Right here is our full textual content transcript from the twentieth spherical of the 2024 System 1 championship, the Mexico GP:
The solar is shining down on the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez for the 2024 Mexico Metropolis Grand Prix, the place there may be large anticipation forward of the longest run all the way down to Flip One of many 12 months. Carlos Sainz begins on pole place after a surprising Q3 lap and he has championship chief Max Verstappen on the entrance row for firm, with title chaser Lando Norris in third. Don’t rule out Charles Leclerc for being within the combine from fourth, whereas there are large unknowns at Mercedes, as George Russell and Lewis Hamilton are on the third row.
In the direction of the again, there’s a large quantity of labor for Oscar Piastri in seventeenth and Sergio Perez in 18th after they had been knocked out in Q1.
Brundle: Ferrari are essentially quick round right here
Sky Sports activities F1’s Martin Brundle on Charles Leclerc and Ferrari forward of the Mexican GP:
Carlos Sainz forward of the race:
“I feel from the second row of the grid, there’s half an opportunity he can be main popping out of the primary nook. “The Ferrari is essentially quick round right here. It’s simple to suppose they don’t have anything to lose as a result of it’s about Max vs Lando however Ferrari fancy their possibilities to win the Constructors’ Championship, to allow them to’t afford to lose a automotive.”
You’ll be able to’t assist however really feel for Carlos Sainz. Driver of the weekend. Most of the time neck and neck with Charles Leclerc all 12 months. However within the peculiar place of realizing he’s leaving a frontrunning crew on the finish of the season.
“That’s the goal, to depart on a excessive,” at the moment’s polesitter tells Sky Sports activities F1, with simply 5 races left at Ferrari earlier than he leaves for Williams. “Maximise my possibilities of getting on that podium, with a win. That’s what I’ve been doing and I wish to give it my all in these previous few races with the crew. It might have been simple to lose a little bit of motivation, that battle in me, realizing I’m leaving on the finish of the 12 months, however I’ve managed to maintain myself in verify and I’m able to take any alternatives. Feeling very snug all weekend within the automotive, I feel every part is working very well. Actually I can’t watch for the race, I feel it needs to be an thrilling one, particularly that run all the way down to Flip One. Clearly breaking the tow is essential, however on the similar time it’s very troublesome to foretell how your rivals are going to start out. I’ll look within the mirrors and see the place they’re!”
The entire front-runners have new hards and mediums left, however Pink Bull have two new mediums – maybe desirous about the potential for a Security Automotive which may result in a two-stop race. However it needs to be a fairly easy race strategy-wise. Medium-Arduous is the way in which to go for the highest drivers.
Mediums for many of the grid, together with everybody within the high 11. RB’s Liam Lawson in twelfth is the primary driver on the hards. Valtteri Bottas (fifteenth), Franco Colapinto (sixteenth), Sergio Perez (18th), Zhou Guanyu (nineteenth), Esteban Ocon (pit lane) are all on the hards too. No person is on the softs.
Lap 1/71: We’re racing in Mexico Metropolis and Max Verstappen will get a greater begin and edges Carlos Sainz extensive at Flip One. The Spaniard cuts the nook however provides the place again. Lando Norris stays in third with Charles Leclerc in fourth and Lewis Hamilton has obtained by George Russell. Yuki Tsunoda crashes! The RB driver obtained caught up into that nook and spins round, with a wheel coming off! He’s out. He mentioned he’s OK. That’s good to listen to. Alex Albon was additionally hit there… and he’s out of this race too! We have now a first-lap Security Automotive.
Lap 3/71: The Security Automotive continues to be on the market because the marshal sweep away the particles and clear Yuki Tsunoda and Alex Albon’s vehicles.
Lap 4/71: Amidst the chaos, one driver who managed to realize loads of locations is house hero Sergio Perez. The Pink Bull man has risen 5 locations to thirteenth… BUT race stewards are investigating him for a false begin! Fellow Q1 exitee Oscar Piastri stays seventeenth.
Lap 5/71: So Verstappen leads from Sainz, Norris, Leclerc and Hamilton. These laps underneath the Security Automotive will assist the tyres, like we noticed in Austin final Sunday, so the drivers can push extra and never fear about tyre degradation as a lot. Perez instructed his Pink Bull crew it was a “nice begin” on crew radio – however stewards have simply confirmed he has a five-second penalty. It wasn’t for the beginning itself, however the place he lined up on the grid.
Lap 7/71: The Security Automotive is on this lap. Max Verstappen will lead the sphere away. Max Verstappen goes for it earlier than the ultimate couple of corners and will get a pleasant hole to Carlos Sainz. No overtakes within the high 10 down into Flip One.
Lap 8/71: Sainz stays inside one second of Verstappen. And crucially meaning Carlos Sainz has DRS on Max Verstappen. Lando Norris is correct there too and Charles Leclerc appears like he has tempo. We anticipate a four-way scrap for the win, except Mercedes present some pace, with Lewis Hamilton in fifth.
Lap 9/71: Carlos Sainz dives down the within into Flip One and leads the Mexico Metropolis Grand Prix! He nearly gathers the automotive up at Flip Two then makes use of the good thing about additionally having DRS on the run all the way down to Flip 4 to remain forward of Verstappen.
Lap 10/71: Lando Norris goes for it across the exterior of Flip 4 however Max Verstappen edges him extensive and Norris cuts the nook. Norris tries to let him by way of at Flip Eight however Verstappen and himself each go off the observe and Charles Leclerc overtakes each of them. REMARKABLE.
Lap 12/71: Sergio Perez has dispatched each Aston Martins and is as much as eleventh. He does although, keep in mind, have a five-second penalty to serve.
Lap 13/71: Wow. Max Verstappen has a 10-second time penalty for “forcing one other driver off the observe”. That driver was Lando Norris.
Lap 15/71: George Russell swoops across the exterior of Lewis Hamilton to take fifth place. Hamilton lined the within however Russell had sufficient pace to get by on the first nook.
Lap 16/71: Proper, again on the entrance. It’s a Ferrari one-two after the mess of Verstappen and Norris. Sainz leads Leclerc by two seconds, with Verstappen one other two seconds behind and Norris 1.5 seconds adrift of the championship chief. The primary driver to succeed in 400 GP weekends in F1 sadly received’t end it within the automotive. Fernando Alonso is again within the pits, retiring from the race. Disgrace.
Wow, fairly the battle between Sergio Perez and Liam Lawson – the 2 males considered within the operating for the Pink Bull seat in 2025! Perez, within the Pink Bull, tries to cross Lawson, within the sister crew RB automotive, up the within of Flip 4 and the pair tangle on the exit. It appears like Perez misplaced just a few aero bits off his automotive. “What is that this fool doing?” says Perez. “Is he okay?”
Lap 20/71: Wow, Max Verstappen has ANOTHER 10-second time penalty. This time it’s for leaving the observe and gaining a bonus at Flip Eight. Meaning his first penalty was in reality for the primary incident at Flip 4.
Lap 22/71: Out in entrance, Carlos Sainz has a 3.2-second lead over Charles Lecelrc with Max Verstappen one other 4 seconds again.
Lap 22/71: One other feisty battle happening on this race is between Piastri and Colapinto, with the Argentine forcing the McLaren the good distance across the first chicane. Piastri makes the transfer stick up into Flip 4. Sergio Perez, in the meantime, has pitted – with loads of injury to his sidepods. He’s out and in, so simply an early cease.
Lap 24/71: Lando Norris is again inside one second of Max Verstappen. Will he be courageous sufficient to make a transfer on the observe? Lap 25/71: We simply heard George Russell say “wow” when instructed of Verstappen’s penalty – and one other driver that might profit is Oscar Piastri. His comeback continues, now operating eleventh after overtaking Lance Stroll.
Lap 26/71: Lando Norris is correct there however chooses to not go for a lunge into Flip One on Max Verstappen. He is aware of Verstappen is comfortable to be very aggressive this afternoon.
Lap 27/71: Max Verstappen comes into the pit lane and serves his 20-second time penalty. A Pink Bull mechanic places a fan over the automotive to try to cool it. Verstappen comes again out down in fifteenth place…
Lap 27/71: Lando Norris now has clear air however is six seconds behind Charles Leclerc. Let’s see what tempo Norris has obtained and whether or not he can do something concerning the Ferraris.
Lap 29/71: Lewis Hamilton is the newest driver to pit – a 3.1s cease from Mercedes. He comes out behind Colapinto, in tenth. Carlos Sainz is clearly in a league of his personal proper now, by far the quickest driver within the area and he leads by seven seconds over team-mate Charles Leclerc.
Lap 30/71: Max Verstappen breezes previous Esteban Ocon and is into eleventh place. Many drivers forward of him are but to cease, so he’ll quickly be again into the factors.
Lap 31/71: Lando Norris now is available in, it’s a fast cease from McLaren and he’s out into loads of free air, dropping just one place to Russell within the course of. Will Ferrari reply?
Lap 32/71: No shock there, Ferrari reply right away after Norris and Leclerc pits. He’s round 4s forward of the McLaren on exit.
Lap 33/71: Carlos Sainz stops and is now on the onerous tyres. He has a nine-second lead over Charles Leclerc, who’s 5 seconds in entrance of Lando Norris.
Lap 36/71: An unfair battle there as a fresh-tyred Max Verstappen encountered Franco Colapinto’s Williams, but to cease. Verstappen surges previous effectively earlier than Flip One, and he’s as much as eighth. A good distance behind his top-five rivals, although.
Lap 37/71: We’re into the second half of the Mexico Metropolis Grand Prix. Carlos Sainz leads by eight seconds from Charles Leclerc, with Lando Norris one other 5 seconds again. They’re all simply managing issues in the mean time.
Lap 39/71: Max Verstappen will get previous one other a type of who haven’t stopped but, Liam Lawson, on the primary straight for seventh place. He does, although, report on crew radio that his tyres aren’t working. With 32 laps nonetheless to go, that received’t be music to Pink Bull’s ears.
Lap 42/71: No points for Liam Lawson as he breezes previous Sergio Perez on the house straight to take sixteenth place. Sergio Perez is final of the drivers nonetheless within the race however carrying injury after his conflict with Lawson earlier.
Lap 45/71: Carlos Sainz is 6.5 seconds forward of Charles Leclerc, who has been a pair tenths faster in the previous couple of laps. Lando Norris continues to be 5 seconds behind Leclerc.
Lap 46/71: There are sprinkles of rain across the observe, however nothing vital but.
Lap 48/71: Max Verstappen’s troublesome race continues – and in the mean time he’s dropping chunks of time to the entire high 5, he’s 11s behind Hamilton in fifth. He’ll be wanting in his mirrors earlier than lengthy, significantly with Piastri’s cost. He now runs ninth after Colapinto lastly pits.
Lap 51/71: George Russell barely covers the within into Flip One as Lewis Hamilton is correct there now. This could possibly be an important battle between the Mercedes pair.
Lap 53/71: Lando Norris is lower than 4 seconds behind Charles Leclerc within the battle for second. He’s slowly catching.
Lap 54/71: Lewis Hamilton jinks to the suitable approaching Flip One however shouldn’t be shut sufficient to make a transfer on George Russell. Hamilton will quickly start to get pissed off.
Lap 55/71: Russell has to cowl at Flip 4 this time as he properly retains Hamilton behind. Will Mercedes be comfortable for this battle to proceed?
Lap 57/71: Oscar Piastri will get by Nico Hulkenberg and is into eighth. Subsequent up the street is Kevin Magnussen however he’s seven seconds forward of him. Max Verstappen is one other eight seconds away.
Lap 57/71: That is getting very fascinating now. Lando is underneath 3s behind the Ferrari of Leclerc. Higher but, the hole is definitely 2.4s with 14 laps remaining! Fast tempo late within the stint from the McLaren.
Lap 58/71: Lando Norris is now simply two seconds behind Charles Leclerc. Sport on right here for second place.
Lap 59/71: Norris is almost one second behind Leclerc, who’s instructed he wants his “finest driving” now.
Lap 60/71: The hole is precisely one second between Leclerc and Norris now. However, nonetheless no DRS for Norris as he can’t get underneath that one-second mark.
Lap 62/71: New quickest lap from Lando Norris and he lastly will get DRS. He’s inside one second of Charles Leclerc. You get 15 factors for ending third, and 18 factors for second. Each level issues right here.
Lap 63/71: Leclerc will get an enormous facet by way of the ultimate nook however by some means retains it out of the boundaries. That would have been an enormous accident! Norris will get by way of although after Leclerc goes extensive. WOW. The McLaren driver is eight seconds behind race chief Sainz.
Lap 64/71: Lando Norris takes six tenths out of Carlos Sainz within the final two laps and is seven seconds behind. With eight laps to go, that isn’t sufficient however Norris is flying!
Lap 64/71: For what feels just like the fiftieth lap, Lewis Hamilton continues to be caught behind team-mate George Russell, unable to get by with DRS. Possibly the upgraded Mercedes has much less straight-line pace than Russell’s older spec? They’ve nonetheless obtained a cushty buffer to Verstappen behind in sixth, so there’s no want for crew orders.
Lap 66/71: Sainz ups his tempo and the hole is 7.4 seconds with six laps to go. The Ferrari driver is doing sufficient right here to win this Mexico Metropolis GP.
Lap 66/71: There we go. Ultimately, Russell’s resolute defence involves an finish as Hamilton passes the opposite Merc earlier than Flip One, getting a greater exit onto the straight.
Lap 67/71: Franco Colapinto stays across the exterior of Liam Lawson at Flip One and has the within for Flip Two, however the pair make contact. Lawson brakes his entrance wing and is pressured to pit.
Lap 68/71: Norris is 6.8 seconds behind Sainz, so it should take just a few errors from the Ferrari driver to lose it from right here.
Lap 69/71: Norris shouldn’t be giving up although. One other new quickest lap on these previous, onerous tyres. Super tempo on this stint from Norris. Hole down to six.1 seconds.
Lap 70/71: Charles Leclerc pits for some mushy tyres to try to get the additional level for the quickest lap. Leclerc goes out and in of the pits in third place. Liam Lawson has simply set the brand new quickest lap of the race again in seventeenth after his pit cease for a brand new entrance wing and tyres.
Carlos Sainz wins the Mexico Metropolis Grand Prix and it’s his first victory since Melbourne again in March. Lando Norris takes second and Charles Leclerc completes the rostrum with the quickest lap of the race. He’ll get a bonus level for that. Lewis Hamilton is fourth with Mercedes team-mate George Russell in fifth.
Max Verstappen has come house in sixth behind the 2 Mercedes, after a irritating and controversial afternoon by which he took two separate 10s penalties for clashes with Lando Norris. His title lead has been reduce to 47 factors, with 4 rounds remaining. Carlos Sainz is off to Williams on the finish of this 12 months. Was this his final win for Ferrari? Or can he add one other one within the closing 4 rounds?
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