MEXICAN GRAND PRIX 2024
Carlos Sainz back to the top step!
Ferrari take their second win in a row with Carlos Sainz. It is the first season in which Carlos Sainz has had multiple wins. The Mexican gp started with Sainz in pole with Max alongside him in P2. As the lights went out, Sainz lost the lead to Max before turn 1. But that did not deter him at all, as after a few laps he was back; he overtook Max and never to be seen again dominating from that point to the end.
Ferrari have surpassed Red Bull in the constructors challenge and are 25 points ahead of them. The are now taking the fight to McLaren. They are only 29 point behind them and are closing in fast due to their consistent and stellar performances. It is really tight in the Constructor's battle now and its anyone's to win.
Charles Leclerc went from P4 to P2 a few laps after the start, as Max forced Lando off, first at turn 4 then at turn 7, due to which Max got a 20 second time penalty. In doing so, Max himself went off the track at turn 7, which gave way for Charles to get past. After which Max and Lando continued to battle while the Ferrari's pulled away in the distance. After the pit stops Max was relegated down to almost to the bottom of the pack. He fought through the pack but just was not fast enough to get close to Mercedes duo, finishing in P6,11 seconds behind George Russell.
On the other hand, Lando Norris after the pit stop lit up the track and closed down on the scarlet Ferrari of Charles Leclerc and got the P2 spot all to himself. The McLaren looked like it was at par or even faster than the Ferrari at some places, but was hindered due to the battle with Max at the start. At the end Lando tried his best, but just was not close enough towards the end of the race due to the lead Carlos had built in the start due to the stellar driving performance by him in his Ferrari.
The Mercedes duo finished in P4 and P5 a decent result for them. At this point of the season they look to be in a race of their own... too far from the leading pace but quite ahead of the midfield. Their performance seems to have fallen a bit since the Belgian Grand Prix where they were leading the pack.
Oscar Piastri finished in P8 behind the Haas of Kevin Magnussen, who he could not overtake in the end. A good recovery drive from him to come from P17 to P8. Sergio Perez was a having a good recovery drive until the incident with Liam Lawson due to which he got sidepod damage and ended up finishing P17, dead last of all cars that finished the race.
The Haas team have been on a role of form for the past few races scoring points consecutively. This time around the result was even better finishing P7 and P9, scoring 8 points in total, putting them 10 points ahead of the VCarb team and closing a bit on the Aston Martin team. Kevin Magnussen had supreme pace, not letting Oscar Piastri catch him at the end of the race. Pierre Gasly rounded out the top 10 getting a point for the Alpine team.
The Aston Martin team at this point look to be nowhere and do not have the pace at all to finish in the points. Fernando Alonso DNF in his 400th Grand Prix which was not what he expected. The Vcarb team were at the brim of the points with Liam Lawson until his front wing got damaged due to contact with Franco Colapinto, who finished in P12. The Williams team and VCarb team both lost their lead drivers at the start of the race due to contact between them which damaged and broke both of their cars rendering the cars unfit to race further. As always Sauber were the slowest cars no where near the points which they desperately need due to the drought they are having this season.
Mexico gave us a race to remember!
The race showed us that Carlos Sainz is one of the best drivers still and that it may have not been the correct decision to drop him from Ferrari. He has shown us constantly that he is as good or sometimes faster than Charles. It shows us how brutal can F1 be sometimes to drivers, even at the top of their form.
Next week we head to Sao Paolo, Brazil, the home of Senna. We except to get a thriller of a race from the tight and twisty streets of Brazil, a track which each year around does not shy away from surprising the fans and many a times gives us one of the best if not the best races of the season! Will Ferrari continue to triumph or can McLaren get back to the top step.
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