2023 F1 Mexican GP RACE analysis by Peter Windsor

There were effectively two parts to the Mexican GP - and Red Bull's Max Verstappen won them both. From P3 on the grid, he led out of the first corner - and he was still ahead when the race was red-flagged at half distance (when Kevin Magnussen hit the barrier after a suspension failure on his Haas-Ferrari). Now on the pole for the re-start, Max again led again through to the chequered flag, thereby scoring a record-breaking 16th race win of the season. Local hero, Red Bull's Sergio Perez, was eliminated in the first corner after ambitiously attempting an outside pass; Lewis Hamilton drove beautifully to finish second for Mercedes and to set fastest lap; Ferrari's Charles Leclerc worked miracles with a damaged car to finish third ahead of his team-mate, Carlos Sainz; and McLaren's Lando Norris, who started 17th, finished fifth in a great recovery drive. Peter Windsor in this video looks at the key aspects of a spectacular race, watched locally by over 400, 000 spectators.
Significant race stats courtesy of Aleš Norskŷ:
www.GPfactsandnumbers.com
With thanks to Jetcraft, the world's largest buyer and seller of executive jets:
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Images: Pirelli, AMG Mercedes, Red Bull and Alpine
Pedro Rodriguez helmet kindly supplied by Diego Merino
Images: Pirelli, Red Bull, Alpha Tauri, Scuderia Ferrari, McLaren and AMG Mercedes
Music: Road to Mexico City (Seth Parsons)
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Nick: you're always with us

[@scottmeredith3359]

I have been defending Sergio all year, but I couldn’t believe the lack of race awareness he displayed turning into that corner like two cars weren’t on the inside. Unbelievable

[@garymartin9777]

yea. me too. Probably the end of his time at RB. I understand the aggressiveness but a little discretion would have kept him in the race and like Peter said -- a good chance for podium.

[@GTE_Channel]

You know the old racing saying: if you don't go for the gap the size of a taco, you're no longer a racing driver.

[@johanburger4454]

Also track design. He definitely did the right thing going for it. Was a senna moment just pity it went the way it did. But it would have been epic if he pulled it off. Just sad something like that happened to him so late in the season.

[@johanburger4454]

​@@GTE_Channelamen brotha

[@billy4eyes512]

For an experienced driver to try to win the race on Lap 1 shows you he wasn’t thinking.

[@Lewythefly]

8:42 if you watch the replay of KMag from behind the car, there is a rear suspension failure. You could just see it at the edge of frame, the rear left collapsed and turned outward. He's lucky to be OK

[@salkdhfpoahergpoahre1534]

Pete barely seems to pay attention anymore. Just goes right into writing his essay and looks up every once in a while.

[@AdoSplado]

Super annoying that no one really focused on that. Announcers on Sky said the right rear broke, when the replay showed the left turning outward.

[@SB-jc7wz]

yeah whats wrong with all these people? mustve got a mirrored imaged. @@AdoSplado

[@SwingsnRoundAbouts]

I would have thought Lewis knew he wasn’t going to catch Max and if he set the fastest lap earlier Max would have just topped that. Lewis needs that extra point if his to challenge Perez for 2nd in the championship.

[@alicekoppenol-pitti6257]

At this point he deserves the nr 2 spot more than Checo. He drove a good clean race. Very controlled.

[@muntublackson4757]

@@alicekoppenol-pitti6257no such thing as deserve in sports The points are the bottom line. You either make the points or you dont. No such as deserve.

[@AlwaysEwok]

@@muntublackson4757there absolutely is a deserve, if max was to have an engine failure on a last lap does that take away from a winning drive? No he would have absolutely deserved the win in that situation, Lewis does deserve p2 in drivers based on his performances this year, whether that car can actually get p2 is another story

[@muntublackson4757]

@@AlwaysEwok no he wouldn’t have deserved it but it would have been unfortunate. Lewis doesnt deserve P2 he needs to earn it and this is coming from a mega Hamilton fan

[@stephanes.]

Max did 2 super starts, the second one on hard tyres, which was so impressive! 😮

[@VanCough]

He did have fresher tires than all the others on the second one though. Still very impressive none the less, but thought it was worth pointing out

[@Danman1974]

@@VanCough They were still hard tyres...

[@JustGetAHous]

Cant remember if it was button, rosberg or bernie collins but one of them said if a driver has a bad start its usually down to the info theyve been given from their starting engineer. Last week max praised his starting guy and hes been bang on again. RB has been pretty average at starts for a few years now, I think Manning has figured something out 😂

[@Duuuval23]

So impressive getting a good start in the fastest car.

[@Enzoblueblood]

⁠@@Danman1974yup, some similarities to Spain. As soon as Lewis - on the medium- overtook Charles, Max - on the hard - just unleashed the beast. In Barca, the moment Ham on mediums passed Sainz, Max on the hards took off like he stole it.

[@truth4reel]

Obviously Max is a solid beast in that Redbull. 2021 he did the Mercs around the outside of T1, this year he like "tailwind? I'll stick it on the inside!"

[@johanburger4454]

Das ist gut yaaaaaa

[@samwismer4005]

Now the race weekend is complete!

[@davidhaworth7152]

Exactly

[@willyhwang1059]

perez in self destruction mode similar to Seb in his late ferrari years

[@wreagfe]

The drivers are not in the same league though.

[@titancheat]

​@wreagfe and ferrari do their own self-destruction, unlike red bull 😂

[@KimJongsMom]

true dat

[@Carbonarars]

Absolutely right, what you say

[@connorfrey8597]

You can't win a race at the first corner, BUT you can lose it.(well unless your Max).

[@Paradi_Flow]

The way Leclerc dropped Sainz even with a damaged wing was kind of shocking. I guess it would make a bigger difference at a more front limited circuit

[@ianng4633]

The front wing end plate doesn’t just specifically deal with front downforce. It also channels air to the overbody. Idk about the actual consequences but I’m sure there is rear downforce loss as well.

[@connorclarke1218]

It wasn’t shocking at all. He’s the better driver and it’s a hard track to pass with the thin air so clean air is at a premium

[@velt1870]

It is really how fast that Ferrari is in qualifying but suffers with race pace. If they get that portion worked out. Ferrari is a serious contender

[@chookchack]

Air is thinner there thus lesser impact compared to normal altitude tracks.

[@eugenux]

@Diego...you'd better leave f1 for ppl with a minimum lvl of understanding of the sport, as you, clearly, didn't understood squat from what you have seen on the tv screen.

[@stephanes.]

Not good to see Charles beeing booed at the end because that wasn’t his fault if Checo ran into him…

[@billy4eyes512]

Unfortunately, partisan fans tend to be moronic.

[@viddykhaos2896]

It is quite immature, it shows how many people are so focused on ONE driver or team that seeing another driver doing well is poison to them. I am a Verstappen supporter, and have been for years, but seeing Norris work his way through the field today was amazing and I was happy for his success. Seeing Hamilton was good. Seeing Charles was good. But it appears some Checo supporters in Mexico City did not share that mindset.

[@julianoever5861]

its the media overthere

[@friktionrc]

@@julianoever5861it’s not just the media over there. The Tifosi in Italy have always booed drivers that they feel have done the dirty to Ferrari drivers. Dutch are the same since Max got the RedBull seat. Fans from different countries have always been booing others. It passes, but is nothing new in F1.

[@darthsnarf]

I don't seem to care about the booing as much as most I am from Canada and watch hockey where booing is part of the fan experience so that's probably why, but when else are they supposed to show the driver they don't like them, when they drive by at 300mph? I'd rather they boo during the interview than during the podium, and as long as it's done without fans getting weird (attacking others in the stands) then I think some light booing adds to the atmosphere. Some hockey players would enjoy boos and try to annoy the crowd to get more boos. Also the way Charles directly addressed it was good and seemed to shut the crowd up after that

[@FirstLastth]

I was listening to Lewis’ radio messages and about 5 laps to the end the team offered him more power to go for the fastest lap, he [Lewis] mentioned that he wasn’t sure the tyres would be able to do it but, the team still told him to go for it. He was told to enter the extra power mode (STRAT 2) at turn 14 of the penultimate lap.

[@floodo1]

will be something if he pops Perez by only a single point (-8

[@driesvanoosten4417]

Great to see Max' performance engineer on the podium with him, given the fact that Max got to turn 1 in P1 twice!

[@AJ-fe8om]

What a nightmare season for Checo! This weekend is when he wishes he’d wake up.

[@slicklace]

Lewis turned the engine mode up to do the 21.3. They couldn’t do that all race because of the overheating issues!

[@SeanHinds]

Been waiting 😅. Race weekend ain't complete until this analysis

[@jamesnbd57]

Hamilton’s overtake on Leclerc - brilliant. Kept control in all the cr#p off-line, nailed the overtake and scrabbled to keep in front on the next two corners. More like a young puppy than an old master!

[@noomade]

What was more brilliant was Charles's reaction when he saw the pass on the screen in the cooldown room! Never seen a driver so excited about seeing someone else pass him

[@ariebroek2404]

Thanks again for this great wrap up of a very nice race😊👍

[@pedromancenithe3rd]

Well done Peter. Brilliant analysis as usual and without any editorial breaks! Keep up the good work.

[@twenteeen]

At 18:18. "If Lewis had known how quick he could be (in setting the fastest lap), how much more could he have pushed at the end .." to catch Max. He answered this question in the post match press conference. He said he tried at one point to go as fast as he could (at that point in the race, after just passing Charles) and managed a 22.0, and Max did a 21.9, so he decided to just continue to save his tires because he figured he would not be able to catch up to Max without totally cooking his tires.

[@hanskuijsten2380]

It was a intelligent choice. Especially considering he's still in the race for second overall. Although Checo is doing most of the job for him....

[@Duuuval23]

Russell proved that. George spent like 10 laps right behind Sainz trying to get by and did nothing but cook his tires.

[@friktionrc]

@@hanskuijsten2380agreed - if Hamilton gets 2nd spot, it’s partly Hamilton fighting every race to get as much points as possible ….but also Checo crashing or losing performance during the race. I’m no huge fan of his, but don’t like seeing him self destruct (as with any driver in F1)….I guess it’s peaks and troughs and right now he’s going through a dip. Sadly for him though, days like this may be another nail in his coffin at RedBull…and maybe F1 in the long term?

[@BluMustang]

And his car was running hot as well - needed to manage temp.

[@aleksalex1590]

Peter HAAS left rear tire was side ways pointing inwards before he touched the curd, suspension broke just before hitting that curb ... It was visible also on live tv ...

[@JeLifeCoach]

Peter, last week a lot of people were attributing Hamilton dominating performance over Russell due to the low ride height DNF. What are your thoughts on todays? Hamilton getting passed Charles and extending the gap today from a restart while GR struggled to get past Sainz and almost caught by Danny Ric.

[@patrickodonohue]

Big difference between Russell and Verststappen

[@joostprins3381]

You missed Lando, he was the 2nd fastest car.

[@964cuplove]

I do love the PW perspective, always great to listen to.👍👍thx so much

[@RicHrt540]

Very nice comment on Sergio! Thank you. Peter you are so right that with a little more patience he would have been right up front anyway...

[@gabbeboiii5083]

that fastest lap from Lewis surprised me as well. He must've really saved because he thought they would drop off dramatically in the end but apparantly not. Compared to Lando who was pushing the entire stint. I think Lewis still was 2nd fastest out there if he had fully used up that medium at the end

[@PauluzP]

They turned up the car

[@andrewmelton2686]

​@PauluzP you just confirmed that lewis was in conservative mode in the 2nd stint allowing him to have more battery, tyres and fuel to do fastest lap at the end. Well done

[@Harbie]

The heat and thin air was a big issue for many cars. So Lewis could run in a hot mode for the last lap to set the fastest time. The RB didn't seem to mind the heat because Max could push quite a bit after his first pitstop.

[@PauluzP]

@@andrewmelton2686 it has nothinf to do with any what you said. They wanted that extra point so they turned up the engine mode. Something it wouldnt be able to do for more than a lap orso.

[@andrewmelton2686]

@@PauluzP so why didn't other drivers do that and get fastest lap ?

[@Esteb86]

Perez has been pressing for so long. He keeps putting himself into bad positions, instead of being patient, knowing the car is a rocket ship.

[@jackvearncombe9892]

You're absolutely right we saw Lando smash through the field in the 2nd/3rd best car. He needs to do that every race, and use his car. But even when he's patient he just doesn't have the pace at all at times.

[@FlixTraveler]

It seems that Sergio Perez was overwhelmed by the pressure. To be a world champion, it requires keeping a cool head. It's understandable that Sergio tried to finish first for his own audience, but the pressure built up, and at the start, that pressure seemed to explode. The fact that Max Verstappen succeeds each time is likely because Max is simply better and has these situations under control.

[@Danman1974]

It's been like this since Miami...

[@arncj18]

he wouldn't finish 1st even by gettting p1 in lap 1, Max would be like a pitbull on him for 70 laps. SO him thinking that is delusional. Maximum p2, in fact easy p2, but not for him, RB has to act Max can't drive 2 cars at the same time, and im pretty much tired of this mexican's hissy fits already

[@ZOANOM]

Sergio's move was absurd in its execution, in my view. He absolutely knew he was going to be three-wide, and yet he turned as though there were only two cars. Had he simply kept his outside line all the way around, he would have had the inside at T2 easily. Stupid move.

[@Wuppie62]

Agree. It was the same mistake and move Hamilton made in Qatar.

[@ZOANOM]

@@Wuppie62 Yep, exactly the same.

[@jaketaylor2347]

Yeah agreed except I don’t think there was enough room for him to make it through turn 2. Him going for the outside was pure emotion. There was no way he was going to make that stick.

[@Wuppie62]

@@jaketaylor2347 On the positive side: Perez finally got the opportunity to learn by watching, how to drive a Toro Rosso well into the top 7. That might come in handy next season.

[@bjs7442]

Lando Norris got driver of the day and thoroughly deserved it. I believe only Max and Lewis could have done what Lando did. It was that good.Seventeen overtakes on a track they said was difficult to overtake on. It underlined also how Lando can drive hard but also keep out of trouble. Superb race craft and intelligent driving. I am a Lando fan so I will be derided for this but I believe as a complete package he has become the third best driver in F1,

[@Hardnuta]

Nandos peri peri sauce is making far too many mistakes recently. He is a great driver, but needs to be the favoured in the team. Now that Oscar PewDiePie Piasti is putting in a solid performance, Peri peri is starting to make mistakes.

[@darthsnarf]

Lando is good but still has work to do, too many mistakes still in qualy and what not, but he has the talent to be at the top in a year or two.

[@henrywilliams4170]

Yeah but i think his weakness that's been revealed recently is not performing under pressure very well in quali, like he was under pressure in quali as he had one lap to put a time in quali but made a mistake and knocked him out a Q1, he made multiple mistakes in both qatar quali, he's got a iron those out, because Piastri's race pace is only going to get better with experience as it did with Lando where in 2019 rookie season sainz finished ahead of norris in multiple races where Norris qualified ahead of him.

[@bjs7442]

@@henrywilliams4170 I agree with you . Lando historically has always been a strong qualifier. I agree that Quatar was a blemish on that record. Mexico however there were circumstances that made life difficult for Lando. The first attempt was aborted because the team told him to pit and not complete the lap. It was rumored they spotted there was too little fuel in the car. In his second run it was the first time he had used the hard tyre in anger in a qualifying run because he did not do the first run. The third run was scuppered because of yellow flags. Just unfortunate but not all due to Lando. To me he is better now than Charles, definitely in race and although Charles may beat Lando on qualifying he does it by taking high risk . Lando is also a fast qualifier. So over a season I rate Lando more consistent even after taking into account the last two races. I appreciate your opinion though

[@henrywilliams4170]

@@bjs7442there's zero evidence to suggest lando is better than charles in race, they are in different cars so you can't say X>Y, we simply don't know. anyway lando can't afford to be making these quali mistakes if he wants to seriously one day contend for a championship, it's not just in qatar but other races as well where he's made mistakes in quali, that's his one weakness this year he has to fix.

[@ghostdog4330]

Checo is a very likeable character but with continued performances like this I think his days in that seat are numbered.

[@Robin_S78]

Likeable? He always blames others!

[@friktionrc]

@O.P - Agreed about his days being numbered at RedBull - I’d go one further, is his seat in F1 now becoming at risk? I mean if he leaves RedBull, which team will have him? Smaller (those at the bottom half of the grid) teams can’t afford the salary he’ll probably ask for and also won’t be able to pay for all the crashes, bigger teams already have younger drivers coming through the ranks. Also teams want drivers who can score as many points for them in the constructors championship. Checo should be way more ahead of Hamilton and should be trying up the 2nd spot now, not be only 20 points ahead with still a few races to go. Also, Checo is not getting any younger either. A great driver when he has his day, but sadly those days are getting more and more rare.

[@dlewis9760]

@@friktionrc One reason for AT LEAST 11 teams on the grid. Andretti would be "Nice" but any 11th team would be great. So much talent waiting in the wings and maybe wait so long they move on to something else in racing. Oliver Bearman, who saw that coming in FP1? That isn't to say he doesn't stall out, but he was impressive.

[@stephanes.]

Max only needed a few meters to pass the Ferraris.. what an incredible driver !!!

[@danielmclellan7762]

what an incredible car, they both took off really quickly

[@johanburger4454]

Max drives like there's a snake in the cockpit with him hahaha... LEGEND!

[@GhostonYoutube201x]

@user-xj2wg4wl7bit’s both car and talent but you could put any top driver in that car and they would win, Hamilton, Norris, leclerc, Alonso they would all win WDC, considering Adrian Newey has created so many champions in the past

[@Danman1974]

@@GhostonKZbin201x They wouldn't if they had Max as their team mate... 😉

[@johanburger4454]

@user-xj2wg4wl7b skiet skop en dorner mnr.

[@Puchai2515]

Checo was not interested in becoming 2nd, it was first or nothing really, not so smart in my humble opinion.

[@ralphe5842]

Checos move was just boneheaded there was no way he was going to pull that off and he blew a perfect second place .

[@bjrnchrstn]

Checo went for a gap tgat was never there. Was indeed boneheaded.

[@friktionrc]

Be got caught up in the moment. It’s as simple as that. With everything that’s happened over the last few races, he’s now at his home race - clearly fired up with all the home support…sadly got a bit overexcited. As someone once said, the race isn’t won in the first corner.

[@MrFormulaOne2011]

Always appreciate your insight and respect your opinion(s) Peter, thank you for everything you do!

[@lousekoya1803]

Thank you !

[@paulbarnett5837]

LHR suspension broke on Kevin's car, fire was from the brakes

[@2Fast4Mellow]

In the current standings, Ascari holds the highest win percentage at 75%, having won 6 out of 8 races. However, if Max wins another race, his percentage increases to 77% (17 out of 23 races). If Max manages to secure victory in the remaining three races, he could finish with a remarkable 87% win rate (20 out of 23 races). This would be an very impressive achievement and solidify his dominance in the competition at the moment...

[@skorpikh]

Yuki potentially throwing millions for AT is just staggering ...

[@Jacedives]

If you watch Perez's crashes over the years there is a very common occurrence between them all. His spatial awareness doesn't lend well to race distance with a strong car. He treats everything like a 1lap sprint.

[@connorclarke1218]

He’s an emotional, arrogant driver

[@boost800]

he is too emotional

[@niklashultkrantz7766]

It's not that he lost he's mind he is not in sync with himself he should have been fired at least a year ago.

[@Bala.the.Baldie]

I think they gave him a different engine mode on last lap to go for faster lap, also I agree about the Ferrari's front being effective😅

[@CapoMasi]

Interesting perspective on the tire discussion.. I am under the impression that all the tire choices made for the restart were because it was the only option each team had respectively. Assuming we all understand that the soft tire is not a viable option for the remaining race.

[@bbbenj]

Thanks a lot 👍

[@ralphe5842]

I think Hamilton realize he had enough tire to really push on the last lap when Max couldn’t respond he also realize he wasn’t going to catch Max but didn’t want to destroy his tires trying as is he was correct and didn’t fall into a trap where winning a race is more important than getting the most points for a second place in the championship for him and the team

[@noomade]

No need to think, Lewis explained it after the race

[@whiteflagrage]

Now breathe

[@wizardlink78]

did anybody notice the pitcrew when Perez was apoligizing? most off them didn't even give him attention, some literally moved their body to look because he was standing in front of the screen they were watching. if your team is not behind you anymore then it's game over.

[@dpjohnjones432]

Yeah I saw that too sadly 😞. I hate it for him but that’s how it is at the top.

[@crisgrant3745]

Peter, I noticed the HAAS (Kevin M) rear 'left', yes left wheel suspension was broken - not right like everyone (including all the so called expert commentators) thought. If you watch it in slow motion (the replay by Fox / Kayo in Australia) its the left rear that seems to fold left (everyone is look at the right rear going over the curb). Only the last two frames show it - have to be quick to see it. PS I agree it was the LeClerc drive that was the best of the day - due to front end damage. C

[@driesvanoosten4417]

I think DC also said it was the left. It must have collapse on the curbs of the left hander before.

[@scottwisner5831]

I was very disappointed in Checo. This is yet another time this year where trying to pass on the outside at the start resulted in the outside car turning in on the car in the middle. Lewis and George came together very much the same way. I was also surprised that Checo said he thought Charles would lift or brake going into the corner. I’m not sure why he would think that. I’m also disappointed that Checo’s fans would “boo” Charles. If they knew anything about the sport, they would have seen that the incident was all on Checo. Charles repeatedly explaining why he wasn’t at fault during the post race interview was unnecessary. That too is on Checo.

[@noomade]

Horner putting his arm around Checo was strictly for the cameras.

[@christianhorner001]

🤔

[@dlewis9760]

You can like someone personally but still be a hard task master professionally. Homer and Checo have been around the block. They are professionals. Personal differences don't have to be part of it.

[@noomade]

@@dlewis9760 And what exactly is your point. You just wrote a bunch of stuff that is irrelevant to what I posted.

[@AlertConsument-py6te]

Don't project your own low morale standards on others.

[@noomade]

LOL.. cowards reveal themselves on the internet everyday

[@chellom292]

Leclerc has always being good with driving without the front wing side plate 2022 Silverstone he had more pace than his teammate 😂

[@alecrl1]

For me this weekend the showed how strong the Redbull power train was even in the Junior team. I think the FIA need to grant some tokens to the other engine supplier’s if they want any kind of competition before 2026.

[@WimvdBrink]

Pole for Charles, Max was not the fastest on the straight. Its fun to keep on going about the fastest car when it isn't, but its difficult to say its a fast car, but together with the driver it's unbeatable.

[@alecrl1]

@@WimvdBrink I said nothing about anyones ability

[@sithbk0075]

Felt bad for Perez fans, high hopes for their man but he went to win the battle and not the war. Paid the price for it and it’s all his fault on this. What was he thinking anyway? RB is not my team but felt Perez deserved a seat in F1 and glad RB pickup him but this season he’s a different driver. Probably pressure to prove he’s up there with Max. He did well on the first few races but I think his head got bigger and may alienate a few peeps in RB. I don’t think he’ll be in RB next season and not sure if any team will pick him since he can’t be on podium with the fastest car.

[@WimvdBrink]

Too much hype by his father, sponsors and media at the start of the season made him think too much and he lost his spirit. Then some crunches by Max pushed him over the edge, soo sorry for him but he makes rookie mistakes too much, trying to overtake cars in a bad way on points that are not easy

[@richblock826]

They jot what they deserved.. threatening max life.. total idiots.. they think perez.is the better driver and do this to.max?? No words.to.describe this.. unsportmenship is.way too little ..Perez.blaming everyone.always except himself.. he is just a shitty driver giving everybody the blame of his failure.. great he flew.out the first corner by his own mistake.. the Mexicans and he deserved this one

[@ND9HighlightsComps]

Williams and many teams that need money would want him

[@himeshmothi1605]

Lewis would be second in the championship now if not for that dq

[@noomade]

he would be 1 point behind

[@himeshmothi1605]

@@noomade my bad forgot tusonada gf the fastest lap

[@ba2724]

And if your mama had balls she'd be your dad. Would've, should've, could've is a child's mentality.

[@noomade]

@@ba2724 I believe that statement does not work in 2023.

[@glockutube]

unbelievable suppleness and bounce is what I look for in a partner as well.

[@Enzoblueblood]

😂

[@bertbouwhuis]

Obviously I missed it somewhere in your video Peter but I was (am) sure you would have mentioned Max driving rounds of 1.22.xx from lap 37 to 71... like a robot...

[@igorbrezovic]

Bravo🎉

[@giantputt7066]

Checko had said a number times the race isn’t won at the first corner then went and blew it

[@frdml01]

It was a miracle that Max wasn't hit in the 1st corner incident too. That would have even been worse for Checo. Good job from Charles.

[@darthsnarf]

Imagine all 3 get taken out then Riccardo dashes to the lead

[@MrDazTroyer]

Best post race commentary on KZbin

[@Lewythefly]

18:00 there was suggestion in the Sky F1 broadcast that they allowed Lewis to use an engine mode for that fastest lap and that it wouldn't be a mode you could run for multiple laps on. Not sure if this was confirmed as accurate.

[@Hydraav2]

I don’t think this is true. I’m fairly sure the teams have to select one engine mode for the race weekend and stick with it. That was the whole point of banning “party modes” in qualifying.

[@florisbackx1744]

They can play with release of saved energy of the hybrid engine I think @@Hydraav2

[@atmoz_]

Totally agree that statistics about total wins are difficult to compare, you can see the win % over a season. In this rate he will beat that. Ok the cars are more reliable, that doesn't give away the feed of Verstappen. To be this constant for so long, a rule what did make it harder is that they can only use so many engines over a season. Back in the day they could use for every race a new engine if they please. Why certain drivers picked different tires was of course also all to do what they had left.

[@rossdark713]

The old saying is you can't win the race on lap one, but you certainly can lose it on lap one. Race craft sometimes requires patiance .

[@arncj18]

yea he thinks the spectators are fools, thinking he would win it by being p1 in lap 1 :))

[@endthisnonsense7202]

Yeah, and the other saying of course; To finish first, first you have to finish.

[@laman8914]

Again, a great analysis from someone who worked in the sector and knows what he's talking about. Regarding the comparison of stats over time, we agree that it's not a straightforward science. This has been exacerbated in 2022 and 2023 with the technological advantage gained by RB when they violated the budget cap. If that was not the case, the 2023 races would have looked more like the race in Singapore than a one-man runaway train. We need to factor that in too for the 16 and more wins of Max during this season. The hypothetical idea that SLH might have caught Max, given his fastest lap, is indeed hypothetical. SLH said in the post race interview that the entire race, including the fastest lap at the end, was because of the 'race' for the 2nd place in the constructor's championship.

[@Richardtv1968]

As ever, the best race analyst!! Can’t understand why this fenomenon isn’t asked to join a F1 broadcasting company??

[@TheMTBGrind]

Piastri had significant damage to his floor.

[@knowntobehonest]

Doubt it.

[@luckystrike240]

You saw the left rear of kmag haas break away in the TV coverage replays

[@Enzoblueblood]

Lucky he spun before hitting the barriers; would be worse if he just speared in to sudden stop. Ouch!

[@billthomas7644]

Maybe they should test the damaged wing in the tunnel. Might be better than the undamaged wing.

[@williamshaneblyth]

Wasn't Mercs overheating which happens more when following close so maybe cars in general needed more space to stay cool and not overheat the engines and brakes which would overheat the tyres?

[@bongani2269]

Good thing Checo wasn't there for the 2nd start

[@cardosera]

You and your platonic love for Charles Leclerc 5:20

[@inflatable2]

We've seen it before, cars still having good racepace without one of those endplates.. I guess they are not that important for the total aero-performance..

[@Tacko14]

There’s been talk about starting on the dirty side being a real downer. Sainz meant it when he said he’d trade places with Max, I think. And we all remember Senna on Suzuka. The Mandela effect is explained with that one as an example. Couldn’t they get a streetsweeper machine to at least get the dust off? That’d make things a bit more equal. Maybe not enough but it’d be something

[@PickupthePieces76]

Even more disappointing is Perez' comment afterwards. He stated he thought Leclerc would break earlier and though he could end up p1 after turn 1. That was never on. It was a desperate move from a delusional driver. But he said why he chose to risk it, because he was on the podium the last 2 years and didn't want to be on there unless it was on the top step. It just show complete lack of awareness of the situation he is in. The car was good, he was up there at the start and could have easily gotten p2, solidify p2 in the championship, taken the shine on his home GP and kinda taking it away from Ric's awesome drive. Instead he just made the worst decision he could make and threw everything away on a crazy move. Even if he hangs on for p2 in the championship he should be replaced. Not good enough anymore and not showing signs of improvement. If next year, RB is still the best car but not as dominant, he will fall back into the midfield which is something RB shouldn't want.

[@kandaboy3026]

There wasn't any need to boo Charles 😢. It was nothing to do with him.

[@artistjoh]

Ricciardo put the boot into the place Perez uses to sit in that RB seat, but Perez very generously put a target there so that Ricciardo couldn't miss. Now it is not IF Ricciardo replaces Perez, now it is simply a matter of WHEN.

[@garymartin9777]

Not so fast. Ric dropped 3 places in the race. And that with Checo out of action.

[@hrebejk.p]

@@garymartin9777he dropped 3 places battling frontrunner teams. In an AplhaTauri.

[@johanburger4454]

They should grab alonso, I think alonso would the rb for free to be honest

[@pancon5]

Ric was flawless. 💪

[@artistjoh]

@@garymartin9777 With the worst car on the grid, all Ricciardo had to do was beat both Perez and Tsunoda and get points. To get 7th in that car was extraordinary.

[@geniferteal4178]

It looked to me like there was a ton of room on the outside of that turn. If checko had waited slightly longer, he wouldn't have hit le Claire. He may not have passed him either but stuck around to fight again.

[@friktionrc]

True but if he stayed on the outside he would have lost more places as the cars behind him would have been arriving at the corner. Either way he could have fought on and gained some lost places back. Sadly own goal from him and if he loses 2nd spot, it’s as much his own fault as it is Hamilton/Mercedes fighting to get as much points as possible. Ps I think the name is spelt Leclerc, though it maybe pronounced how you’ve spelt it.

[@geniferteal4178]

@friktionrc as per my last sentence. You help me realize it was probably "I have to make this work" mentality that made him turn early to try to keep the position.

[@bobrohrer5925]

16 out of 19 Wins in 2023 F1 YTD - Max - Simply The Best

[@JC-lu4se]

Young Oscar has a lot to learn about tyre management. Lando said he's only just learned himself.

[@Enzoblueblood]

Which is strange because given their differences in driving styles, it’s Lando that should be harder on tyres.

[@JC-lu4se]

@@Enzoblueblood True but Lando's given a recent interview where he's said he's learned when to push and when not to. Oscar will learn over time I think.

[@Enzoblueblood]

@@JC-lu4se Lando is a lot smarter than he gets credit for. He showed a lot of racing intelligence in Mexico and the McLaren looks like a really balanced car. At this point, Oscar reminds me of Jarno Trulli but we’ll see how he develops.

[@user-eu6wp6ws7c]

"Lewis was pushing as hard as he dared on the medium." Obviously not. He wasn't pushing, he was preserving. Merc were concerned that the tyre would fall off so instructed Lewis to maintain which allowed Max to sail off into the sunset.

[@sandygeorge9741]

Never would have caught max .

[@alexbernadina3082]

I think that endplate wasnt so very important in that thin air

[@Bladel1965]

Statistics can be compared. Maybe not by the number of race wins per year, since we have 22 races this year, compared to only 8 races in 1952. That year Alberto Ascari won 6 out of the 8 races, making it a success rate of 75%. A very long standing record. Max’s 16 out of 19 makes it a 84.2% success rate. With 3 races to go, Max would need to win at least one other race to beat that percentage record too. To complete the list; Michael Schumacher is 3rd with 72.2% (13 out of 18) in 2004. Jim Clark 4th with 70% (7 out of 10) in 1963. Sebastian Vettel is 5th with 68.4% (13 out of 19) in 2013. Best other driver on todays grid is Lewis Hamilton in 8th place with 64.7% (11 out of 17) in 2020, a little behind Max’s other performance in 6th of 68.2% (15 out of 22) in 2022.

[@chuckratkay43]

The "ole' trying to win the race in turn1 on lap1".

[@gordonwallin2368]

Cheers from the Pacific West Coast of Canada.

[@stephanes.]

Perez did what Lewis did 2 races ago at the start…

[@driesvanoosten4417]

Lewis actually said that in the cooldown room 😂😂

[@florisbackx1744]

Yep, exact replica

[@Middleageman500]

Exactly, but if it is Lewis, it's ok, if it is Perez, then it is because he is the worse, etc...They are all under a lot of pressure and they all make mistakes. So easy to criticise from the comfort of the couch

[@HuibNederhof]

@@Middleageman500 Perez makes to many mistakes. Almost every race

[@stephanes.]

@@driesvanoosten4417 😂

[@RoysIdea]

9:46 been wandering this for some time now. Why does it take the race director so long to go to a red flag situation? It took almost three minutes after KMag’s crash before the red flag came. A lot of drivers that pitted under de SC last position.

[@roadrage9191]

If you set new records it is always impressive, and we should have much respect for any record set. It is not meaningless. But true you obviously cannot say Max is a better driver than Schumacher, Lauda, Senna,... because of records. Records does get him a place in the list of greats though.

[@middleclassthrash]

I'm going to go out on a limb here and suggest that driving well without a front wing endplate ideally impressive at all. We've seen many drivers lose zero performance without them. They only serve to clean-up the air for the cat behind.

[@ianhogg4285]

Verstappen (again) shows he's in a class of his own, but some great performances from many drivers and teams.

[@danielmclellan7762]

That car is in a class of it's own and Verstappen is handling it clinically .

[@velt1870]

You must be a newbie

[@san-joshuabarrett]

He's good but not a class above everyone else. He is better than some yes but definitely not class above Lewis Hamilton. Only thing creating this god like illusion he has is Perez being trash in zhe other car. Look back to the first 4 races when Perez was actually driving no one was saying this bs that max is so much better than everyone.

[@homfan]

@@san-joshuabarrett keep on living in denial

[@GTE_Channel]

​@user-xj2wg4wl7bDAS was not cheating. It was a clever find within the rules. The FIA told them they could do it.

[@niklashultkrantz7766]

Congratulations another Red bull motor sport world champ this weekend super talented Kalle Rovanperu. Wrc.

[@glennarnold3970]

i think that danny ric deserves an applause starts p4 ahead of checo and finishes p7 battling russell for p6 in the alpha tauri talk about grabbing the bull by the horns😁

[@AjTengu]

To finish 1st, first you have to finish. He was driving with an unbelievable amount of desperation. The pressure of being in a top team with other top teams clawing at your neck is too much for him apparently. It’s gonna be a lot harder next season for him to recover from big mistakes.

[@martincday007]

Apart from the start Leclerc drove a commendable race but I am sure that had Verstappen been on pole he would have covered the inside on the first corner. Many would have expected Verstappen to regain the lead but maybe not that many would have thought by the first corner. Lando Norris recovered well from repeated poor starts. It was almost certain that Hamilton was covering second place and saving his tyres being on the mediums, it should be noted that Russell's tyres, who was also on the mediums was being picked off towards the end of the race. Hamilton's fastest lap though was a surprise. With Verstappen's fifty-first grand prix win and considering his age, Hamilton's tally is looking in reach, although in the past, all periods of dominance do eventually come to an end.

[@Andre_The_Millennial]

Tsunoda ain't making it. Not with his attitude and responses to his team, especially after being showed up by Lawson.

[@spoolin05srt]

I feel like this isn't talked about which is crazy

[@wreagfe]

Yuki got showed up by himself. He's consistently outqualified and outpaced his teammates this season. But this race he messed up. Pity.

[@jamesvoneschen6603]

@@wreagfedelusional ass comment 😂😂

[@chromaticsoundco.7664]

He's a C-tier driver comparable to the likes of Stroll, Magnussen, Zhou

[@Distortion-Overdrive]

Yuki had plenty of laps in hand to make the overtake, imo, he succumbed to perceived internal team pressure - ie, Daniel Ric making it to the pointy end of the grid.

[@amirmohammadmousavi5209]

i think you dont give lewis enough credit man look at george and then lewis , when george was near you would say oh lewis is feeling the pressure , what about now?

[@marielfernandez2190]

Did Peter Windsor almost play along with the meme?... The McLaren pit got on the radio and said George (Russell) is the sort of (type of) guy that's all or nothing.

[@kymcha]

There is too much of a gap between the Red Bull and the rest. As long as Max avoids the usual crowd in the first few corners, he might as well ask Christian if the mechanics can fit a nice sound system so he can listen to music while he cruises around with no competitors in sight. The disparity between the front runner and the rest makes every F1 race soporific.

[@KimJongsMom]

don't forget also checo has revealed again the revised floor for all teams to see, other teams wer miles away till he revealed floor last time

[@rushankuma]

Peter dig at Lando in whole season, but today had to to praise. How things went either way...

[@broughy23]

True I find it strange how he always has to try and bring Lando down. He's not as in the know as he likes to think he his so I give him a pass most of the time

[@rushankuma]

@@broughy23 He's a Lewis fan. Hence he try to undermine Lewis' fellow Britain drivers , Lando and Russell.

[@graham.w89]

Ferrari didnt have mediums left & i presume worried about tyre wear ( which they arr bad on ).

[@fragdude]

Lewis was allowed to turn the engine up for the fastest lap. That was disclosed right after it happened. And I believe ferrari were telling their drivers (inc Carlos) to keep their distance and do a lot of cooling

[@rickharder]

🔥🔥🔥

[@marianne1555]

Come on Checko after such a good start !!! What on earth did he think ? Anyway I'm very happy for Lewis ' s 💜💛 podium 😊.

[@likilikiki]

KMag had a catastrophic left rear suspension failure. Guess caused by the off track he had before his crash.