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2022 Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix highlights

2022 Formula 1 Mexico City GP

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO - OCTOBER 29: Sergio Perez of Mexico driving the (11) Oracle Red Bull Racing RB18 passes a fan waving a Mexico flag during qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Mexico at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on October 29, 2022 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

Introduction

 

Max Verstappen claimed his 14th victory of the season in the 2022 Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix, ahead of Mercedes rival Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez, after an intriguing strategic battle played out at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

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It secures another record for the Dutchman in his burgeoning career, as he now boasts the most wins in a single F1 campaign, moving one clear of the 13 achieved by Michael Schumacher (2004) and Sebastian Vettel (2013).

Verstappen, whose Red Bull team opted for a soft-medium tyre strategy, took the chequered flag some 15 seconds clear of Hamilton, who was left to question why Mercedes swapped their starting set of mediums for hards.

Perez gave the home fans something to cheer about in third, having threatened to challenge Hamilton late on, while Russell – who lost out to his teammate at the start – took a distant fourth.

Russell was also unhappy with his strategy, repeatedly asking Mercedes to pit again and ditch the hard tyres, which failed to bring the race back to the Silver Arrows in the closing stages – a stop for softs with two laps to run, at least yielding the fastest lap.

Ferrari endured a lacklustre race as Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc claimed lonely P5 and P6 finishes, ahead of McLaren driver Daniel Ricciardo, who charged his way to seventh with soft tyres late on and kept the position despite a 10-second time penalty for a clash with Yuki Tsunoda.

Esteban Ocon placed eighth after a painful late retirement for Alpine teammate Fernando Alonso, as the other McLaren of Lando Norris and Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas – not quite able to repeat his qualifying performance – completed the points.

AlphaTauri driver Pierre Gasly picked up a five-second penalty for an early, aggressive move on Aston Martin rival Lance Stroll and ultimately missed out on a point by just half a second, with Alex Albon 12th for Williams.

Zhou Guanyu got his Alfa Romeo to the line ahead of Aston Martin pair Vettel – sporting a touching tribute helmet to the late Dietrich Mateschitz – and Stroll, followed by the Haas cars of Mick Schumacher and Kevin Magnussen.

Nicholas Latifi was the final finisher in his Williams, with the aforementioned Alonso grinding to a halt with an engine issue late on and Tsunoda retiring after briefly going airborne in his collision with Ricciardo.

Mario Isola, Motorsport Director, Pirelli:

Seeing how all three compounds gave the drivers and teams a chance to approach the race in a sort of strategic chess game on the track and the pit wall is obviously a source of satisfaction for us. Different strategies were based on individual capabilities to optimise the tyres, with the mediums being a protagonist and the hard and the soft playing a fundamental role, showing strong performance and limited wear. It all came down to a strategic duel between the two teams that had managed to get the most out of the tyres all weekend. This is particularly significant for us, especially following 15 intense days that took in two tests of the 2023 prototype tyres to collect data on both the hard and the soft compounds in Austin and Mexico City, respectively, as well as the comments of the real stars – the drivers – who showed enthusiasm and real engagement when it came to analysing all the topics that emerged, right up to the Friday night of the second test. Congratulations to Red Bull and Max Verstappen for their victory and a new record of 14 wins in one season in front of Mexico’s unique crowd.

How the race was won:

Verstappen chose the P Zero Red soft tyre at the start to lead before switching to the P Zero Yellow medium tyres on lap 25 and conceding his advantage. He regained the lead once his Mercedes rivals had made their single stops, and from there, it was a question of managing his medium tyres to the finish: completing a 46-lap stint on the yellow compound to win by 15 seconds.

The alternative strategy:

With 12 drivers starting on the soft and eight on the medium, there was a big mix of strategies from the start. This was reflected in the key battle between Red Bull and Mercedes, with Mercedes selecting the P Zero White hard tyre for the second stint after an opening stint on the medium. Lewis Hamilton’s second place at the finish equalled his best result of the season set just one week ago in Austin. His teammate George Russell was one of just three drivers to stop twice, putting on the soft tyre at the end to secure an extra championship point for the fastest lap on the final tour.

2022 Formula 1 Mexico City GP Race Results

PosNoDriverCountryTeamTimePointsOverall
1.1Max VerstappenNetherlandsRed Bull Racing Honda1:38:36.72925416
2.44Lewis HamiltonGreat BritainMercedes-AMG Petronas+15.186s18216
3.11Sergio PerezMexicoRed Bull Racing Honda+18.097s15280
4.63George RussellGreat BritainMercedes-AMG Petronas+49.431s13226
5.55Carlos SainzSpainScuderia Ferrari+58.123s10212
6.16Charles LeclercMonacoScuderia Ferrari+7.501s8272
7.3Daniel RicciardoAustraliaMcLaren Racing+1 lap635
8.31Esteban OconFranceAlpine F1 Team+1 lap483
9.4Lando NorrisGreat BritainMclaren Racing+1 lap2111
10.77Valtteri BottasFinlandAlfa Romeo F1 Team+1 lap147
11.10Pierre GaslyFranceScuderia AlphaTauri+1 lap023
12.45Alexander AlbonThailandWilliams Racing+1 lap02
13.24Zhou GuanyuChinaAlfa Romeo F1 Team+1 lap06
14.5Sebastian VettelGermanyAston Martin F1 Team+1 lap038
15.18Lance StrollCanadaAston Martin F1 Team+1 lap019
16.47Mick SchumacherGermanyHaas F1 Team+1 lap012
17.20Kevin MagnussenDenmarkHaas F1 Team+1 lap026
18.6Nicholas LatifiCanadaWilliams Racing+2 laps02
15.14Fernando AlonsoSpainAlpine F1 TeamDNF065
9.22Yuki TsunodaJapanScuderia AlphaTauriDNF213

2022 Constructor Standings

PosPictureTeamPoints
1.Red Bull Racing759
1.Scuderia Ferrari554
3.Mercedes-AMG F1 Team515
4.Alpine F1 Team173
5.McLaren Racing159
6.Alfa Romeo Racing55
7.Aston Martin F1 Team55
8.Haas F1 Team37
9.Scuderia AlphaTauri35
10.Williams Racing8

Here are the team-by-team highlights:

Red Bull Racing

 

Max Verstappen secured his place in the record books as he continued his remarkable season with a record-breaking 14th victory of the campaign at the 2022 Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix on Sunday.

The Dutch driver had already secured a second world title and helped Oracle Red Bull Racing win the constructors’ crown before storming to victory in Mexico and eclipsing the record of 13 wins in a season – which was jointly held by Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel.

Verstappen said: “It’s been an incredible year so far, we are definitely enjoying it, and we’ll try to go for more (victories).”

Having started on the pole, Verstappen was rarely troubled as he cruised to victory, finishing well clear of Lewis Hamilton in the Mercedes, while team-mate Sergio Pérez delighted the home fans as he secured a place on the podium.

The Mexican driver finished well ahead of Mercedes driver George Russell and has now moved up into second place in the driver standings, five points clear of Ferrari’s Charles LeClerc.

Max Verstappen

The race’s first stint was critical today, and we managed to stay in the lead after turn one. We were obviously on a different strategy to the cars around us, and we had to look after our tyres carefully. We had quite a good pace on the soft tyre, even though it wears a bit more. We then drove the medium to the end. Winning 14 races in a season is incredible. We’re having an amazing year as a team, and that’s the most important thing. We keep pushing and want to win as many races as possible. It’s exceptional what we are all achieving together this year.

Sergio Pérez

It feels good to be on the podium, but I wanted more today. I am a little bit disappointed. We could have finished second definitely, but we had a poor pitstop, which really prevented us from doing the undercut and being closer to Lewis. The hard tyre didn’t work for him initially, but once he got them going, it just didn’t work for me. Then I was looking after my tyres, and there were no more in them. We were planning to do a two-stop race, but the degradation was better than expected. This place is unbelievable, it is an amazing crowd here, and I will never forget these moments because of the people. It is certainly, if not the best, one of the best crowds in Formula One – I am very privileged to have this support. I just want to go and win the next two races now. We have had the pace in the last few races, so now I just want to put it all together, cut out the small problems and then I believe we can do that.

Christian Horner – Team Principal & CEO

Both drivers were impeccable today, and we got our strategy absolutely right. The soft and medium tyres were definitely the quickest. After both drivers’ first pitstop, we saw that the tyres were in really good shape, so it was a no-brainer to put on the mediums. Checo had a little bit of trouble with his pitstop, but his recovery was phenomenal and to see both drivers on the podium is incredible. We are pleased we got it right today; of course, Max was truly remarkable. Frankly, Max is racing to another level. He’s raised the bar so high all season, and to break the record with 14 race wins is extraordinary, especially with a couple of races still to go. He deserves all the plaudits that are coming his way and his drive today demonstrates his maturity and ability to read a race and control it in a compelling manner.

Red Bull Racing Honda best pictures:

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO – OCTOBER 28: Red Bull Racing Team Principal Christian Horner arrives at the circuit and greets fans prior to practice ahead of the 2022 Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on October 28, 2022 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO – OCTOBER 28: Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing prepares to drive in the garage during practice ahead of the 2022 Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on October 28, 2022 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images )

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO – OCTOBER 28: The Red Bull Racing team watch the action in the garage during practice ahead of the 2022 Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on October 28, 2022 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images )

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO – OCTOBER 30: Race winner Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing, Second placed Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes, Third placed Sergio Perez of Mexico and Oracle Red Bull Racing and Red Bull Racing race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase celebrate on the podium during the 2022 Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on October 30, 2022 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO – OCTOBER 30: Race winner Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing and the Red Bull Racing team celebrate after the 2022 Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on October 30, 2022 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO – OCTOBER 30: Third placed Sergio Perez of Mexico and Oracle Red Bull Racing and the Red Bull Racing team celebrate after the 2022 Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on October 30, 2022 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

Scuderia Ferrari

 

Scuderia Ferrari’s 2022 Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix was straightforward. Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc did the best they could with the package they had, but today, as indeed was also the case over the rest of the weekend, the F1-75 did not have the pace to match that of the other top teams.

Race story. Carlos kept his fifth place after the start, while Charles managed to pass Valtteri Bottas, who had been ahead of him on the grid. Right from the early stages, the two Ferraris could not keep in touch with the leaders, although they were clearly quicker than the rest of the field. This meant they ran a solitary race, and their only reward was a total of 18 points.

A break before the final rush. Formula 1 now has a weekend off before the championship resumes with the season’s final two races, a double-header starting with the Sao Paulo Grand Prix in Brazil on 13 November.

Carlos Sainz #55

Today we did everything we could to get the best result possible, but unfortunately, the pace was not there, so P5 was the maximum we could aim for. From my side, despite the overall picture, I had a good race, and the feeling inside the car was positive this weekend. We will try to build on that ahead of Brazil and ensure we are ready for the last two races.

Charles Leclerc #16

It was a lonely race. Carlos and I were lapping together, too quick for the midfield but too slow for the front runners. We stuck to our strategy, focused on ourselves and got the most out of our package, but we were just too far off, and we have to understand why so that we can work on being more consistent. As always, seeing so many fans around the track in Mexico City was amazing, and I felt their passion.

Mattia Binotto, Team Principal & Managing Director

It was a very difficult weekend for us, and it was clear that we were already struggling yesterday in qualifying, which was accentuated even more in today’s race. There is a lot that needs to improve, but when faced with a difficult weekend like this, it is essential to bring the cars home and pick up as many points as possible. Charles and Carlos did the best they could, and the way they tackled the first few corners after the start was exemplary. It is vitally important that we improve in the last two races so as to end the season to the best of our ability.

Scuderia Ferrari best pictures:

1 – GP MESSICO F1/2022 – GIOVEDI’ 27/10/2022 credit: @Scuderia Ferrari Press Office

2 – GP MESSICO F1/2022 – VENERDI’ 28/10/2022 credit: @Scuderia Ferrari Press Office

FERRARI F1 GP MESSICO VENERDI 28/10/2022 credit @Scuderia Ferrari Press Office

Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team

 

P2 and P4 for the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, scoring strong points and racing for the podium on merit.

Lewis secured a strong P2 finish in Mexico City with a Medium / Hard tyre strategy, moving him ahead of SAI in the Drivers’ standings. George finished P4 and secured an extra point to set the fastest lap. The team continues to show competitive performance, building on the final upgrade of the season introduced for last weekend’s race in Austin. The team scored a total of 31 points thanks to George’s fastest lap on the race’s final lap, further closing the gap to Ferrari in P2 and now only 40 points behind.

Lewis Hamilton

It was a good race for me today, although we didn’t choose the right tyre strategy in hindsight. Nonetheless, being this close to Red Bull makes me very proud of my team, and I’m very grateful to them for the hard work they’ve put in to keep us forward. The race pace generally was quite good, but we were offset on tyres for most of the race. Maybe we should have started on the soft, but obviously, we went for the medium, then took the hard to make the one-stop work; it looked pretty good on the first stint, but then the Red Bull was just too quick for us – and had the better tyre strategy today as well. Congratulations to Max on his win, and it feels great to be back up on the podium here in Mexico. We’re getting closer to the front and will continue to push. In the last couple of races, we’ve taken a big step forward with the car, and I hope we will continue like this for the final two.

George Russell

I had a good start but lost two positions in the first lap, and our strategy with medium-hard was not the right one in hindsight. I couldn’t get the hard tyre working as there was just no grip. Red Bull and Ferrari both started on the softs, and we need to understand why the other teams opted for the soft, as that looked like the right strategy for this race. So that’s clearly our learning for today, as we might have been able to get closer, being on the same strategy. Nevertheless, we’re making progress as a team, and I’m pleased about that. I’m intrigued to see how Brazil goes, although I don’t think we will be quite as competitive as in Mexico, but still a huge positive takeaway from this weekend and a great job by the whole team.

Toto Wolff, Team Principal and CEO:

Lewis and George did an amazing job today. We discussed whether the soft-hard was viable, but we didn’t really have the soft-medium strategy on our radar going into the race. So, we just got it wrong today in hindsight, but we still showed strong performance and secured valuable points. Our performance gap to Red Bull today was small, and we had a good margin to Ferrari – however, we need to be careful about jumping to quick conclusions about the latter and wait to see what happens in Brazil. Our goals are still to win a race and fight for second in the constructors’ championship: we want to demonstrate that our car is fast, and the whole team put just so much work into upgrading the car. It would be fantastic for them if we can make it happen for one of the last two remaining races this year.

Mercedes-AMG F1 Team best pictures:

George Russell, 2022 Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix, Saturday – LAT Images

2022 Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix, Saturday – LAT Images

2022 Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix, Saturday – Jiri Krenek

2022 Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix, Saturday – Jiri Krenek

2022 Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix, Sunday – LAT Images

2022 Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix, Sunday – LAT Images

McLaren Racing

 

Hear from McLaren Formula 1 drivers Lando Norris, Daniel Ricciardo, and Team Principal Andreas Seidl after the 2022 Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix.

Lando and Daniel lose places at the start, dropping to P10 and P13. Daniel regains one place, overtaking Zhou for P12. Lando changes his tyres on Lap 34, swapping the Medium for the Hard to cover off a challenge from Tsunoda. He returns to P15, ahead of the Alpha Tauri. Daniel is the penultimate driver to pit, boxing for Soft tyres on Lap 45 and returning P13. Zhou pits two laps later and hands Daniel P12, who begins to chase down Tsunoda. Daniel makes it into the wheel tracks of Tsunoda and attempts to squeeze down the inside of the Alpha Tauri going into Turn Five. The two collide, and Tsunoda retires. Daniel makes it through without any damage, but he is handed a 10-second time penalty for causing the collision. Lando and Daniel trade places, and the Australian begins to catch Bottas, passing the Alfa Romeo on Lap 48 for P9. Alpine pairing Alonso and Ocon are up next. Daniel picks off Alonso within two laps and then Ocon one lap later, with 10 laps left to build up a 10s buffer. Norris overtakes Bottas as Alonso pulls over to retire, promoting the Briton to P9. Daniel crosses the line seventh with more than the required 10s buffer, whilst Lando holds onto P9.

Lando Norris

Today was a good race. I lost a couple of places at the start – it wasn’t a bad launch, but it wasn’t the best, and it’s a long run down to Turn One. I had to box when I did to cover Yuki, going onto the Hard tyres, but they weren’t the tyres to be on! I lost a lot of time compared to Daniel, who went onto the Softs, which was a much quicker strategy in the end. I’m still happy because I think we did a good job and got the most out of it that we could. The team scored some good points, and we out-scored Alpine, which is the goal. We’ll head back to the factory to work hard ahead of Brazil in two weeks’ time.

Daniel Ricciardo

It was a rollercoaster of a race. Ultimately, I’m happy. I wish it was more of a smooth race in terms of you never wanting to have contact, and never wanting to receive a penalty, so that’s a little bit of a cloud over what was otherwise a good day, but ultimately it still didn’t change the outcome for us.

I think the penalty was more than enough. I saw a replay, and I’ll still take the majority of the responsibility, but it isn’t like I came in sideways and locked up. I was just there. All he had to do was just miss the apex a bit, and we would both get through that corner. I’ll take it, but I don’t think it’s something I need to beat myself up over. I was pretty down when Tom [Stallard] came on the radio to tell me I had a 10-second penalty because it was the one race where we had pace, and I had a chance, but I still felt that I had pace on the Soft, so I just got my head down and got on with it. Lando let me by, so that let me keep attacking, and when I saw the Alpines right in front of me, I was like, ‘alright, it’s game-on here’. I knew I had a real chance if I kept George [Russell] behind me and didn’t lose the few seconds to the blue flag. That was tense for a few laps – but then he pulled in for the fastest lap, and that gave me a bit of breathing space. All-in-all, very happy and a huge shout out to the team, especially the pit crew for the 1.98-second pitstop – the fastest of the season!

Andreas Seidl

This was an intense Sunday for our team at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. After losing positions at the start, a great job from the drivers, excellent pitstops and brave strategy calls got us back into a competitive position, eventually finishing P7 and P9. Important points in our battle with Alpine for fourth place in the Constructors’ Championship.

A special mention to Daniel – Driver of the Day – who had a very strong weekend after a tough time in Austin. He’s been more comfortable in the car from the first run here in Mexico and put in a great final stint that, combined with an aggressive strategy, produced an impressive result.

Also, another fantastic job by the pit crew to record the two fastest stops of the race, with our 1.98-second stop for Daniel being the fastest of any team so far this season.

Thanks to the entire team – those here at the track, back at the factory and our colleagues at Mercedes HPP – for producing a reliable car for these unique conditions and managing a very complex race. We’ve got a short rest now and then we go again into the last double-header of 2022.

McLaren Racing best pictures:

2022 Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix, Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren

2022 Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix, Lando Norris, McLaren MCL36 side on above

Lando Norris, McLaren MCL36 from above

2022 Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix, Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren MCL36, leaves the garage

2022 Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix, Mechanics around the car of Lando Norris, McLaren MCL36 side on

2022 Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix, Lando Norris, McLaren MCL36 exiting the corner

Alpine F1 Team

 

BWT Alpine F1 Team scored four points from the 2022 Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix, with Esteban Ocon finishing eighth after a challenging afternoon at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, which saw Fernando Alonso retire six laps from the end of the race with a cylinder failure.

The team looked set for a seventh-eighth place finish before Fernando’s unfortunate retirement, with Esteban managing cooling issues in the latter stage of the race.

Both drivers made quick starts, with Fernando leaping ahead of Lando Norris and Valtteri Bottas to hold seventh and Esteban also overtaking the #4 McLaren into ninth at the end of the first lap.

Esteban pitted on lap 34 for Hards – aiming to go to the end of the 71-lap race – with Fernando in on lap 42 also for Hard tyres. After Fernando’s stop, the Spaniard held seventh, with Esteban in eighth after a fine, sweeping move around the outside of Turn 1 on Bottas.

Fernando lost a cylinder on lap 52 and did his best to manage with a lack of power until his retirement on lap 65. Esteban held seventh but faced cooling issues – a notorious problem in Mexico City with the high altitude – and was passed by Daniel Ricciardo on lap 60 as he settled for eighth at the chequered flag.

Fernando Alonso

Unfortunately, we couldn’t finish the race today after a strong start, and good stints, which meant we looked set to score some good points. I felt very fast in both stints, first on the Mediums and then with the Hard tyres. However, we lost a cylinder on the engine with 18 laps to go, which eventually forced us to stop the car despite our best efforts. Austin and Mexico were two perfect weekends for me, and it’s a pity we didn’t score the points we deserved. We have two more race weekends to go, and we need to ensure we score more points in our battle for the fourth position.

Esteban Ocon

It was a tough race for the team today. We were on for an important, double-points finish before Fernando’s unfortunate retirement. On my side, we were struggling with cooling issues towards the latter half of the race, and we had to manage that, which meant we couldn’t match the pace of the McLarens at the end, narrowly missing out on catching Daniel’s [Ricciardo] time penalty. We come away with some points, but we need to ensure these issues don’t happen again if we are to stay fourth in the championship.

Otmar Szafnauer, Team Principal

This race was always going to prove to challenge with the unique conditions in Mexico City, and we left here disappointed in the fact we only had one car see the chequered flag. Unfortunately, Fernando suffered a cylinder failure on lap 52, and he was having to manage on five cylinders – meaning a significant lack of power – to try and remain inside the points. Eventually, the problem was not sustainable, and he had to retire the car. Esteban faced some cooling issues from early in the race, where he had to lift and coast; therefore, he sacrificed significant lap time. He did well to bring the car home in eighth place and score some valuable points for the team. We know reliability will be the key in our championship battle, and it’s something that has let us down after showing such a strong performance in recent races. I’m confident we can rectify these issues going into the season’s final two races.

Alpine F1 Team best pictures:

Esteban Ocon (FRA) Alpine F1 Team. 2022 Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix, Friday 28th October 2022. Mexico City, Mexico.

Fernando Alonso (ESP) Alpine F1 Team. 2022 Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix, Friday 28th October 2022. Mexico City, Mexico.

Esteban Ocon (FRA) Alpine F1 Team A522. 2022 Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix, Saturday 29th October 2022. Mexico City, Mexico.

Esteban Ocon (FRA) Alpine F1 Team A522. 2022 Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix, Sunday 30th October 2022. Mexico City, Mexico.

Esteban Ocon (FRA) Alpine F1 Team A522. 2022 Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix, Sunday 30th October 2022. Mexico City, Mexico.

(L to R): Fernando Alonso (ESP) Alpine F1 Team with Karel Loos (BEL) Alpine F1 Team Race Engineer on the grid. 2022 Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix, Sunday 30th October 2022. Mexico City, Mexico.

Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN

 

Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN brought home one valuable point from the 2022 Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix: Valtteri Bottas finished tenth, with team-mate Zhou Guanyu in 13th. It was a challenging race for the team, but the final reward of one point allowed it to extend its lead for P6 in the constructors’ standings to four points.

Valtteri Bottas (car number 77)

We got one point out of this race, and this is a positive, but we expected more today. We were doing okay until the second stint: when we switched to the hard tyre, we just couldn’t get them to work. I never got them up to temperature, and it was a bit of a struggle until the end. We thought the hards would be a good race tyre, but it wasn’t to be. It’s a shame, as in the first stint, we were on the pace with the cars around us, but at least we have something to show for it today, and we increased our advantage in the championship.

Zhou Guanyu (car number 24)

The beginning of the race was quite fun, and the extended stint looked good, but we ended up in traffic after the pit stop, which compromised my race a little bit. The second part of the race was trickier: making progress turned out to be quite difficult on this track, which of course, it is not easy, and it has definitely been one of the toughest for me as a rookie to get used to. I was happy to see Valtteri get the point for the team, and I hope some of my battles helped with this. In general, this weekend, we have been consistent and did a step up: we just need to keep working on our race performances to finish this season well.

Frédéric Vasseur, Team Principal

A point is always valuable, especially when it allows us to extend the gap on our championship rivals; of course, when starting in P6 and with the pace we showed throughout the weekend, the hopes and expectations were for more, but in the end, the race didn’t really go our way. We seemed to have the pace to be at the front of the chasing pack, just behind the three leading teams, during our first stint, but we weren’t able to make the most of the hard tyres after Valtteri’s stop, and we slowly dropped off. Zhou was on an alternative strategy but also seemed to struggle in the second part of the race and couldn’t return to the places he had before the stop. We’ll analyse this race and see what can be done better; in the meantime, we will keep building on the speed we’ve shown on Friday and Saturday, aiming to make the most of the final two weekends of the season to finish the job properly.

Alfa Romeo F1 Team best pictures:

Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN, ambiance during the 2022 Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix 2022, 20th round of the 2022 FIA Formula One World Championship from October 28 to 30, 2022 on the Autodromo Hermanos Rodríguez, in Mexico City, Mexico – Photo Xavi Bonilla / DPPI

24 ZHOU Guanyu (chi), Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN C42, action during the 2022 Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix 2022, 20th round of the 2022 FIA Formula One World Championship from October 28 to 30, 2022 on the Autodromo Hermanos Rodríguez, in Mexico City, Mexico – Photo Florent Gooden / DPPI

14 ALONSO Fernando (spa), Alpine F1 Team A522, 77 BOTTAS Valtteri (fin), Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN C42, action during the 2022 Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix, 20th round of the 2022 FIA Formula One World Championship from October 28 to 30, 2022 on the Autodromo Hermanos Rodríguez, in Mexico City, Mexico – Photo Florent Gooden / DPPI

VASSEUR Frederic (fra), Team Principal of Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN, portrait during the 2022 Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix 2022, 20th round of the 2022 FIA Formula One World Championship from October 28 to 30, 2022 on the Autodromo Hermanos Rodríguez, in Mexico City, Mexico – Photo Xavi Bonilla / DPPI

ZHOU Guanyu (chi), Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN C42, portrait during the 2022 Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix 2022, 20th round of the 2022 FIA Formula One World Championship from October 28 to 30, 2022 on the Autodromo Hermanos Rodríguez, in Mexico City, Mexico – Photo Florent Gooden / DPPI

during the 2022 Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix 2022, 20th round of the 2022 FIA Formula One World Championship from October 28 to 30, 2022 on the Autodromo Hermanos Rodríguez, in Mexico City, Mexico – Photo Florent Gooden / DPPI

Haas F1 Team

 

Haas F1 Team finished the 2022 Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix, hosted at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, with Mick Schumacher 16th and Kevin Magnussen 17th.

Schumacher started from 15th place on Pirelli P Zero Red soft tires but relinquished two places on a frantic opening lap before settling into a rhythm at the high-altitude circuit. Schumacher came into the pits on lap 25 for Yellow medium tires and brought his Haas VF-22 home in 16th position.

Magnussen began the race in 19th on medium tires, having been relegated four places from where he qualified due to an engine change. Magnussen boxed on lap 39, taking on soft tires, and ensured a two-car finish by reaching the checkered flag directly behind his teammate in 17th.

Up front, World Champion Max Verstappen claimed a record-breaking 14th victory in a single season, ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Sergio Perez.

Haas F1 Team holds eighth place in the Constructors’ Championship with 36 points.

Kevin Magnussen, Driver No. 20

We just didn’t have a good pace today. I had the medium and then soft tire on for the race, which could’ve given us some opportunities, but we were a bit too far off to really do much. There are so many opportunities. We scored points in the last race, but today isn’t what we wanted, so we’ll move on to the next one.

Mick Schumacher, Driver No. 47

We saw in FP3 that once the track gets colder, it seemed that others were performing a bit better than us. We knew the pace was there yesterday, but it wasn’t there today. There wasn’t anything wrong with the strategy or anything in that sense. That was our pace, and we have to live with it today. I’m sure that in Brazil, things might look very different again.

Guenther Steiner, Team Principal, Haas F1 Team

Today, our car just didn’t have the speed, and therefore we ended up where we ended up. Hopefully, Brazil suits our car better, and we can return to where we want to be.

Haas F1 Team best pictures:

AUTODROMO HERMANOS RODRIGUEZ, MEXICO – OCTOBER 30: Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin, chats with Mick Schumacher, Haas F1 Team during the 2022 Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on Sunday October 30, 2022 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Andy Hone / LAT Images)

AUTODROMO HERMANOS RODRIGUEZ, MEXICO – OCTOBER 30: Mick Schumacher, Haas F1 Team during the 2022 Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on Sunday October 30, 2022 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Andy Hone / LAT Images)

AUTODROMO HERMANOS RODRIGUEZ, MEXICO – OCTOBER 30: Mick Schumacher, Haas F1 Team, on the grid during the 2022 Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on Sunday October 30, 2022 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Andy Hone / LAT Images)

AUTODROMO HERMANOS RODRIGUEZ, MEXICO – OCTOBER 30: Kevin Magnussen, Haas F1 Team during the 2022 Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on Sunday October 30, 2022 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Zak Mauger / LAT Images)

AUTODROMO HERMANOS RODRIGUEZ, MEXICO – OCTOBER 30: Guenther Steiner, Team Principal, Haas F1 during the 2022 Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on Sunday October 30, 2022 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Andy Hone / LAT Images)

AUTODROMO HERMANOS RODRIGUEZ, MEXICO – OCTOBER 30: Kevin Magnussen, Haas VF-22 during the 2022 Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on Sunday October 30, 2022 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Zak Mauger / LAT Images)

Scuderia AlphaTauri

 

Scuderia AlphaTauri endured a difficult day as Frenchman Pierre Gasly narrowly missed out on points finish as he secured 11th place, while Japanese team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was forced to retire after being hit by McLaren driver Daniel Ricciardo.

Pierre Gasly

It’s a real shame, but we knew it would be difficult starting from P14. I gave everything I could today, and we were close to finishing in the top 10; if we’d had one more lap, I think we could’ve been in it. The atmosphere has been insane, as always in Mexico, so that’s been great. I’m just disappointed we’ve come away without points.

Yuki Tsunoda

It’s such a shame about today’s result. My tyre management had been excellent in the race up until that point, and I was feeling confident in that final stint, so I’m very disappointed that it ended with such a silly mistake. Daniel was on a different strategy and would’ve easily made it past later on, so for such an experienced driver to try to overtake in an area that it’s just not possible to is so annoying. We were close to being able to finish in the points, which are so valuable to us right now. There are some positives to take away from this weekend, but for now, I just need to go away and reset, then come back stronger for Brazil.

Claudio Balestri – Chief Engineer – Vehicle Performance

As our two cars were close together on the grid today, we decided to start with different compounds, aiming to maximise the possibility of scoring points. Yuki started on new Softs and immediately gained some positions in the first lap. He was P11 between the two McLarens on Mediums, with Norris in front and Riccardo behind. Yuki’s first stint was good; he produced consistent lap times and managed tyre and brake temperatures, and the tyres were working properly for the entire stint. For the rest of his race, he continued to fight the two McLarens, so in the second stint, we decided to fit Mediums, and the pace was again good, allowing him to follow Norris and stay in front of Ricciardo. However, Ricciardo tried to overtake Yuki, destroying our car and race. The contact left Yuki’s car with a lot of damage, and we had to retire. Pierre’s race was a bit different. By the end of lap one, he had lost some positions and was P17, racing on the Mediums behind the two Astons that were slower than him.

During the first stint, Pierre was able to gain one position, overtaking Stroll, who was on the same compound, but during this manoeuvre, he got a five-second penalty. This was served at our second pit stop, and our race became a bit more complicated. When he re-joined the track, he was behind Albon. Pierre’s pace with the soft compound was good, and we could overtake him and close the gap with the cars in front, who were on different strategies. Pierre finished just behind Bottas, just outside the points in P11. It is a shame because the pace wasn’t bad today. Now we need to switch our thoughts to the preparation for our next race in Brazil.

Scuderia AlphaTauri Team best pictures:

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO – OCTOBER 28: Yuki Tsunoda of Scuderia AlphaTauri and Japan during practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Mexico at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on October 28, 2022 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Peter Fox/Getty Images )

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO – OCTOBER 28: Pierre Gasly of France driving the (10) Scuderia AlphaTauri AT03 on track during practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Mexico at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on October 28, 2022 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images )

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO – OCTOBER 29: Pierre Gasly of Scuderia AlphaTauri and France during qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Mexico at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on October 29, 2022 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Peter Fox/Getty Images)

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO – OCTOBER 30: Pierre Gasly of France and Scuderia AlphaTauri prepares to drive on the grid during the F1 Grand Prix of Mexico at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on October 30, 2022 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Peter Fox/Getty Images )

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO – OCTOBER 30: A grid performer stands with the car of Pierre Gasly of France and Scuderia AlphaTauri during the F1 Grand Prix of Mexico at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on October 30, 2022 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Peter Fox/Getty Images )

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO – OCTOBER 30: Pierre Gasly of France and Scuderia AlphaTauri prepares to drive in the garage prior to the F1 Grand Prix of Mexico at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on October 30, 2022 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Peter Fox/Getty Images )

Aston Martin Formula One Team

 

Sebastian and Lance both gained places from their grid positions at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez but were unable to take points home from the 2022 Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix after a challenging event for the team.

Lance Stroll

The start was great; it was definitely the highlight of the race. On the move with Pierre [Gasly], he braked late and passed me but did not give me any room. However, it would not have really changed our day if that had not happened.

There were fun moments out there passing other cars, but we struggled greatly with our pace and the tyres.

We will try to understand this dip in performance and see how we can make progress to maximise the season’s final two races.

Sebastian Vettel

Overall, we were just a little bit too slow today. At the start of the race, I could hold on to the cars in front of me, but then I was a bit unlucky to get tangled up with Yuki [Tsunoda].

His car was damaged, and he came back onto the track right in front of me – I lost too much time and was an easy target for the others.

The car did not feel too great, and the afternoon was a bit of a struggle – but, luckily, we did not lose too much ground in the fight for sixth in the Constructors’ Championship.

Mike Krack, Team Principal

This is a race where you must skillfully manage the brakes and tyres. And, despite the best efforts of our drivers and engineers to do just that, we were never really in a position to capitalise.

Lance drove another typically charging opening lap to jump five places, and Sebastian was precise and clinical all afternoon – but he just did not have the pace to fend off a gaggle of faster cars.

In the battle for sixth in the Constructors’ Championship, this was an afternoon of damage limitation – we will pick up the fight again in Brazil next month.

Aston Martin Cognizant F1 Team best pictures:

Portrait, TS-Live, Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, GP2220a, F1, GP, Mexico, Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin on stage at the Driver Q&A zone

Portrait, TS-Live, Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, GP2220a, F1, GP, Mexico, Lance Stroll, Aston Martin

action, Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, GP2220a, F1, GP, Mexico, Lance Stroll, Aston Martin AMR22

Helmets, Portrait, Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, GP2220a, F1, GP, Mexico, Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin

action, 3plus, Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, GP2220a, F1, GP, Mexico, Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin AMR22, leads Lance Stroll, Aston Martin AMR22, and Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri AT03

Portrait, Helmets, Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, GP2220a, F1, GP, Mexico, Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin

Williams Racing

 

Two incredible stints from Alex Albon had our No23 chasing a top-10 finish in Mexico City, even after a P17 start. Alex crossed the line in P12 after evoking his tyre whispering abilities again by maximising a one-stop strategy and extending the life of his Pirellis.

Alex Albon

Honestly, I’m really happy with today and it feels like our pace was relatively strong from where it was on Friday. We had a tricky start so we dropped to 19th and despite a few retirements, we overtook everyone else, so I think it was a good race from us. It was a thermal race with the dirty air making the brakes hot and then the tyres hot, so we did well with our strategy to find the gaps of clean air.

It was really close today and I’m feeling good with a lot of positives to take away. I think we’re getting better at solving the weaknesses in the car and at a circuit that doesn’t suit us we were able to set up the car and compete with those around us.

Nicholas Latifi

We had some car damage from early on in the race which was confirmed by the team. At the beginning it didn’t seem too bad but as the race went on our pace seemed to deteriorate. We need to see what the damage specifically was but unfortunately, we had no pace today. Even at the end, I was two or three seconds a lap slower on new Soft tyres compared to people on older Softs.

Overall a very lonely day but we’ll look to bounce back in Brazil.

Dave Robson, Head of Vehicle Performance:

Following a frustrating day yesterday, we can be very pleased with how we performed today. Racing in Mexico City is always challenging but we were able to get the car into a pretty good place such that it was easily managed and had good pace relative to our competitors. We pitted Nicholas early for the Hard tyre but unfortunately this was a poor tyre today and, coupled with some car damage, it harmed Nicky’s race.We were able to leave Alex out on his Medium tyre whilst we monitored the performance of the cars that started the race on Soft.

Once it became clear that a Medium-Soft one-stop was possible we were able to commit to this with Alex. Once again, he drove very well to battle aggressively with Gasly, Vettel, Zhou and Bottas. To finish so close to the Alfa Romeo which qualified 6th, especially after a tricky race start, was very satisfying but also hints at what might have been possible with a better grid position.

It has been a hard couple of weeks racing in the USA and Mexico,but we can be pleased with what we achieved and how we coped with the conditions.

Williams F1 Team best pictures:

Logan Sargeant (USA) Williams Racing FW44 Academy Driver.
Mexican Grand Prix, Friday 28th October 2022. Mexico City, Mexico.

Logan Sargeant (USA) Williams Racing.
Mexican Grand Prix, Friday 28th October 2022. Mexico City, Mexico.

Fanzone Stage Williams Racing.
Mexican Grand Prix, Saturday 29th October 2022. Mexico City, Mexico.

Alexander Albon (THA) Williams Racing.
Mexican Grand Prix, Saturday 29th October 2022. Mexico City, Mexico.

Alexander Albon (THA) Williams Racing on the grid.
Mexican Grand Prix, Sunday 30th October 2022. Mexico City, Mexico.

Alexander Albon (THA) Williams Racing.
Mexican Grand Prix, Sunday 30th October 2022. Mexico City, Mexico.

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