Surprisingly, two Mercedes drivers Bottas and Hamilton finished in the top two places in Saturday’s qualifying, while Red Bull drivers Verstappen and Perez were behind them.
With the end of the qualifying laps, it was the discourse that occupied the agenda for a long time in F1 magazines that Red Bull deliberately placed the pole position to take advantage of the Mercedes air corridor and would try to hunt Mercedes with the advantage of the air corridor at the start. As a matter of fact, the moment of the start showed that these rumors were right.
Start moment: Verstappen’s great takeoff, Bottas’ spin and safety car
The Formula 1 Mexican GP start moment witnessed great excitement. In the section up to the first corner, there was a great rivalry between the Mercedes (Bottas and Hamilton) who took off from the front line and the Red Bulls (Verstappen and Perez) who took off from the second line. Just into the first corner, Valtteri Bottas spun, Verstappen; He took the lead, passing both Hamilton and Bottas. After the first corner, Hamilton consolidated his place in second place and host Perez in third place.
Tsunoda and Schumacher bid farewell to the race due to the events at the start; Ricciardo, who had contact with Bottas, broke his front wing. After the short yellow flags in the 1st sector, the safety car decision came and the safety car entered the runway. As it is known, the pilots can go at a certain speed and cannot pass while the safety car is on the runway. Bottas and Ricciardo, who also used the safety car as an opportunity, made a pit stop and changed the tire and wing.
The moment Verstappen took a great air lane advantage over Bottas in the lead on the first lap and took the lead with his speed was a sight to behold. It is also worth noting that Bottas, who started the race from the first row, had contact with Ricciardo and therefore the duo spun and lost a place. After these events, the first three rows were Verstappen, Hamilton and Perez; Bottas, who started the race from the front, regressed to the last place. After the track was cleared, the safety car left the track on lap 4 and the race started up again on lap 4.
Round 10: The gap between Verstappen and Hamilton widens
At the end of lap 10, the gap between leading Verstappen and second place Hamilton was 3.3 seconds. Perez continued to follow Hamilton 3 seconds behind. Bottas, who started the race from the first row, continued the race from the last row.
Lap 12: The first pit stops in the normal course of the race came from Williams driver Latifi and Aston Martin driver Stroll. Stroll won the conflict at the exit of the pit.
Lap 14: Lewis Hamilton reported on the team radio that the tires were not in good condition and performance was deteriorating.
Lap 20: Red Bull continues to wait for Mercedes for the first pit
The top four Verstappen, Hamilton, Perez and Gaisly have yet to make a pit stop. While the difference between Verstappen and Hamilton was 7.5 seconds; The gap between Hamilton and Perez was reduced to 2 seconds. Ricciardo and Bottas took 11th and 12th places as the front pits entered the pit.
Round 25: Hamilton was instructed by Mercedes to avoid Perez. Immediately afterwards, the Red Bull team ordered Perez to “keep following Hamilton”. Red Bull is looking to double down on Perez and Hamilton to get the top two places. In this way, Red Bull will have achieved an important point in the constructors’ championship.
Round 30: Mercedes rolls the first roll; Hamilton in the pit
Mercedes pitted Hamilton after Verstappen increased the lead to 10 seconds and Perez reduced the lead to 1.5 seconds. Hamilton found himself in the 5th place between Leclerc and Sainz at the pit exit. Verstappen and Perez chose not to pit. In the meantime, it is worth noting that Hamilton experienced a small blockage at the pit entrance.
Lap 32: Hamilton moves into 3rd place as Gaisly and Leclerc pit. Verstappen and Perez continued on the road without pitting. Hamilton scored the fastest lap time in this lap with his new tires.
Round 34: Red Bull responds to Mercedes
The Red Bull team called Verstappen into the pits. Verstappen after a smooth pit process; He returned to the race 8.6 seconds behind leader Perez and 7.3 seconds ahead of third Hamilton. Red Bull continues to strategically keep Perez on track. Perez became the first Mexican driver to tour as a leader in Mexico. In the meantime, it is worth noting that Mercedes gained an advantage of approximately 2.5 seconds by pitting early.
Lap 41: Red Bull pits Perez, Verstappen leads again
With Perez pitting on this lap, Verstappen took the lead again. There is 9.7 seconds between Hamilton and Verstappen in second place. There is a 9.5-second time gap between Hamilton and Perez, but Red Bull plans to take Perez late into the pits and hunt down Hamilton with fresher tires late in the race.
Also on this lap, Mercedes called Bottas into the pits. The nightmare continued for Bottas with the pit delayed by 9 seconds due to a problem with the right front tyre, and he returned to the race in 15th place. Ricciardo, followed by Bottas throughout the race, pitted before and placed 12th.
Lap 50: In this lap, the difference between the leaders Verstappen and Hamilton increased to 13 seconds; The gap between Hamilton and Perez was reduced to 6 seconds. If the race ends like this; Verstappen will be 20 points ahead of Hamilton in the drivers’ standings. In the teams ranking, after a long break, Red Bull will be ahead of Mercedes as Bottas is out of the points threshold.
Lap 60: Leader Verstappen continued to drive comfortably on this lap, increasing the lead to 17 seconds with Hamilton. Perez, on the other hand, narrowed the lead between Hamilton to 1.2 seconds. Hamilton has not been able to lap Norris for a long time, which causes Hamilton to experience turbulence. The fans stood up with this round, now Perez’s attack is expected.
Lap 65: Hamilton cleared his way after lapsing Norris; He increased the difference, which was under 1 second with Perez, to 1.5 seconds. Verstappen’s comfortable lead continues.
End of race: Red Bull no surprises, Verstappen wins
Max Verstappen, who led the race comfortably from the first lap, won the race with a margin of 16 seconds; Hamilton finished second, one second ahead of Perez. Sergio Perez, on the other hand, started the race in fourth place and finished in third place, at a level to be on the podium at home.
In addition, Perez was named the driver of the day at home with 36% of the votes of the driver of the day. Bottas, who made the best lap of the track with fresh tires on the last lap, prevented Verstappen from getting one more point.
After the Mexican GP. . .
- The first Mexican driver to take the podium in the Mexican GP was Sergio Perez. The fans and Red Bull team cheered for Sergio Perez for a long time. Anyone who didn’t watch the race might think Perez had won the race. At the end of the race, Verstappen and Perez took a long victory lap and posed with the Mexican flag.
- With this race, where Bottas could not score, Red Bull made a double by climbing the podium with its two drivers, and the difference in points between Mercedes and Redbull was reduced to 1 (478,5 / 477,5).
- The difference between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton has increased to 19. (312.5 / 293.5)
- Red Bull would have beaten Mercedes in the constructors’ standings if Bottas hadn’t taken the fastest lap on the last lap.
- The champion of Formula 1 will be determined after 4 races. Red Bull and Verstappen enter these last 4 races with a big advantage. The next four races will show whether Verstappen can break the streak of Hamilton, who was champion four times in a row between 2017-2020, this year.
- The next race in Formula 1 will be held on Sunday, November 14, 2021 at 20:00 CEST in Brazil.
See you at the Brazilian GP, bye. . .
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