The Formula One title race took another twist last weekend in Mexico City as Lando Norris moved to the top of the table for the first time since April.
Norris dominated proceedings at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, taking pole on Saturday before staying clear of the chaos behind to win by 30 seconds. Teammate Oscar Piastri could only finish fifth, allowing Norris to take the championship lead by a single point with four rounds remaining.
Max Verstappen had a more low-key weekend than his previous performances, but he still finished third to keep the pressure on the McLarens in the title race, with his late pursuit of Charles Leclerc halted by a virtual safety car that confused many. It was also a big day for Ollie Bearman as he crossed the line in fourth, matching the best result in Haas’s 10-year F1 history.
Editor’s note: Questions have been lightly edited for clarity and brevity.
Which of the upcoming tracks suits either McLaren or Red Bull (Max) best? Does one team have a potential upper hand over the other over the four races? And where McLaren has the perceived upper hand, does it suit Lando or Oscar more? — Chris D.
McLaren took great confidence from Norris’s victory in Mexico. The win proved that after a string of defeats at the hands of Verstappen (and George Russell in Singapore), it does still have a mighty car capable of dominating a weekend.
One of the McLaren car’s strengths this year has been through medium-speed corners. Their absence on tracks such as Monza, Baku and Singapore meant they were expected to struggle. Team principal Andrea Stella also pointed to Las Vegas as being another problematic circuit for McLaren, as it’s all long straights and slow-speed corners. That should work more toward Verstappen and Red Bull, as well as Mercedes, given how well it performs in cooler temperatures (it scored a one-two there last year).
Oscar Piastri will hope to retake the lead at the top of the drivers’ championship (Jay Hirano / SOPA Images/Sipa USA)
The good news for McLaren is that the other three remaining tracks — Interlagos, Qatar and Abu Dhabi — should play more toward the papaya cars. Qatar is basically all medium or high-speed corners, so I’d be stunned to see anything but a McLaren win there. Stella has noted that Red Bull’s recent developments should make it competitive everywhere, but the deck should still be stacked in McLaren’s favor through this final stretch.
As for Norris and Piastri? The great weakness for Piastri in Austin and Mexico was his struggle to gel with the car in low-grip conditions, as it required a different driving style that came more easily to Norris. Qatar and Abu Dhabi in particular are warm, high-grip circuits — similar to Jeddah earlier this year — so Piastri should be strong there. The weather in Brazil is always a curveball, too.
Luke Smith
Was the VSC at the end of the Mexico Grand Prix really necessary? — Henrique S.
Yes. The race ended under green-flag conditions, but the late virtual safety car came when Verstappen was hunting down Leclerc, and Piastri was similarly chasing Bearman. After reviewing the FIA statement, I agree that a virtual safety car was needed, particularly given what happened earlier in the race with Liam Lawson. The Racing Bulls driver nearly hit a marshal, who was running across a live track after picking up debris.
The VSC late in the race came because of Carlos Sainz. The Spaniard spun on lap 70 out of 71 and stopped in the runoff area at Turn 14, in an exposed position. According to the FIA, the Williams car “began smoking and race control received notifications of fire, making it clear that marshal intervention would be required for recovery.”
The race is neutralized when marshals are sent to recover a car, and the VSC lasted until Sainz’s car was moved behind the barriers, ending once “the car was in a protected position.”
Sainz was asked about it in the written media pen, and he felt that he had parked it safely enough to try to avoid any yellow flags, a VSC, or a safety car. The rules are the rules, and while it did interrupt racing action, the VSC provided additional safety measures to protect the marshals.
Madeline Coleman
With both Haas cars scoring points in the Mexico race, was this a one-off, or is it finally on track to move up in the constructors’ standings moving forward? — David C.
What a day for Haas. I think the entire media center kept all eyes on Ollie Bearman through the race, with a shock podium on the cards before the second round of stops and Verstappen’s decision to stick to a one-stop strategy. Still, fourth matched the team’s best F1 result (from Austria 2018) and only added to Bearman’s status as a rising star.
Adding to Haas’s reasons to celebrate in Mexico was Esteban Ocon’s solid run to ninth place, bagging an extra two points. It made for a very tidy haul that lifted Haas above Sauber to eighth place in the constructors’ standings, and now leaves it just seven back from Aston Martin and just 10 behind Racing Bulls in sixth.
The late-season upswing has been aided by an upgrade package that arrived for the United States Grand Prix. Bearman seemed to click with the new parts especially well, leaving him disappointed with ninth in Austin after his race was compromised by Yuki Tsunoda’s defensive move that forced him into a spin.
Finishing as high as fourth is likely a one-off for Haas, but I do expect the team’s recent upward trajectory to continue through the closing four races. At a time when the margins in F1 are so fine and every single bit of performance can make a huge difference, coming good now with the back-to-back results (and underlying performances) in Austin and Mexico should encourage Haas.
As Alpine’s sudden surge up the table last year, when it scored a double podium in Brazil, proved, one crazy race can change an entire season when you’re in the midfield. For now, the momentum is certainly with Haas.
Luke Smith
Dumb question, but how do the drivers get their numbers? Max 1, Sainz 55, etc. — Jon P.
Not a dumb question! The rules surrounding this topic have actually changed over the years, the most recent overhaul happening in 2014.
To give an example of how different it is now, the drivers didn’t have permanent numbers when the world championship began in 1950. Race organizers typically selected the numbers, either based on the driver’s previous races or on a team’s entry order.
The 2014 rule change saw drivers pick permanent numbers for their entire F1 career. This not only allowed fans to better identify their driver throughout their career, but also helped driver branding. Take Lando Norris, for example, with how closely his personal branding is tied to the number 4.
Carlos Sainz’s 55 appears on the front of his car (Alexander Nemenov / AFP via Getty Images)
Now, the reasons drivers choose certain numbers vary. Verstappen’s race number is actually 33, but he races under the number 1 because that’s reserved for the reigning world champion. The title winner gets to choose whether to use 1 or stick with their race number.
Sometimes drivers have to get creative with their number choices because the one they wanted is already taken. That’s how Carlos Sainz chose 55. The number 5 was taken by Sebastian Vettel at the time, so Sainz went with 55.
He explained to F1 a few years ago, “Carlos Sainz. One S is one five. The other S is another five. So, it’s a 55. My favourite number is number five. Sebastian Vettel had the five, so I had to change. Then I came out with this word game of my name and the fives.”
Madeline Coleman