2024 Mexico City Grand Prix - [RACE] discussion thread 🏎️

ROUND 20: 🇲🇽 Mexico

FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO DE LA CIUDAD DE MÉXICO 2024

Circuit stats

Circuit name: Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez
First Grand Prix: 1963
Number of laps: 71
Circuit Length: 4.304 km
Race Distance: 305.354 km
Lap record: 1:17.774 Valtteri Bottas (2021)
2023 winner: Max Verstappen

Track Map

78 comments

🥲
- The Return of the King
"False start"

"No, it was a great start"

Comedy gold
Are all of them driving like idiots now?

Perez-Stroll and Lawson-Perez are under investigation, Colapinto did a stupid move on Piastri..
- Write stupid rules, get stupid races. This is all on FIA and the stewards. You reap what you sow.
- 😂
VER needs to be DSQ-ed. Guy is fucking dangerous with his red mist.
- Fucking finally, 2x 10s penalty!
Another 10 seconds penalty for Max
Verstappen is an idiot who only knows how to drive and start in first.

Edit: both RBs drive like they're alone on the track
At least Perez made it past the first ~~corner~~ straight this time.

Aaaand he picked up a penalty already. This man..
- Perez was wayyy off his grid position.
  
  The interaction between Perez and his race engineer was comical.
- Apparently with a jump start too!
- He actually seems to have gained a few positions already
  
  Apparently he had a false start and got a penalty for it.
  
  I'm guessing he can pull out far enough for it not to be an issue at the end of the race, but man, this guy is not blessed in Mexico.
Can't say this kind of driving is endearing Max to me.
Smooooooth operator
Aston Martin says Alonso's retirement was due to a brake issue related to cooling

https://twitter.com/ChrisMedlandF1/status/1850642118764888509

Unfortunate. Uneventful end to his 400th race weekend.
- Going by the radio transcripts on Multiviewer something got stuck in a brake duct and they overheated instantly
Track temperature has dropped by 5 degrees, could impact the grip a lot says Wurz as we see marbels
Leclerc omg
The fuck is Max doing
- Not learned anything from last week.
- Not taking any shit, that's what he's doing.
Everybody boxing to get fastest lap and Norris simply tries to go for it with his old hards lol
This first at apex shit has to change or else both Norris and max will just race to the apex without any regards to making the corner
- 100%, the rules need fixing and fast.
My completely non-expert prediction: Max goes back to winning ways after Sainz overcooks his engine while Norris gets taken out by a Mercedes. Perez ruins his race trying to get past Magnussen and Hulkenberg finishes in 5th.
Contact between Lawson and Perez. Perez has a small hole on his right sidepod.

Another 10s penalty for Verstappen wow.
- I'm all for Red Bull downfall
Wowe, 20s total penalties
Man everybody is fighting like crazy this weekend
Lando in that McLaren is so weirdly gentle on the tyres. Like his outright pace is not ahead of the others but he seems to have minimal degradation. Either that or else he is taking it too easy at the start of the stint and not maximising the entire stint.
- Piastri has been having a rough couple of months but from the season overall it looks like a car characteristic. We've seen several races where both McLarens seem to perform best towards the end of a stint.
  
  I don't get it though. If the car is so well balanced that he is always faster at the end of stints, shouldn't it be faster at the start of the stint as well? Also not only is Lando faster than others at the end of the stint, he is faster than himself as well when compared to his pace early in the stint.
Norris gaining slowly on Leclerc. He has 15 laps – plenty of opportunities to try and overtake.
Haas holding steady with 7th and 8th. Kmag's keeping up with the Mercs. Impressive stuff so far.
Still no mariachi theme. Sadness.
- It has happened! I'm now at peace.
- They used it for the line-up song lol
- IT'S THERE!
People are gonna make gifs of him sitting out that 20 seconds penalty
Ouch. There goes Yuki's chance.
That was close for Charles.
Ferrari benefits again from the VER-NOR sparring.
Did they load the Haas fuel tanks with tequila?
I mean, this should really be a penalty.
I get 10 seconds for the T8 incident but for T4 10 seconds seems excessive especially considering Norris kept the place after T4 by going off track
- I think it's because this one might have been a deliberate decision to run him off rather than them both outbreaking themselves. (Maybe?)
  
  Remember that the driver steward changes ever race (as well as the other stewards?)
- I'd like to see the telemetry data, Max could have turned into Norris on T4, which would explain the 10s penalty.
The return of VER-PER, but on the last positions of the field
Drama from the start!
So.. either McLaren thinks the hards are really bad and don't want to switch Oscar onto them.. or they want to keep Oscar in that track position to block Max
Tsunoda trying to impress Red Bull:
Let's go!.. Well..soon
If I were Lawson I'd be scared for my life with Perez behind

Edit: Looks like some sidepod damage on Perez' car
Perez just can't catch a break, fired after this race?
- Well they have the entire race to talk to Tsunoda now.
  
  Oof
  
  Yeh, but they don't like him for some reason
Norris taking a leaf out of the Verstappen playbook. I can see Ferrari sneaking the constructors championship because max and Lando keep fighting each other
My expectations are on the floor in terms of entertainment on this track so as long as I get some action I'll be content. Not holding my breath though. We might well get some chaos into turn one lap one, but not expecting a glowing evening of racing.
10 seconds penalty.
- 10 seconds penalty.
And another 10 for overtaking and gaining advantage. Howcome now it's 10 seconds, and not last week?

I don't think a penalty is undeserved, but I thought the first 10 seconds were 2 times 5 combined for both incidents or something. It seems very excessive at this point. They essentially killed the most interesting part of the race with this.
- Because VER doesn't learn otherwise.
  
  Learn what? He's not a robot, he does make mistakes sometimes. The real problem is the rules the FIA set up that leads to these kind of incidents. And they're being insanely inconsistent when punishing drivers. Also, Lando would've just taken back the position within a few laps anyway.
- I think it should have been 5 seconds for the first incident and 10 for the second.
  
  Cant believe this reasonable opinion has been downvoted so much
Well Lawson could get a penalty for that as well, right?
Gnarly. Seems like both are ok thankfully.

Yet another incident for Williams. Team desperately needs a break 🙏🙏
Lawson about to steal fastest lap from Norris lmao
That was very China ~~2017~~ 2016 between gasly, albon and tsunoda
10 seconds penalty? That seems kinda inconsistent compared to last race.
- Well he run Lando off into a zone with very little room towards the wall

78 comments