Race Report: Mexican Grand Prix 2023

Four races to go and the Formula One circus touches down in Mexico City for the Mexican Grand Prix. With no Sprint race this weekend, drivers were back to their usual three practice sessions before qualifying and the race. And, although Free Practice Three was nothing more than a nightmare for Ferrari, the team from Maranello took a shock front row lockout during qualifying on the Saturday with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz starting the race in first and second, respectively. Red Bull and Max Verstappen completed the top three. However, all eyes were to be focused on home-hero, Sergio Perez. But, after showing promise earlier on in the weekend, it was a lonely fifth where he'd be starting.

Race day, and with a sell-out crowd, all twenty drivers are ready to put on a show. As nineteen of them slot into their grid boxes after the formation lap, Lance Stroll trundles in his Aston Martin down to the exit of the pitlane where he'll be starting. With everyone in position, the lights go green in Mexico.

It's a tough get away for the Ferrari duo who find themselves being engulfed by the faster starting Red Bulls. Verstappen takes the inside of Leclerc going into turn one, whereas Perez attempts a move around the outside. Disaster. As the trio attempt turn one together, Perez goes slightly airbourne after making contact with Leclerc. Despite obvious front wing damage, Leclerc carries on in second. Perez, in desperate need of a good weekend, falls to the back of the field, eventually returning to the pits where he retires. At the end of lap one, it's normal precedings with Verstappen out front. Leclerc, with his damaged wing, sits in second, his teammate behind in third.

With debris on the track at turn one, the Virtual Safety Car is deployed. But, as quick as it came out, it goes back in. Lando Norris, who started towards the back of the grid, is out on soft tyres, trying to make up lost ground. He gets past the Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso for fifteenth with the help of DRS. Towards the front of the field, Lewis Hamilton is starting to put pressure on Daniel Ricciardo, who had a brilliant qualifying session the day before. He has a look into turn one but decides against making the move before telling his race engineer: "the car is running hot." Elsewhere, Leclerc is noted for driving in an unsafe condition, thanks to the damage on his front wing.

There is another brief yellow flag with Yuki Tsunoda taking a trip across the grass as he attempts an overtake on Logan Sargeant. He subsequently falls behind Alonso before diving into the pits for new rubber. Back with the Hamilton/Ricciardo battle and the former finally makes his move on lap eleven. Norris, who was the only driver to start on softs, comes in for his first stop. He returns to the track in eighteenth, wearing the medium boots.

Verstappen, still leading, has put nearly four seconds between himself and Leclerc, who is managing to cling on for second. Red Bull tell Verstappen to "watch the kerb at turn three." Both Ferrari's are assured that they are still on Plan A. Down at Aston Martin, Alonso let's his teammate through for fifteenth. He's also been advised to lift and coast in order to cool the car. Tsunoda sets the fastest lap of the race. A 1:22.501.

There is movement for the final point paying positions as Alexander Albon passes Zhou Guanyu. Next up for the Williams is the Alpine of Pierre Gasly. But it's Verstappen that's struggling on his current tyres. He pits at the end of lap nineteen, throwing on the hards. Norris, who has already stopped, is flying through the field. He passes Ocon and Alonso to make it back up into fifteenth.

The Mercedes pit crew is out in the pitlane but both Hamilton and George Russell stay out. A potential dummy to force the Ferrari's in? One team, however, do bring their drivers in. Both Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen pit for Haas with a double stack. On lap twenty five, Hamilton finally comes in. At Ferrari, instead of reacting to Hamilton's stop, they decide to stay out, telling Sainz: "Our best bet is to extend and go optimal one-stop." Their driver agrees. Mclaren's Oscar Piastri also pits, with Russell following him in a lap later. Russell comes out behind Albon and is disgruntled by this. His team tell him they needed to cover Norris. Out front, both Ferraris come in.

Zhou, who is running in the midfield, reports that he can smell burning in the car. Alfa Romeo look into what the issue could be. Not long after, the yellow flag is back out. Magnussen has had a heavy crash going into turn nine which results in the Safety Car being deployed. Driver is out of the car and ok. Many drivers take the opportunity to pit for new rubber, including race leader; Verstappen. Flames start to appear from the rear of the Haas as marshals take their time to attend the incident. Eventually they get there. The red flag is thrown and drivers make their way back to the pits.

The race will resume with a standing start, however, Leclerc is concerned. "A standing start with a hard tyre is going to be a huge mess," with most drivers restarting on cold, hard tyres. Hamilton is the only front runner restarting on the softer, medium compound.

The race resumes and the run up to the first turn is clean. Verstappen holds his lead in front of Leclerc and Hamilton. With the latter two fighting it out for position, Verstappen manages to create a 1.3 second gap by the end of the restart lap.

However, it wasn't a perfect restart for everyone. Both Zhou and Norris find themselves falling back through the field, with the latter experiencing awful wheelspin at the restart. Sainz, who is now in fourth, is having to defend hard from Russell who is on mediums. Russell isn't too impressed with Sainz's defending though, complaining that the Ferrari is moving all over the place. As for Hamilton, he is through on Leclerc. It wasn't an easy feat but Ferrari reassure their driver; "We believe that in about five laps the hard will be faster than the medium."

Alpha Tauri seem to be having their best race in a long time, with both Ricciardo and Tsunoda in the top ten. The latter is fighting Piastri for seventh place. Tsunoda challenges the McLaren into turn one through into turn two, tapping Piastri's left rear. Both get through unscathed but in their original positions. The Alpha Tauri driver tries again the next time around but looses it, spinning into the run off and falling out of the points. Piastri's teammate, Norris, is on yet another comeback, taking advantage of Tsunoda's woes and moving into eighth.

Esteban Ocon, who has had a relatively quiet race, tells his engineer: "You can say to Haas that I'm going to go for it so they had better be ready." He attempts THE move on Hulkenberg but fails to find a way past. Norris, who is still on a mission, catches the back of his teammate. Piastri is asked to let Norris through, which he does. He goes after Ricciardo.

At the back of the field, there is a near miss between Sargeant and Stroll. "What is this guy doing?", Sargeant says over teamradio. Back with Norris and he's making a move on Ricciardo, diving around the outside at turn four, somewhere you don't usually see an overtake. But, what about Verstappen? He's still out there, his lead over twelve seconds.

After passing Ricciardo, Norris quickly catches Russell. His team tell him to be patient. But, he does it, taking fifth from the second Mercedes. Remember Ocon's move on Hulkenberg? He finally does it, taking his teammate through with him. There are more brief yellow flags as Valtteri Bottas clips Stroll, sending the Aston Martin into a spin. The Canadian dives straight into the pits to retire the car.

Onto the final lap and Verstappen crosses the finish line to win the Mexican Grand Prix, for a third consecutive year, breaking his own record for most races won over the course of a season. Hamilton comes homes second with Leclerc rounding out the podium places. Then comes Sainz and Norris in fourth and fifth, followed by Russell, Ricciardo, Piastri, Albon and Ocon.

Join me again next week for the Brazilian Grand Prix, in the last of this triple header.

Let’s Talk: Bianca Bustamante - Motorsport’s One to Watch.

Despite the lack of live coverage for the inaugural season of the all-female F1 Academy, avid motorsport fans will be well aware of the impact the series is having on getting more females into the world of motor racing. And, although we still seem a long way off seeing a female race in Formula One, the F1 backed series is looking to improve the chances.

This first season of F1 Academy was dominated by Spanish driver; Marta Garcia, but despite finishing the season in seventh, Bianca Bustamante was the one to make herself a household name and the one to watch for 2024.

There is no denying that F1 Academy, this season, has been riddled with talent, with many drivers displaying their race craft and consistency to a high level. So, why are we singling out Bustamante?

Bianca's road to becoming a racing driver hasn't been an easy feat, hailing from a country that's not as rich as others, with little motorsport history and the perception that a woman's place should be at home, with the family, rather than out on a race track. However, the young Filipina defied the odds, amassing numerous karting championships before getting a chance in single seaters in the, now defunct, W Series. This was an opportunity of a lifetime for Bustamante, which has since helped her evolve her racing career, landing her a seat in the highly anticipated F1 Academy where she made history.

Valencia, 2023. Bianca Bustamante takes the win in race two of the F1 Academy weekend at the Circuito Ricardo Tormo after starting on pole position and dominating the race. This was her first win as a professional race car driver and the win that made her a prevalent figure, not only in womens motorsport, but also in the Philippines as a whole, as the first Filipina winner of F1 Academy and the first Filipina to win an FIA sanctioned race. She followed this up with a second win in Monza, later on in the year.

But after numerous podiums and point finishes in 2023, what's next for the driver that's had to fight her way in motorsport?

In mid-2023, an announcement was made that all F1 teams will need to back one driver in each F1 Academy team for the duration of the 2024 F1 Academy season. For Bustamante, she was the first driver to be announced for 2024, while being backed by McLaren, as she joins their driver development programme. A big step in the world of female motorsport.

"We don't want anyone who just wants to be a race car driver. We want people to want to be World Champion."

That is what McLaren CEO - Zac Brown, said on the signing of Bustamante to the development programme. It's evident, that in only her second year of single seaters, people are seeing the potential of a promising talent.

In the meantime, Bianca knows "that we’re gonna accomplish a lot more in the future." And, she starts with the Formula 4 race at the Macau Grand Prix weekend in mid-November, before the return of F1 Academy in 2024. However, her goal will always be Formula One.

"I will always say that my goal is to be in Formula 1. Always has been. That’s why I put in so much dedication, love, heart, [and] passion into every single thing I do in motorsport because it really is my goal. And I think we’re in the right spot, right time, right moment, and I really do believe that when everything comes together that it is a possibility.”  - Bianca Bustamante.

(Quotes taken from several online resources.)

Race Report: US Sprint and Grand Prix 2023

The countdown until the end of the season is in full swing, and although Max Verstappen may have already been crowned this season's champion, there is still an important battle being played out for second in the championship - one that may decide the future for Red Bull driver Sergio Perez.

This weekend F1 is back in the US of A with the US Grand Prix being held at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. And, just like last time out, it's a Sprint weekend! Qualifying for the Grand Prix took place on the Friday with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc snatching pole, after Verstappen became a victim of the dreaded track limits that dropped him to sixth on the grid. Perez qualified in a miserable 9th while his championship rival, Hamilton, will start 3rd. However, before the Grand Prix plays out, it's time for the sprint.

Sprint day, and it's a Verstappen-Leclerc front row, with the former on pole. Tyre blankets are removed and everyone is on the medium tyres. Everyone bar Carlos Sainz, who has opted for softs. A questionable strategy for a race with no mandatory pit stops. The formation lap ends and Verstappen is the first to pull up into his grid slot. The rest of the grid copy their leader, the five lights go out, and they're away.

Verstappen gets a better start than Leclerc but still feels as if he needs to cut him off by taking aggressive action into turn one. Lewis Hamilton also makes the most of this by passing Leclerc, moving his Mercedes into second. Big gainers from the start include Sainz, George Russell and Kevin Magnussen. All making up ground at the first corner.

By the end of lap two Verstappen has pulled a gap to his 2021 rival. His teammate, Perez, who is driving for his career, is closing in on the McLarens, making a lunge on Oscar Piastri. The door is shut and Perez will have to wait longer. However, he gets it done going into turn twelve, taking the place from the Australian at turn thirteen. It's bad news for Piastri who quickly finds himself under attack by Russell. The latter takes the place from the McLaren driver, but did he do it off track? The stewards think so, as they decide to investigate, slapping the Brit with a five second penalty.

Verstappen, who has a lead of nearly a second, tells his engineer; "Driveability is not there. I just lost the rear end completely." He's reassured that it was only a gust of wind. Further back, the Ferrari of Sainz is starting to struggle on the softs. Lando Norris is all over the back of him as they fight for fourth. Norris attempts a move at turn twelve but Sainz defends well, keeping his position. Perez is now onto the back of this battle.

The first black and white flag for track limits is shown to Piastri who has since dropped several more places. One more warning and he will have a penalty. As for Norris in the second McLaren, he finally passes Sainz on lap ten. But there is no rest for Sainz who is now under attack from Perez. He gets by the Spaniard on the following lap.

Although on-track battles are starting to dwindle, there is movement in the mid-field with Daniel Ricciardo, back from his injury, making a move on Lance Stroll for twelfth. However, Stroll quickly becomes the victim of brake failure, something that plagued the Aston Martin driver in practice. He retires on lap seventeen.

Onto the final lap and Zhou Guanyu receives the first, and only, track limit penalty - five seconds. After a relatively quiet race, Verstappen reaches the chequered flag first, ahead of Hamilton and Leclerc. Norris crosses the line just inches behind Leclerc and Perez behind him. Sainz, on the softs, holds on for sixth, Pierre Gasly takes seventh and Russell, after his penalty, drops to eighth, taking the final point.

Race day, and it's Leclerc sitting in pole position. Both the Aston Martin and Haas teams broke parc ferme rules overnight meaning a total of four drivers - Alonso, Stroll, Magnussen and Hulkenberg, will be starting from the pitlane. Hulkenberg and Stroll are starting on the hard tyre, the rest of the field is on the medium. The formation lap comes to an end, and they're off.

Leclerc has a slow get away and is quickly under attack by the faster starting Norris, dropping the pole sitter into second. Elsewhere, Verstappen is up one place to fifth and Russell has dropped to eighth. At turn twelve, Sainz, currently in third, has a good look at this teammate but quickly backs out of the move. By the end of the first lap, Norris has a lead of just under two seconds.

As with yesterday's Sprint Race, Russell has been noted for leaving the track and gaining an advantage on the opening lap. He's currently battling with the Alpine of Esteban Ocon. Speaking of Ocon, he's reporting damage on the radio and is soon passed by Russell, with Perez also getting through. Soon enough, the Alpine driver finds himself tumbling down the order. Further up the field, Hamilton is catching Sainz. Using DRS he passes the Ferrari going into turn twelve. Verstappen, who is taking it steady, also passes Sainz a lap later at the same turn. News is in on Russell - no further investigation. However, Perez is on the radio to his team - "Russell is going off a lot."

Hamilton is currently on a charge, taking second from Leclerc. The Mercedes sits only three seconds behind Norris who is still out front. Pole sitter, Leclerc, isn't in any hurry out there today, Verstappen is now onto the back of him and within DRS range. The three time World Champion doesn't make a move, giving Sainz, behind them, a chance to close up. Meanwhile, there is movement in the pits with Zhou coming in for Alfa Romeo. Albon, Bottas and Magnussen also come in. Ocon, who retired from the race some time ago, is about to be joined by Oscar Piastri and his overheating McLaren. For the other McLaren, however, they've all agreed on Plan A.

Leclerc is dropping back even more into the clutches of Verstappen, with the latter making a move at turn twelve. Leclerc is pushed wide and comes back on track ahead of Verstappen. He yields the place around turn thirteen into fourteen, after claiming the position off track. Despite this, the battle is noted by Race Control. Ahead of the pair, Hamilton sets the fastest lap of the race, cutting the gap ahead to Norris to just under two seconds. Meanwhile, Norris complains on team radio; "I don't know what's going on at Turns 8 and 9, but I'm struggling a lot with the balance." McLaren inform him that it is most likely a wind issue.

At the end of lap sixteen, Verstappen shows his commitment to a two stop by pitting for a second set of mediums. The other front runners respond with Norris, Sainz and Perez also darting into the pitlane. Norris returns to the track ahead of Verstappen. However, it's Hamilton currently out front. His team tell him and Russell to stay out for at least five more laps. Hamilton isn't too keen, but Russell is feeling optimistic that they can make a one stop race work. Hamilton's fears are quickly realised when he locks up going into turn eleven and is told that Verstappen is now in his pit window. Mercedes call the Brit in who eventually rejoins the track in fifth. It's currently Leclerc and Russell out front. Both are yet to pit. Saying that, Mercedes pit Russell from second.

In the midfield, Albon currently finds himself with two track limit warnings. The next will be the black and white flag. After starting in the pitlane, Alonso, currently outside the points, takes tenth from Zhou. There is also movement out front as leader, Leclerc, comes in for his stop. He comes out on the hard tyre in sixth. Norris, now back in the lead, locks up into turn eleven, slowing enough for Verstappen to edge ever closer. Mercedes encourage Hamilton to push, forcasting him to catch up with leaders sooner rather than later. On lap twenty seven, Verstappen has DRS on Norris. It's only a matter of time that normality will be resumed.

Team orders come into play at Alfa Romeo with Zhou being asked to let a faster Bottas through. There is also an incident noted by the stewards between the Aston Martin of Stroll and the Williams of Sargeant. But right now, it's Verstappen giving us all the racing action with a late dive on Norris into turn twelve. He takes the lead and disappears into the sunset. However, Norris refuses to give up and clings onto the back of the Red Bull, telling his team that Verstappen is breaching track limits. But, even though Verstappen's lead is now up to over three seconds, he's not having an easy time out there. "Mate, these brakes are so s*** compared to yesterday. What a piece of s***!"

The second round of pitstops are well underway. Norris comes in from second, Verstappen covers him the next time around. They both switch to hards, with Verstappen back on track one second ahead of the McLaren driver. Leclerc, who is on a one stop strategy, holds Verstappen up. However, the Ferrari's tyres are cooked. Verstappen gets past, retaking the lead on lap thirty nine. Hamilton pits, coming out in fourth.

Verstappen still isn't happy. He's told about the time he is loosing in the braking zones and replies; "yes because the brakes are s***." At the back of the field, Sargeant is the first driver to get given the black and white flag for track limits. His teammate, Albon, is on the move, passing Ricciardo in the Alpha Tauri for twelfth. Ricciardo is also passed by Hulkeberg and Sargeant. By lap forty three, Hamilton has also disposed of Leclerc. The top three currently stands as Verstappen, Norris and Hamilton.

Hamilton is on a charge on these final laps, matching the pace of Verstappen. Norris is slower than his rivals and starts to be reeled in by the Mercedes. Hamilton is soon within DRS range of Norris. He attempts a move into turn one but is blocked by the McLaren. The "switcharoo" is used into turn two and the move is done. At Aston Martin, Alonso reports a suspension failure. However, his team can't see anything troublesome on the data. He eventually pits and retires.

Pole sitter, Leclerc, is having a mare of a race. He's just been ordered to let Sainz through. "Why did I have to let Sainz by? Let's talk after the race," he tells Ferrari. Could they get Sainz onto the podium? He's catching Norris in third. As for Leclerc, he's been left in the clutches of Perez, who quickly makes an overtake. At Williams, they receive the first five second penalty of the day. It's for Albon. For track limits.

With two laps left to race, Hamilton has got the gap down to less than three seconds. He's coming for Verstappen who is really feeling the pressure. Tsunoda makes a late pit stop, switching onto softs. He's going for the fastest lap.

On the final lap, there is just over one second between the top two. Verstappen breathes a brief sigh of relief as he receives DRS from backmarker Zhou, stopping Hamilton making a lunge down the back straight. Round the final corner, Verstappen is still ahead, taking the chequered flag just inches in front of Hamilton, giving him is fiftieth Grand Prix win. Norris holds on for third, with Sainz in fourth. Then comes Perez, Leclerc, Russell, Gasly, Stroll and, finally, Tsunoda, who gets an extra point for the fastest lap.

However, it didn't end there. Hours later, news broke that both Hamilton and Leclerc had been disqualified from the final race results. This was because of a technical infringement that effected both drivers. The final point positions go to: Verstappen, Norris, Sainz, Perez, Russell, Gasly, Stroll, Tsunoda, Albon and Sargeant. The latter getting his first ever F1 points!

And that, my friends, is that. Four to go. Next up: Viva Mexico!