Mexico Grand Prix: The Hits and Misses of the Editorial Team

Carlos Sainz, absolutely brilliant

Nobody will be able to claim, after these four seasons at Ferrari, that Carlos Sainz is not an excellent driver, one of those who deserve a place in one of the best teams on the grid. However, the Madrilene has also often struggled to shake off the label of number two behind Charles Leclerc, who usually attracts a little more attention to himself.

But in Mexico, there was only Carlos Sainz, and the Monegasque spent the weekend in the shadow of his teammate like the 19 other drivers on the grid. Very comfortable from the first laps, car number 55 secured a thoroughly deserved pole position before brilliantly winning on Sunday. Passing Verstappen at the start, he confidently and daringly took back the lead to never lose it again. His fourth victory in red, likely the last as he will move to Williams next season, is undoubtedly his finest. To his (few) detractors, Carlos Sainz has shown that he, too, is capable of being truly great.

Haas and Kévin Magnussen, a rejuvenation cure.

Since joining Haas in 2023, Nico Hülkenberg has accustomed us to his flashes of brilliance. Often qualified in Q3, regularly scoring points, the German has been the attraction of the midfield since his return to competition. But in Mexico, it was his teammate, Kevin Magnussen, who stood out. The Dane, very (too) discreet this year, had an impressive weekend, “the best” that his team principal, Ayao Komatsu, has ever seen him perform.

The Japanese may be right, as Magnussen did everything perfectly. Qualified 7th, he finished in the same position, not losing any position against a driver who started behind him. “K-Mag” managed the small feat of holding off Oscar Piastri, who started from the back of the grid but only finished 8th at the checkered flag.

In addition, Nico Hülkenberg scored two points for the 9th place to allow the American team to gain 10 points on Racing Bulls in the race for 6th place in the championship. Thanks to its second double top ten in 2024, Haas entered the points for the fifth weekend in a row. Well done.

Pierre Gasly, a good point

He certainly didn’t feel like jumping for joy, but Pierre Gasly had reason to be happy after the Mexican Grand Prix. The Normandy native asserted himself as the leader of his team this weekend, outperforming a downhearted Esteban Ocon who seems eager for the season to end. Gasly, on the other hand, remains highly motivated and secured his fifth Q3 of the year, the second in a row. In Austin, his 6th place on the starting grid was hindered by the limitations of his Alpine, preventing him from competing for points. In Mexico, Pierre Gasly struggled, but he persisted. His 10th place earned him a well-deserved point, making us inevitably lament the fact that the Alpine wasn’t better designed…

Sergio Perez, everything is to be thrown away

There won’t be much to bring back from Mexico for Red Bull except resentment and regrets. The Austrian team experienced a nightmarish Sunday, after a Saturday already spoiled by the mishaps of the local driver, Sergio Pérez, a disappointing 18th in qualifying. The Mexican, for whom Red Bull’s patience seems to be reaching its limits, had an almost worse Sunday by delivering a tasteless race. His excellent start seemed to launch a nice comeback to ignite the local crowd, but contact with Liam Lawson, his possible replacement in 2025, destroyed his Red Bull, causing him to lose a lot of performance. Finally 17th and last of the remaining drivers, he really has nothing to keep from this weekend, which could well be his last at home in Formula 1.

Max Verstappen, chasing nature…

Here is the number 1 flop of the weekend. Harsh, do you think? Maybe, but we can no longer accept to see this kind of behavior from Max Verstappen. Yet, the Dutch driver had started his weekend well by setting the second fastest time in qualifying to start from a more favorable position than the first one as the path to the first corner is long in Mexico. It didn’t fail: Verstappen took the lead before a response from Carlos Sainz.

Instead of just managing his race and knowing when to defend against Lando Norris – his only rival for the title – the Red Bull driver seemed to lose his composure and his nerves from the early laps of the race. Aggressive in his defense at turn 4, he pushed Norris off the track in a scene reminiscent of the end of the race in Texas. The ten-second penalty received for this incident did not calm him down, and Verstappen once again took the McLaren off the track at turn 8. The maneuver, this time dangerous and frankly ridiculous, is absolutely unworthy of a driver of his talent. The three-time world champion falls back into old habits we thought he had overcome and becomes the angry and impulsive kid he was at the start of his career. Credited with a twenty-second penalty, he eventually finishes 6th and salvages the situation against his rival. But beware of doing that again…

Liam Lawson, the excess of zeal

All eyes have been on him since he replaced Daniel Ricciardo after Singapore. Liam Lawson has just completed his second Grand Prix in a row after the Texas race, where he had made quite an impression. In Mexico, however, the New Zealander was less prominent. His race was compromised by his battle with Sergio Perez, where the animosity between the two drivers was not only due to their on-track rivalry. The two men are fighting for the second Red Bull seat for 2025, and Lawson is showing how much he desires it eagerly. Perhaps too eagerly.

The young man showed signs of annoyance and raised a middle finger towards Sergio Perez when overtaking him, which was really unnecessary. The gesture did not go down well internally, and Liam Lawson should be careful not to give the impression that he is fragile under pressure. His 16th place finish, just ahead of Perez, is otherwise difficult to assess as his teammate Yuki Tsunoda did not even have time to make it to the first corner.

Oscar Piastri, who is he?

Since his victory in Baku, Oscar Piastri has been struggling. The Australian is no longer able to keep up with his teammate Lando Norris. A slight drop in form far from being dramatic, but which was evident in Mexico with a completely disastrous weekend. The two-time winner this season missed out on qualifying by a long shot.

After a first lap deleted for going over track limits, he had to do a second one on the same set of tires which turned out to be largely insufficient. Author of the 17th time, his journey ended in Q1. Condemned to climb back up to hope to score points, Piastri did what he had to do, but he took a long time. His final 8th place, stuck between the Haas cars, remains a disappointment as the Mercedes, not particularly fast, were within reach as well as Max Verstappen, penalized 20 seconds. His poor form of the day also allows Ferrari to get closer in the constructors’ standings. His role in McLaren’s end of season will be crucial.