Vamos Carlos!!
- pitwallstories
- Oct 28, 2024
- 5 min read
The Mexican GP is without a doubt among the most awaited Grand Prix of the season. There is a vibe in the paddock that is simply unmatchable anywhere else.
Dances, costumes, face paint, skeletons and a lot more color the paddock with all sorts of shades and floral designs that have, for many years, attracted a lot of viewers. In fact, it is not a secret that the Mexican GP is also one of the most attended races on the calendar - just this year we had a total that went over 400.000.
Everyone comes to this Grand Prix with high expectations, not only from home hero Sergio Perez but from the rest of the grid as well. And this year’s race did not disappoint those expectations.
A mixed Saturday
The weather seemed to be slightly variable during the entire weekend, from free practices up until the race on Sunday.
Saturday saw the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez being covered by gray clouds all over it but with no threat of rain coming, which comforted some of the drivers.
It was definitely an unexpectedly surprising qualifying session that of Saturday. It saw home hero Perez being kicked out in Q1, along with some other shock exits. A red flag has also been put out in Q2 when Tsunoda scaringly went into the wall but came out of his car luckily untouched.
Overall it was a positive Saturday for the highest scoring teams of this season because this quali session saw Carlos Sainz snatching away a fantastic pole position, followed by current world champion Max Verstappen in P2 and Lando Norris taking P3. Charles Leclerc managed to end his qualifying in P4, unsatisfied with his result but nonetheless better than others, like McLaren driver Oscar Piastri who shockingly only finished in P17.
Both Mercedes drivers made it to Q3, Russell P5 and Hamilton P6 and also the Haas cars started from the highest positions with Magnussen and Hulkenberg respectively in P7 and P10.
Vamos Carlos!
On Sunday, race day, the weather was different from the previous days as sun and warmth welcomed the drivers on track. As soon as the tyre blankets came off and the lights went out, Max Verstappen was the one to start the strongest. Him and Sainz went side-by-side in Turn 1, forcing the Spaniard on the grass who later, after driving back on track, gave the position back to the Dutchman.
As this first drama moment unfolded, in the back, Yuki Tsunoda spun out as one of his tyres came off, sandwiched between two other drivers, the accident of course forcing him to retire from the race and therefore putting out a yellow flag. The Safety Car initiated by Tsunoda stayed out longer than anticipated because another driver from Williams this time, Alex Albon, went into the wall after the damages suffered from the crash with Tsunoda.
Eventually around lap 6, the Safety Car exited the track and in the meantime word got to Checo Perez that he had received a 5-second penalty for a false start as his car was positioned a bit more in front than accepted on the starting grid.
As if wanting to call the Safety Car out again, another dramatic moment happened between the top four drivers of the race as Verstappen and Sainz found themselves fighting alongside each other once again. Just one turn later, Lando Norris joined in to battle the current world champion as Sainz drove away but as if coming out of nowhere, while Norris and Verstappen were occupied, Charles Leclerc saw his opportunity to overtake them both and did it. Now the roars from the crowd were even louder as the dream of another Ferrari 1-2 was unfolding on track.
The fight between Norris and Verstappen did not go unnoticed also because the brit complained about some pretty dangerous moves the dutchman did. “I was ahead the whole way through the corner! This guy is dangerous. I just have to avoid a crash. It’s the same as last time.”
Finally the complaint made by the McLaren driver was heard loud and clear by the stewards who decided to give Verstappen a 10-second penalty for forcing another driver off track in the Turn 4 incident.
Meanwhile a sudden stop came to Fernando Alonso’s race as he was forced to retire the car. An unfortunate thing to do during the Spaniard's 400th GP weekend.
This race was a 71-lap one but the most exciting moments happened not even before it was halfway through! Because then again another accident happened on lap 20 when Verstappen received another 10-second penalty, this time for leaving the track and gaining advantage.
The reaction on the grid for this was priceless, like Russell who reacted with a “Wow.” in his team radio, just to name one. Surprisingly Verstappen himself didn’t really react to this, there was silence following the declaration of his penalty but then again maybe F1 Live TV simply decided not to show the Dutchman’s reaction.
Eventually on lap 27 Verstappen went into the pits, the mechanics forced to leave his car untouched for a torturing long 20 seconds. Later, he went back out on track and he was P15.
Lewis Hamilton was the next driver from the top ten sitters to box, followed by Norris and Leclerc later on lap 33.
Race leader Sainz was then called in for a change of tyres but he begged the team for another round around the track to secure a smooth exit, which he did, driving back out and finding himself in the lead again.
Around lap 40 drivers Lawson and Piastri did their stop in the pits as well, leaving only Colapinto, Bottas, Ocon and Zhou that were yet to box. Eventually Franco Colapinto was the last driver to box for new tyres, showing extremely good tyre management skills from the argentinian rookie.
Later on, Leclerc found himself behind his teammate again but this time the gap with Norris was a lot less than before as the Briton was only 4 seconds behind the monegasque. A much larger gap was between Norris and Russell who was then given the permission “free to race” from his team as Hamilton was getting scaringly close for the fight for fourth.
As less than 5 laps remained, Norris was really determined to get that additional point for fastest lap as he set it for the second time on lap 62. That wasn’t the only thing that happened on lap 62 because everyone got a big scare from Leclerc as he went suddenly wide on the final corner, miraculously controlling his car from brutally crashing into the wall.
This of course gave the opportunity to Norris to overtake which he did, finishing the race behind his former teammate Carlos Sainz, who secured his second win of the season. Charles Leclerc came right behind Norris, finishing the podium sitters for the Mexican GP.
"Gracias Mexico!" said a very happy Sainz. "It’s incredible to see this crowd, I’ve been feeling their support all week. I feel like I have a lot of fanbase here in Mexico and they gave me a lot of strength to do the weekend that I’ve done. Honestly, I really wanted this one, I really needed it also for myself – I wanted to get it done. I’ve been saying for a while I wanted one more win before leaving Ferrari and to do it here in front of this mega crowd is incredible. Now, four races left, I want to enjoy it as much as possible and if another one comes, I will go for it."
