and l get that. My comments are observations of how it might look for him, with how that race has concluded. My personal opinion is, he is needed more than ever to help the team in their title fights. What l saw at Mexico suggests his head is elsewhere. And any team in a closely fought championship battle would not want that from their second pilot.

But then l forgot you are very much anti-Mercedes or was it anti-Hamilton, l don't which one it is nowadays.

[Nitrodaze]

Nobody is to blame for this los, verstappen was just way faster this time. Unless bottas took him out, he was always going to win.

I disagree. His job was to keep the Redbulls behind until the first corner. If he comes out of the first corner ahead. The race was his to win, with Hamilton in tow. If he had kept to the racing line, he would have forced Verstappen to try to overtake on the dirty side of the track. which would have given him the chance to make it to the first corner ahead. Of course, there is the fear of team orders, but a good chance of Mercedes one-two may have materialized.

Mercedes keeps squandering opportunities.

[Nitrodaze]

Both Toto and Lewis is tad disrespectful to Bottas. He is made the scapegot for the second loss in a row.

Sorry Mia, Bottas messed up. He deserves the criticism.

[denkimi]

I disagree. His job was to keep the Redbulls behind until the first corner. If he comes out of the first corner ahead. The race was his to win, with Hamilton in tow. If he had kept to the racing line, he would have forced Verstappen to try to overtake on the dirty side of the track. which would have given him the chance to make it to the first corner ahead. Of course, there is the fear of team orders, but a good chance of Mercedes one-two may have materialized.

Mercedes keeps squandering opportunities.
Have you even seen the race? Verstappen fastest lap is 0,8s faster than hamiltons fastest lap. Verstappen was continuously about half a second per lap faster than hamilton. And bottas was way slower than hamilton for all the race, except when for like 5 laps or so when he had much better tyres.
https://www.racefans.net/2021/11/08/2021-mexico-city-grand-prix-interactive-data-lap-charts-times-and-tyres/

There was no way even hamilton was going to keep verstappen behind, so bottas winning this here is just laughable. This was verstappens race and nobody was going to stop that without crashing into him. Bottas wouldn't even have made it on the podium, 4th place would have been the best possible result.

i agree he could and should have kept the redbulls behind in the first corner, but neither mercedes was ever going to win this race. The redbulls were just too fast, as hamilton himself said on the radio multiple times.

[Nitrodaze]

Have you even seen the race? Verstappen fastest lap is 0,8s faster than hamiltons fastest lap. Verstappen was continuously about half a second per lap faster than hamilton. And bottas was way slower than hamilton for all the race, except when for like 5 laps or so when he had much better tyres.
https://www.racefans.net/2021/11/08/2021-mexico-city-grand-prix-interactive-data-lap-charts-times-and-tyres/

There was no way even hamilton was going to keep verstappen behind, so bottas winning this here is just laughable. This was verstappens race and nobody was going to stop that without crashing into him. Bottas wouldn't even have made it on the podium, 4th place would have been the best possible result.

i agree he could and should have kept the redbulls behind in the first corner, but neither mercedes was ever going to win this race. The redbulls were just too fast, as hamilton himself said on the radio multiple times.

I agree Verstappen would have won the race eventually. But he should have worked hard for the win and given us some entertainment doing it. What we had was Verstappen romping away from the start of the race.

Bottas was slower because of the shunt from Ricciardo. His pace would have been similar to Hamilton if he was clear of the first corner in the lead.

[joe1888cfc]

I agree Verstappen would have won the race eventually. But he should have worked hard for the win and given us some entertainment doing it. What we had was Verstappen romping away from the start of the race.

Bottas was slower because of the shunt from Ricciardo. His pace would have been similar to Hamilton if he was clear the first corner in the lead.

Have you watched F1 before? Bottas pace similar to Hamilton! Lol