{"id":243787,"date":"2025-10-27T16:24:14","date_gmt":"2025-10-27T16:24:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/243787\/"},"modified":"2025-10-27T16:24:14","modified_gmt":"2025-10-27T16:24:14","slug":"everything-we-learned-from-f1s-mexican-grand-prix","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/243787\/","title":{"rendered":"Everything we learned from F1’s Mexican Grand Prix"},"content":{"rendered":"

Formula 1’s 2025 Mexican Grand Prix produced plenty of drama right from a chaotic opening lap, as the championship lead changed hands for the first time in over six months.<\/p>\n

Here’s what we learned from the Mexico weekend…<\/p>\n

Anger over \u2018lawnmower\u2019 racing\u00a0\"\"<\/p>\n

Multiple drivers were unimpressed with the \u201clawnmower racing\u201d (as George Russell described it to Sky Sports F1) that was going on at the first turn in Mexico.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Charles Leclerc and Verstappen were among those to skip across the grass at the start of the race and make gains which others felt were unearned.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hamilton felt like he\u2019d been punished for obeying track limits.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI had a great start. We broke into Turn 1, I was in P2, I navigated through [Turns] 1, 2 and 3, I didn’t go off track. Others cut it and held position and didn’t get penalties. [It] was pretty nuts,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Fernando Alonso says he \u201clost four places by doing the track\u201d with rivals \u201cappearing like three places in front of me\u201d, having been side-by-side with him through Turn 1.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Aston Martin\u2019s chief trackside officer Mike Krack, said he could understand Alonso\u2019s anger, adding: \u201cin lap one, I had the feeling that everybody just does what he wants, and you get away with it\u201d.<\/p>\n

He pointed out that the stewards have a difficult job in policing it and the particular layout of Mexico\u2019s opening corners makes it one of the worst offenders for opening lap chaos. – Josh Suttill\u00a0<\/p>\n

Red Bull’s big Tsunoda praise doesn’t match the result\"\"<\/p>\n

He might have qualified and finished in 11th place, but Red Bull team boss Laurent Mekies believes Yuki Tsunoda has just had \u201chis best weekend in a long time\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mekies explained: \u201cHe was very, very close in quali to Max. I think it was two tenths [0.211s] in Q2.\u201d That was his second smallest qualifying deficit to Verstappen of the season.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first stint was very strong as well, two tenths or three tenths [per lap compared to] Max on the same, very long first stint on the medium.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen, after that, fair enough, [the blame] it’s on our side. We left him out a little bit longer because there was an advantage for us to do that.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

By that, Mekies means Tsunoda became a bit of a sacrificial lamb to help Verstappen\u2019s podium bid.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Plus, Tsunoda had an 11.85s pitstop that allowed Gabriel Bortoleto\u2019s Sauber to overcut him for what would turn out to be the final points-paying position.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mekies believes Tsunoda is \u201cmaking steps forward\u201d so Red Bull can take more time before making its 2026 driver call.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That doesn\u2019t mean Tsunoda is suddenly safe. Part of the logic is that Red Bull doesn\u2019t want any distractions from Verstappen\u2019s title bid.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But it has at least noticed a much-needed improvement in Tsunoda, who has finally proved himself useful to Verstappen\u2019s title bid and given a boost to his 2026 seat chances. – JS <\/p>\n

Haas can get it right when it counts\"\"<\/p>\n

Too many times this season, Haas missed out on scoring points when the speed of its car (and usually Ollie Bearman) could easily have been achieved.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But it came together in a big way in Mexico, where the upgraded VF-25 was very strong, especially in race trim. And Bearman was faultless after opportunistically hauling himself into a group of faster cars on merit, even though he was \u201cs***ing myself\u201d while racing Max Verstappen wheel-to-wheel in the first half of the race.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For a while, Bearman and Haas dreamed of a first podium. Some might say they should have rolled the dice on a one-stop to try to hang on to third. But the charge from Verstappen shows Bearman would have lost that position anyway.<\/p>\n

So, in opting for a two-stop, sacrificing track position, and accepting a lesser result, rather than risk losing everything by fading late on with older tyres, Haas made a pragmatic call that could have a much bigger reward than one moment of glory.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It has given the team a massive boost in the fight for sixth in the championship that could be worth tens of millions in prize money come the end of the year.<\/p>\n

And fourth place – a best-ever result for driver and team – is still a fine outcome in itself. – Scott Mitchell-Malm\u00a0<\/p>\n

Aston Martin is still baffled by Mexico\"\"<\/p>\n

Aston Martin has failed to score a single point at the Mexican Grand Prix during this rules era. In four attempts from 2022 to this year\u2019s race, it has a best finish of 11th – and never looked like being in the mix to better that on Sunday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There\u2019s something about the low-grip track, big wings\/low-downforce combination at this air density, and circuit layout with a very long straight, that does not play well at all with Aston Martin\u2019s struggles with aerodynamic efficiency and on circuits that demand certain compromises.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn terms of understanding Mexico, we still have work to do,\u201d admitted chief trackside officer Mike Krack.\u00a0<\/p>\n

To rub salt into the wound of an uncompetitive weekend, Lance Stroll had a needless and self-inflicted spin on the opening lap, and Fernando Alonso retired after rising brake temperatures made his brake pedal go long.<\/p>\n

As Alonso lamented, \u201cluck is not definitely with me\u201d at a race he\u2019s retired in at each of the last three attempts. – SMM\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lawson got an apology, F1 got away with one\u00a0\"\"<\/p>\n

Thankfully, the Mexican Grand Prix may be remembered for a frightening near miss<\/a> rather than anything more serious.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Liam Lawson was understandably enraged when he encountered two marshals running across the track in front of him on the exit of Turn 1 when he\u2019d had to make an early pitstop for repairs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The FIA officials apologised to Lawson, who told his team \u201che could\u2019ve f***ing killed someone\u201d had things panned out slightly differently on track.<\/p>\n

The FIA is still chasing answers to how this happened. The marshals were told to retrieve debris at that corner, but that order was rescinded when Lawson made his pitstop – clearly that message wasn\u2019t properly received.\u00a0<\/p>\n

F1 can count itself lucky that something more serious didn\u2019t occur, but there are serious questions that it must answer to avoid a repeat in the future. – JS<\/p>\n

Piastri is in a potentially title-killing slump\"\"<\/p>\n

Oscar Piastri is facing the toughest phase of his short F1 career right now, with his championship lead obliterated and lost to team-mate Lando Norris, and a slump in form that threatens to wipe him out of title contention if it can\u2019t be quickly stopped.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Piastri\u2019s gap to Norris in Austin was two or three tenths, but it grew to in excess of half a second in Mexico.\u00a0<\/p>\n

What\u2019s worrying is the laptime bleed to Norris was consistent throughout the lap, there wasn’t one particular problematic corner or sequence, so finding a fix wasn\u2019t easy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He mounted a decent recovery on Sunday, but only after making his life harder with a tricky opening lap that dropped him down to ninth.\u00a0<\/p>\n

McLaren team boss Andrea Stella believes it\u2019s these \u201cspecial low-grip conditions\u201d across Austin and Mexico that Piastri\u2019s struggling in.<\/p>\n

The cars slide around a lot in those conditions, which means Piastri has to drive in a way that \u201cnot necessarily feels natural\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n

If Stella\u2019s right, then it should be normal service resumed for Piastri in different conditions during F1\u2019s final four races.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But what if Piastri\u2019s struggles continue even on grippier tracks like Brazil (if it’s dry)?\u00a0<\/p>\n

After all, it\u2019s quite the sizeable performance deficit to Norris. For that to suddenly be obliterated would probably be as equally shocking as its onset in the first place.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Piastri\u2019s title hopes certainly depend on it. Otherwise, all of that good work in the first two-thirds of the season will be for nought. – JS\u00a0<\/p>\n

Norris\u2019s well-timed breakthrough\u00a0\"\"<\/p>\n

Piastri\u2019s struggles have coincided with a well-timed breakthrough for Norris on the other side of the McLaren garage.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Now it\u2019s worth noting the exact kind of low-grip conditions that Piastri has struggled in, Norris often thrives in. So there is an element of the recent tracks playing to Norris\u2019s strengths.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But In Mexico, Norris was at his very best with his most complete weekend in F1 so far. He\u2019d had dominant races before at Zandvoort and Singapore last year or Monaco this year, but this was the most complete weekend from start to finish.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Norris puts this down to an important 30-minute debrief after Singapore, where he explained to the team how the car was behaving in a way he didn\u2019t like and why changes were necessary.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This has returned some much-needed feeling behind the wheel for Norris across Austin and Mexico, that\u2019s been reflected in the results.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It remains to be seen if it\u2019s enough to hold off Verstappen\u2019s charging title push, but a continuation of this kind of Norris form would stand him in very good stead to win the intra-team fight at least. – JS\u00a0<\/p>\n

Alpine\u2019s season can get worse\u00a0\"\"<\/p>\n

Alpine\u2019s had plenty of poor weekends in 2025, but Mexico proved to be particularly woeful as Alpine\u2019s main job became ensuring it didn\u2019t get in the way of the cars that were lapping it, and avoiding any of the team orders angst of Austin.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWith the frontrunners coming through with blue flags, we managed both cars equally and carefully to not interfere with those lapping us, while giving them both the chance to at least compete for position without taking any unnecessary risks,\u201d managing director Steve Nielsen explained.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Alpine’s was firmly the slowest car in Mexico, failing to get anywhere close to Q2 on Saturday and running at the back of the classified finishers on Sunday – making for \u201ca long and lonely afternoon\u201d in the words of Franco Colapinto.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Alpine now heads to Brazil – scene of its double podium last year – where even scoring a point (for the first time since Spa) would feel like an equally seismic shock. – JS\u00a0<\/p>\n

Bortoleto\u2019s bounceback proved a point\u00a0\"\"<\/p>\n

Gabriel Bortoleto\u2019s 10th place is unique among his five points finishes in F1 because it\u2019s the first time he\u2019s had to fight his way there from a lowly starting position.<\/p>\n

Unlike in Austin a week earlier, Bortoleto\u2019s underlying pace was decent, it\u2019s just that Q1 got away from him thanks to a lock-up on his first run then \u201ca bad one\u201d on his second run as he struggled with over-rotation.<\/p>\n

\u201cGabriel\u2019s qualifying was dominated by a tiny little snap into Turn 1, which overheated the tyres,\u201d said Sauber team principal Jonathan Wheatley. \u201cIt\u2019s relentless, this track, once you\u2019ve got tyres that have overheated at Turn 1.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bortoleto was frustrated because, unlike in Austin, he felt \u201cvery comfortable and confident with the car\u201d. From 16th on the grid, he had some work to do in the race.<\/p>\n

He jumped to 13th at the start, then passed Sainz to move up to 12th, which gave him a firm foundation to build from. He couldn\u2019t make an impact on fellow medium-runner Hadjar in the first stint, although Bortoleto was helped by Tsunoda losing nine seconds in his pitstop. <\/p>\n

He ran three laps longer than Hadjar and, after quickly closing in, it turned into a long game as he looked for a way past, one that Bortoleto won when he battled past late on with an aggressive move around Hadjar’s outside at Turn 1.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt some point I [had] tried so many times I said \u2018whatever happens, happens, if we crash, we crash, but at least I need to go for it\u2019. So it worked out very well. It was a tough fight with him, but he was clean, I was clean, and everything was cool.\u201d<\/p>\n

His reward was a valuable point for Sauber, given it\u2019s in a group of four teams vying for sixth in the constructors\u2019 championship. And it required a well-executed and attacking race drive. – Edd Straw <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Formula 1’s 2025 Mexican Grand Prix produced plenty of drama right from a chaotic opening lap, as the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":243788,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[441],"tags":[49,48,578,576,577,82],"class_list":["post-243787","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-formula-1","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-f1","tag-formula-1","tag-formula1","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243787","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=243787"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243787\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/243788"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=243787"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=243787"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=243787"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}