2023 Formula 1 Preview & Review.

Ocon was 'throwing up' 16 laps into gruelling Qatar GP.
The Alpine driver felt it was one of the hardest races in his career, after driving home to seventh in the Qatar Grand Prix.
08 October 11:19PM
Author Rory Mitchell
Co-author Aaron Deckers
RacingNews365

Esteban Ocon has revealed that he was "throwing up" inside his helmet 16 laps into the gruelling Qatar Grand Prix. Although the heat only reached a maximum of 33°c, the humidity was high for the drivers in the cockpit, which coupled with the high g-forces and flat-out nature of the race, meant it was a physical Grand Prix.

Williams' Logan Sargeant had to retire from the race after suffering from dehydration, while several other drivers had to visit the medical centre after the race due to the extreme conditions. Lance Stroll even admitted to losing consciousness at times during the 57-lap race, with Ocon detailing being sick at the wheel as he came home to a seventh-place finish.

‘Throwing up 16 laps into gruelling Qatar GP’;

https://racingnews365.com/ocon-throw...ing-qatar-race


Ocon ‘was throwing up for two laps’ amid extreme heat
22:40 Sun, 08 Oct 2023.
by Phillip Horton
Motorsport Week

Esteban Ocon says he was vomiting for two laps of Formula 1’s Qatar Grand Prix as drivers struggled with the extreme weather conditions. “That was the hardest fought points that I’ve ever had to fight for,” said Ocon, who finished seventh.

“I was, I don’t know, I was feeling ill, lap 15, 16, I was throwing up for two laps inside the cockpit. And then I was like, s**t, that’s going to be a long race. I don’t know, I tried to calm down, I tried to remember that the mental side in sport is the strongest part of your body, and I managed to get that under control, and finish the race.”

“But honestly, I was not expecting for the race to be that hard. I can normally do two race distances, even in Singapore. Physically, like muscle-wise and cardio-wise, I’m always fine. I don’t know, it was just like 80 degrees inside the cockpit this race.” Ocon said he was “trying to guide some air into my helmet, the more I was breathing to try and get everything lower, the more heat that was coming inside the helmet. Honestly, it was hell in there.”

‘Throwing up for two laps’;

https://www.motorsportweek.com/2023/...-extreme-heat/


Ocon explains his 'extremely tough' run to P7 as Gasly rues costly track limit penalties in Qatar
10 October 2023
Formula One - Official Site

Esteban Ocon was pleased to take home some “valuable points” for Alpine after battling through illness during the race in Qatar, while Pierre Gasly admitted he made “too many mistakes” after a slate of penalties for exceeding track limits cost him a place in the top 10.

Ocon was one of the drivers to make big gains at the start of the race, going from eighth to fifth as he took advantage of the confusion caused by the Mercedes drivers colliding at Turn 1 on the opening lap.

The French driver later lost out to Lando Norris and George Russell but pulled off a number of impressive overtakes – including on Lance Stroll and Sergio Perez – on his way to finishing seventh. It's his best result since finishing third in Monaco, and came despite the fact he was vomiting in the car during the race.

'Extremely tough run to P7’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...7uaLIxn9x.html


Ocon would 'rather be killed than retire' despite Qatar GP hell
10 October 11:40AM
Author Fergal Walsh
Co-author Aaron Deckers
RacingNews365

Alpine driver Esteban Ocon has insisted “you need to kill me before I retire" after driving through "hell" at the Qatar Grand Prix. Sweltering conditions were present in Qatar all weekend with the temperature often peaking above 35 degrees Celsius.

The intensity of the race was increased when 18-lap maximum stints per tyre compound were mandated due to concerns over the rubber's reaction to the kerbs. With drivers able to push harder due to tyre wear being less of a concern, the continuous fast laps coupled with the heat made for difficult conditions behind the wheel.

“It was so hot that I wanted to open the visor in the straight line because I had no air. I was trying to also guide, with my hand, some air into the helmet because the more I was breathing to try and get everything lower, the more heat was coming inside the helmet. It was hell in there. But next year, we're coming [later] so that should be better.” When asked if he was tempted to retire while feeling unwell, Ocon said: “No. You need to kill me before I retire. It’s true.”

‘It was hell in there’;

https://racingnews365.com/ocon-would...-qatar-gp-hell


Gasly rues energy management issues forcing ‘risks’ in Qatar GP
15:07 Wed, 11 Oct 2023.
by Taylor Powling
Motorsport Week

Pierre Gasly rued energy management issues that contributed to him taking “too many risks” and picking up track limit penalties in the Qatar Grand Prix. Consequently, Gasly was demoted from ninth to 12th, behind both Sergio Perez and Lance Stroll, who were also punished for frequently venturing outside the white lines.

“It wasn’t a good day, I made too many mistakes with these track limits, [and it] cost me 15 seconds,” he admitted. “So I can only be disappointed with myself because obviously, you’re talking a few centimetres, which is nothing. But I paid a big price for it and missed out on the points, so I’ve just got to learn from this.”

‘Picking up track limit penalties’;

https://www.motorsportweek.com/2023/...s-in-qatar-gp/


Gasly: Power unit issue prompted “too many risks” with Qatar F1 track limits
15:32 Wed, 11 Oct 2023.
Motorsport.com

The Alpine driver picked up three five-second penalties for track limits offences over the course of the race. He took the first at a pit stop, while the others were added to his race time, leaving him in 12th place behind the also penalised Sergio Perez and Lance Stroll.

Gasly admitted that one of the problems was that track limits warnings came too late from the FIA, via his engineer. "It was the story of the whole race,” he said. “I don't have any excuses because it's the same for everyone, and at the end of the day I took too many obviously.”

Like other drivers Gasly found the race hard physically: "It was the toughest race of the year. It was clearly very hot in the car, and very physically challenging. I knew it will be like that. “And I know I'm training really hard, and I have one of the best physical conditions in the paddock. So I usually embrace these conditions.

“Too many risks”;

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/g...mits/10531557/

‘Unbelievably dangerous’ - F1 trainer reveals what drivers’ bodies went through at Qatar GP.
An experienced F1 trainer has explained what drivers had to endure during extreme conditions at the Qatar Grand Prix.
11 Oct 2023
Lewis Larkam
Crash.Net

"I've heard that it was one of the hardest conditions that anyone has ever seen," Sam Village, a performance coach who has worked with Daniel Ricciardo, Carlos Sainz and Zhou Guanyu, told the Sky Sports F1 podcast. "I've spoken to Zhou's trainer, who also worked on the grid with Felipe Massa for his whole career as well, and he said he has never seen it hotter than that.”

“Then I spoke to Carlos [Sainz's] coach and he said that the dry heat during the day meant that the humidity was created in this landscape and it just became unbearable. It was a combination of the length of the stint they were given, the new track surface and the heat," he explained.

"The characteristic of the Qatar track is there are lots of high-downforce fast corners. When they go through these high-downforce fast corners they tense and ultimately, they hold their breath a little bit. So their breathing rate is the same as when they are asleep but their heart rate is between 150 and 180 [bpm]. So, there's an element of hypoxia in the brain as well potentially. That's the challenge.”

‘Unbelievably dangerous’;

https://www.crash.net/f1/news/103785...s-went-through


F1 must 'define boundaries' to protect drivers - Vowles
12 October 9:00PM
Author Ewan Gale
RacingNews365

Williams Team Principal James Vowles has insisted boundaries must be defined to protect driver safety after a strenuous Qatar Grand Prix. Addressing Sargeant's condition, Vowles explained: "He was ill the week prior and ill a little bit leading up to Friday. That weakened his immune system and sufficiently so that he was very easily dehydrated.”

"The circumstances in Qatar were very different. The rule brought in for safety meant a three-stop was incredibly easy to do on the tyres, so the drivers were pushing flat out from start to finish. It really was four sprint races just flat out from start to finish - that was different and unusual to drivers.”

"There are elements of this we need to understand and as a sport, do better. They have a drinks system on board, it is only a couple of litres and it is not terribly cool when you are 20 or 30 laps into the race, so there are probably elements that we can help with. But we are a sport pushing elite athletes to the absolute limit, so what we need to do now is define boundaries to make sure they get to the end safely."

‘Protect drivers’;

https://racingnews365.com/f1-must-de...drivers-vowles


Williams confirm Albon treated at medical centre after Qatar GP
08 October 10:35PM
Author Rory Mitchell
RacingNews365

Williams has issued an update on Alexander Albon's condition following the Qatar Grand Prix. Several drivers complained about the intense conditions they experienced during the race, as temperatures reached the limit for some in the cockpit. Team-mate Logan Sargeant had to retire from the race early due to "intense dehydration," with Aston Martin's Lance Stroll admitting he was even losing consciousness at times such was the physicality of conditions.

Williams confirmed in a statement: "Following the Qatar GP, Alex was taken to the medical centre to be treated for acute heat exposure. He has now been assessed and cleared by the medical team." Albon managed to finish 13th on the road, after briefly running in the points for much of the race, although he was hit with track limits time penalties.

‘Losing consciousness’;

https://racingnews365.com/williams-i...nse-qatar-race


Qatar GP: Tough race for Williams Racing.
October 11 2023
By Williams Racing
WilliamsF1 Supporters

Coming off the positive points scoring result from the Saturday Sprint the Williams Racing Team went into Sunday's race with a degree of optimism. But the events of the race showed that their optimism was not well founded. The early stages of the race would see both Alex and Logan running just outside the top ten with both having started on the medium.

But with the first series of pit stops both Alex and Logan would seem to drop back and as the race went on their positions became poorer. Added onto this was the extreme nature of the heat and humidity that every driver was subject to. Such was the impact of this that Logan would be forced to retire after suffering severe dehydration.

He would have to be helped from his car. Despite making it to the finish Alex would also be required to get help to get out of his car such was the impact of the heat on him. Thankfully both drivers would make a complete recovery. Alex would finish 13th.

‘Tough race’;

https://www.sportnetwork.net/main/s107/st205206.htm


Williams to make Sargeant decision ‘end of the year’
Wednesday 11th October, 2023 - 7:30pm
By Ian Parkes
SpeedCafe.com

Of the 20 seats on an F1 grid, the only one now available for 2024 remains that currently occupied by Sargeant, leading to the spotlight being firmly on the 21-year-old for the remainder of this campaign. Asked as to the timeline for a decision, Vowles said: “I suspect it’ll be to the end of the season. I think we’ve already committed to the direction of travel we’re in, he has targets for that, and it’d be wrong to go against that decision point. So end of the year.”

Vowles believes the reason behind the number of incidents for Sargeant has been as a result of gnawing frustration that has grown as the season has unfolded, leading to him overdriving. “The frustration has been there for many months,” said Vowles. “He went into Bahrain, and probably the worst thing that can happen, he overlapped with Lando (Norris) in Q1.”

“He perhaps thought the challenge in front of him might not be as significant as it really is. What you then saw after that time was the gap starting to grow, and a driver that’s now frustrated. His normal tools aren’t producing the quality of lap-time that was there previously.”

‘End of the year decision’;

https://www.speedcafe.com/2023/10/11...d-of-the-year/

F1 duo labelled "desperate boys" as furious team chief lets rip at Qatar GP.
Nico Hulkenberg was one of three drivers who were taken out of the Qatar Grand Prix Sprint race when he got into a tangle with Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon as he entered a corner.
16:41 Sun, 08 Oct 2023.
By Daniel Moxon Senior F1 Writer
The Mirror

Guenther Steiner labelled Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon "two desperate boys" as he fumed over the crash which took out his driver Nico Hulkenberg in the Qatar Grand Prix Sprint. "It's really bad for us because it was a day where we could have taken something," said the German racer.

"I'm very disappointed about that because it was an opportunity. Ocon started to have problems and so I was able to attack him. But Perez also came from behind and was so fast. That meant he was suddenly in the middle of things, but I saw him really late because I was focused on Ocon. And he, in turn, probably didn't know or couldn't see that I also had a car next to me and therefore there was no more space.”

"It put me in a sandwich and yes, with three cars so tight in a corner, that was too close. I'd like to blame Esteban, but I don't think he can know that Sergio is on the right. [It was a] very stupid and unfortunate racing situation."

"Desperate boys";

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/formu...qatar-31136584


Haas take social media by storm with 'Guenther's Yearbook' post
Wednesday 11 October 2023 16:57
Cal Gaunt
GPFans

Haas F1 have hopped aboard the internet's 'yearbook' bandwagon, using AI to predict what their team principal Guenther Steiner might have looked like way back when. The trend invites users to recreate their high school yearbook photos with a whole lot of 90s flair.

However, that didn't stop the American team from generating yearbooks for their drivers Nico Hulkenberg, Kevin Magnussen and Pietro Fittipaldi. And they promised that if those snaps garnered 100,000 likes on Instagram, they'd release 'Guenther's Yearbook'.

‘Haas take social media by storm’;

https://www.gpfans.com/en/f1-news/10...ook-instagram/


Nico Hulkenberg draws unwanted attention for big ‘screw up’ at the Qatar Grand Prix
09 Oct 2023 2:15 PM
Michelle Foster
PlanetF1.com

Tripped up by a “strange situation” of not having a car in the box in front of his in Qatar, Nico Hulkenberg admits he “screwed up” by slotting into the wrong spot. “Remember to leave the free space behind Norris in front of you,” his race engineer radioed to Hulkenberg.

Hulkenberg finished the grand prix down in 16th place, his team boss Guenther Steiner ruing the German’s error. “Nico starting in the wrong grid spot at the beginning didn’t help at all because once you get 10 seconds behind at the start of the race where we are, you have no chance. We fought but it wasn’t enough,” he said.

Replays of the start showed the Haas driver frantically looking around him as he seemed to realise his mistake. “I realised before I stopped but you can’t reverse and the damage was done, so that was obviously a big mistake from me,” he said. “That stopped our race before it even started.”

‘Screw up’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/nico-h...tar-grand-prix


Delusional to hope for miracles with B-spec vehicle – Magnussen
October 10, 2023
BaylaSportsF1

Projecting a massive progression for Haas at their home ground in Austin the coming weekend would be “idiotic”. Such is the caution from team driver Kevin Magnussen, though he is filled with anticipation for the conclusion of Haas’s lengthy development hiatus at the US GP, marked by the launch of a B-version car.

The buzz is that the B-car from Haas might align with the development path McLaren has taken, sporting a fundamental aerodynamic design reminiscent of the formidable Red Bull. “This specification of the car ended worse than it started, so we are happy to see the end of it,” Haas team principal Gunther Steiner conveyed to Ekstra Bladet newspaper.

“This specification of the car ended worse than it started, so we are happy to see the end of it,” Haas team principal Gunther Steiner conveyed to Ekstra Bladet newspaper. Despite McLaren’s impressive advancements since adopting a more Red Bull-oriented model, the Danish driver Magnussen remains grounded.

‘Haas B-spec development hiatus’;

https://baylasportsf1.com/delusional...cle-magnussen/


Magnussen warns against ‘miracles’ with Haas upgrade
Thursday 12th October, 2023 - 6:00pm
By Ian Parkes
Speedcafe

Kevin Magnussen cannot wait to see the back of the current Haas car although has warned against expecting miracles with the upcoming upgrades. “I’m happy we get this upgrade for the next race, I’m excited about it,” said the Dane, whose 10th place in Singapore is Haas’ only point from the last 12 grands prix.

“It’s really positive for the team to have that look forward to, to get some new tools to play with, and hopefully we can find more performance. But I don’t think it’s realistic to expect miracles in the first race in Austin. Of course, we all wish for that at night when we go to sleep.”

“But realistically it will take us a race or two to figure it out. I’m just really glad we can leave this behind and move on.” Team principal Guenther Steiner readily concedes that at this stage Haas “don’t know how good the upgrade will be”, although there is an expectation the team will get “something good out of it”.

‘See(ing) the back of the current Haas car’;

https://www.speedcafe.com/2023/10/12...ted-states-gp/


Magnussen excited by Haas upgrade, but not expecting miracles
12/10/2023 at 16:08
Phillip van Osten
F1i.com

Kevin Magnussen is counting down the days to next week’s US Grand Prix in Austin where Haas will field a significantly updated VF-23, but the Dane isn’t expecting miracles from the new package.

Haas team boss Guenther Steiner cautioned over inflating expectations, admitting that the US outfit will only know if the new package will bear fruit once it puts its car on track at The Circuit of the Americas.

“The best thing is that we’re going in the direction we want to go for next year, and we will learn a lot this year for next season,” said Steiner. “At least we know we’re doing things to move forward, we’re not sitting here waiting for the end of the season. We will work hard until the end.”

‘Counting down the days’;

https://f1i.com/news/489848-magnusse...-miracles.html

Qatar GP was 'torture' for drivers – Bottas.
The Alfa Romeo driver joins fellow drivers in giving his take on the tough conditions during the Qatar Grand Prix.
09 October 7:15PM
Author Rory Mitchell
Co-author Aaron Deckers

Alfa Romeo's Valtteri Bottas has branded the Qatar Grand Prix "torture" following several concerns from drivers over the conditions during the race. When asked about the conditions, Bottas told media, including RacingNews365: "I would say it was harder than Singapore, just the temperature in the cockpit was almost too much.

"It's getting to the limit that somebody's going have heat stroke, the feeling is like torture." Williams' Logan Sargeant was the only driver to retire due to "intense dehydration" while Esteban Ocon revealed he vomited 16 laps into the race. When told about the other drivers, Bottas replied: "I'm not surprised, any hotter than this it will not be safe."

'Torture';

https://racingnews365.com/qatar-gran...drivers-bottas


Alfa Romeo double points finish in Qatar puts Williams in the crosshairs
Zhou Guanyu went from qualifying in 20th place to finishing ninth in the 2023 Qatar GP
October 8, 2023
By Carl Hilliard
Total Motorsport

“Yeah, really clean race,” Bottas told the media after the race. “Good strategy. Of course, it felt a bit strange to stop after three laps from a good position. We had been lucky in a way because Lewis [Hamilton] was out and also [Carlos] Sainz didn’t start. Sometimes you need that bit of luck and today they just got everything right.”

With the result from Alfa Romeo being as strong as it was, the gap to Williams in the Constructors’ Championship was cut down to seven points, with Bottas happy to close the gap to their rivals. “We closed the gap a little bit. So yeah, I feel like we definitely made some progress now, and finally understand the upgrades,” Bottas said.

‘Double points finish’;

https://www.total-motorsport.com/f1-...ms-crosshairs/


Bottas delighted with ‘really rewarding’ Qatar GP as both Alfa Romeos score points
08 Oct 2023
Formula One - Official Site (Video)

Valtteri Bottas finished P8 in Qatar with his team mate Zhou Guanyu one place behind to cap a good day’s work for the Swiss team.

‘Bottas delighted’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/v...900319152.html


Bottas: Alfa Romeo ‘finally understand upgrades’ after Qatar
14:16 Wed, 11 Oct 2023.
by Taylor Powling
Motorsport Week

Amid the FIA imposing maximum 18-lap stint lengths to alleviate concerns over the tyres, Alfa Romeo took advantage of an early Safety Car to pit Bottas after only three laps. Bottas’ early gamble paid dividends as he took the chequered flag ninth, which became eighth when Red Bull’s Sergio Perez was penalised a third time for track limits.

“Really clean race, good strategy,” Bottas reflected. “Of course, it felt a bit strange to stop after three laps from a good position, but in the end it meant all the stints were just equal stints and we thought that would be the fastest way to the flag – and it was.”

“Yeah, of course we had a bit of luck either way, because Lewis [Hamilton] was out and also Sainz didn’t start,” Bottas acknowledged. “So otherwise, P8 would have been difficult, but sometimes you need that bit of luck and today we got everything right. And even Zhou, starting last and ending up 10th, had a great race.”

‘Finally understand upgrades’;

https://www.motorsportweek.com/2023/...s-after-qatar/


Bottas: Alfa finally ‘understands upgrades 100 percent’
14:58 Thu, 12 Oct 2023.
Phillip van Osten
F1i.com

Valtteri Bottas feels that Alfa Romeo owes its double podium finish in Qatar in part to its now solid understanding of the recent upgrades implemented on its C43 car. “We’ve learned a lot about the upgrades,” said Bottas. “We finally understand them 100 percent, and now we are starting to get more out of them”

“Of course, maybe the track favoured us a little bit, but at least we seem to be stronger than in previous races and I’m happy. The next race [in Austin] is quite a different track again, but it seems like we were definitely more competitive [in Qatar] than other weekends.”

‘Understands upgrades 100 percent’;

https://f1i.com/news/489843-bottas-a...0-percent.html


Alfa Romeo joins F1 trend for rear wing endplate tweak
13:45, 2023.
By: Matt Somerfield
Co-author: Giorgio Piola
Motorsport.com

The challenges of a sprint race meant Formula 1 upgrades were thin on the ground in Qatar last weekend – but they weren’t completely absent. Three teams took the plunge in making modifications to their cars, with Alfa Romeo becoming the seventh F1 team to modify its rear wing endplate to feature an upwashing swage line on the external face.

‘Alfa Romeo joins F1 trend’;

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/a...weak/10532480/

FIA officially warns Stroll over Qatar GP garage tantrum.
The FIA has handed Lance Stroll an official warning for his conduct in the wake of his Q1 elimination from qualifying at the Qatar Grand Prix last weekend.
08:42 Sat, 14 Oct 2023.
Michael Delaney
F1i.com

After the session, an angry Stroll climbed out of his car made his way towards the back of the Aston Martin garage, ignoring a directive from his performance coach Henry Howe to exit at the front to present himself at the weighbridge.

As Howe insisted, Stroll then abruptly vented his frustration by showing his coach out of the way. Earlier this week, it came to light that the FIA was investigating the matter, with Stroll referred to the governing body’s Compliance Officer to determine whether his actions had breached motorsport’s Code of Ethics.

On Friday, the FIA issued an update in which it stated that it had handed Stroll a warning regarding his antics in Qatar. “We can confirm that the FIA Compliance Officer has received an apology from Lance Stroll regarding his actions during the 2023 FIA Formula 1 Qatar Grand Prix,” read the FIA statement.

‘FIA officially warns Stroll’;

https://f1i.com/news/489916-fia-offi...e-tantrum.html


Heart v head for Lawrence Stroll – surely one option with son Lance
Sunday 15th October, 2023 - 10:06am
By Ian Parkes
Speedcafe

You will no doubt have heard the expression ‘blood is thicker than water’, and it undoubtedly rings true when it comes to the father-son relationship that is Lawrence and Lance Stroll. But at this particular point in time, Aston Martin owner Lawrence must be questioning such a phrase following the dramatic collapse in the form of his 24-year-old.

Almost certainly, Stroll Jr’s Formula 1 future would be a serious topic of debate in the boardroom of every other team – if a decision to let him go had not already been taken by now. Stroll was a remarkable sixth in the season-opening Bahrain GP, a result that even had Alonso hailing the superhero qualities of a driver 18 years his junior, followed by a season-high fourth in the crash-strewn race in Australia, and then seventh in Azerbaijan.

So it is evident the talent is there, leaving you wondering exactly what has happened for him to disappear off the radar and become the petulant man-child as witnessed after qualifying for last weekend’s Qatar GP. Stroll’s anger was understandable in many respects. He had again been knocked out of Q1, finishing 1.1secs adrift of Alonso, and in the same-spec AMR23. It resulted in Stroll sullenly throwing his steering wheel out of the cockpit before storming to the back of the garage and pushing his personal trainer, Henry Howe, out of the way as he made his escape.

‘Heart v head’;

https://www.speedcafe.com/2023/10/15...-martin-heart/


Aston Martin chief wants less criticism of Lance Stroll as FIA probes F1 shove incident
Lance Stroll was criticised over the Qatar Grand Prix weekend by F1 journalists, pundits and fans alike for shoving an Aston Martin colleague in frustration over his qualifying performance
19:43 Thu, 12 Oct 2023.
By Daniel Moxon Senior F1 Writer
The Mirror

Aston Martin team principal Mike Krack likened Lance Stroll's qualifying outburst at the Qatar Grand Prix to when a footballer reacts angrily to being substituted as he called for "more respect" from Formula 1 media. His Aston Martin team played down the incident, as did Stroll as as he later reflected on it.

"We're good. He's a bro," the racer said. "We go through the frustrations together and we ride together, so we're cool. I'm not looking at social media. I'm in the car driving this weekend." Regardless, he faced a wave of criticism from journalists, pundits and fans for his actions. But his boss Krack suggested his belief that there was an overreaction to the incident and that he feels drivers should be cut some slack for their actions in the head of the moment.

Krack said: "I'm sure we run 10-20 times less adrenaline on the pit wall than the drivers do, but you put the microphone straight away in front of them, or you gauge every reaction that they do. Emotions are what we want from sportsmen and then if they react, we judge them quickly, 'Is this right, is this wrong?'

‘More respect from Formula 1 media’;

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/formu...spect-31175820


Nico Rosberg and David Coulthard rip Lance Stroll to shreds
Calls for Lance Stroll to be replaced at Aston Martin are mounting, as the Canadian continues to spark controversy.
14 October 2023
by Nick Golding
Formula1News

2016 Formula 1 World Champion Nico Rosberg and ex-F1 driver David Coulthard have agreed that Lance Stroll’s behaviour last Friday at the Qatar Grand Prix was poor, after he pushed his personal trainer.

Rosberg slammed Stroll after qualifying in Qatar and stressed that he cannot treat any team member in the manner of which he did. “That’s not on, not for the mechanics, not for the trainer, not for anybody. That’s really bad behaviour,” Rosberg told Sky Sports F1.

Coulthard agreed with Rosberg’s take on the incident and noted that the Aston Martin driver “had a breakdown”, whilst his trainer was simply “trying to do his job”. “He’s just getting absolutely hammered by Fernando Alonso and he’s had a meltdown. His trainer is just trying to do his job, which is get him to the scales,” Coulthard said on Channel 4.

‘Lance Stroll’s behaviour’;

https://formula1news.co.uk/nico-rosb...oll-to-shreds/


Lance Stroll apologizes for conduct at Qatar GP and receives written warning from FIA
13 October 2023 at 6:22 pm
Associated Press
Yahoo! UK & Ireland.

LONDON (AP) — Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll apologized to Formula One's governing body and received a written warning Friday for his conduct at the Qatar Grand Prix, where he shoved a member of his team in frustration after an early exit in qualifying.

‘Lance Stroll apologises’;

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/lance-stro...a553cBIulAm_Pw


Stroll receives FIA warning for Code of Ethics breach for shoving coach
13th October 2023, 17:15
Written by Will Wood
RaceFans

The FIA’s Code of Ethics states in section 1.4 that “all forms of harassment against participants to the FIA activities, be it physical, mental, professional or sexual, are prohibited.”.

Stroll has not yet made any public comment on his apology or on the FIA’s warning. He currently sits in tenth place in the constructors’ championship on 47 points, six places and 136 points below team mate Fernando Alonso.

‘FIA warning for Code of Ethics breach’;

https://www.racefans.net/2023/10/13/...shoving-coach/

Sargeant defends record: F1 drivers used to have “endless testing”.
Logan Sargeant insists he deserves more time in F1, explaining that rookie drivers have very limited testing time.
October 15, 2023
By: Jaden Diaz-Ndisang
Last Word On Sports

In addition to this, pre-season testing is very limited for young drivers. Sargeant recently explained the impact of this on his ability to achieve results: “It is a constant work-in-progress, and I don’t think anyone is perfect in that sense,” he told racingnews365.

“It is just about building off the mistakes, and it might sound silly, but using them to your advantage to try and learn from them. Ideally, you’d have more testing, as that is the best way to prepare. I mean, back in the day when Lewis [Hamilton] and Fernando [Alonso] joined, everyone back then got endless days of testing. And in the current car, too, which is very different to what we experience now.”

These points are entirely valid, with pre-season testing far shorter than it used to be. In the current era of F1, rookies must adapt quickly to the demands of the sport. This doesn’t mean that rookies are doomed – as evidenced by Piastri’s performances. However, it does complicate things.

‘Sargeant defends record’;

https://lastwordonsports.com/motorsp...dless-testing/


Sargeant in firm declaration as he battles to save F1 seat
14 October 8:00PM
Author Jake Nichol
Co-author Aaron Deckers
RacingNews365

Williams Logan Sargeant says he ignores the "nonsense" of social media as the under-pressure rookie fights to save his Formula 1 career. "Experience always helps, but I have people to talk to to just try and understand how to approach things and why these little mistakes are happening and how to get rid of them," Sargeant explained to media including RacingNews365.

"It is a constant work-in-progress, and I don't think anyone is perfect in that sense - it is just about building off the mistakes, and it might sound silly, but using them to your advantage to try and learn from it.”

"Everyone who knows what is going on behind the scenes, who knows me as a person wants me to succeed. I have support from the team, so don't really care what anyone else thinks. I don't look at [social media] to be honest. I have conversations with people who want me to keep improving, people who want me to be a better driver and person so I don't even pay attention to any of that nonsense."

‘Sargeant in firm declaration’;

https://racingnews365.com/sargeant-i...o-save-f1-seat


Williams’ Vowles says Lawson ‘absolutely deserving’ of a seat in F1 as he restates commitment to help ‘quick’ Sargeant
13 October 2023
Formula One - Official Site

When asked about the difficulty in his role as Team Principal of striking a balance between encouraging Sargeant whilst also needing to see a certain level of performance from the youngster, Vowles responded: “You’ve summed it up perfectly.”

“We have a responsibility both as a team, because we’ve brought Logan in with very minimal amounts of testing. If you compare, for example, even to Oscar [Piastri] on the grid, Oscar was taking a year of just doing F1 testing [in 2022], and he’s doing an excellent job with it.”

“We have a responsibility to Logan to make sure we’ve given him every opportunity to succeed, and I don’t believe we’ve done that yet, which is why my commentary is quite clear in the media.”

‘Williams’ Vowles restates commitment to help ‘quick’ Sargeant’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...bvkzbo81n.html


VOWLES: ‘WE HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO LOGAN’
James Vowles reiterates Williams' commitment to the American rookie
October 13, 2023
Grace Robinson
FormulaNerds

James Vowles, Williams f1 Team principal, has spoken about the team’s commitment to Logan Sargeant. With the only seat left for the 2024 season being Sargeant’s current one, all eyes are on Williams and Vowles to see if they stick with the American.

Will Sargeant stay for 2024? As the season’s end draws closer, many are speculating whether Sargeant will stay. Vowles certainly hasn’t made his decision yet but has spoken about some of the things that the American driver has done to convince him that he is worthy of another year behind the wheel. One of these moments was at the Qatar Grand Prix during the only free practice of the weekend. Sargeant was quick during FP1. What makes this more impressive is this track was entirely new to him.

“You saw in an FP1 session, he’s actually doing a good job, again putting himself in the top 10. We weren’t doing anything special with him. At the end of the year, we’ll all know, and I’ll be able to look him in the eyes and know that we’ve given him the best opportunity, or that he is absolutely going to be in the car next year, but let’s provide him the time to be able to do that.”

‘Some things that have convinced him that he is worthy of another year behind the wheel’;

https://www.formulanerds.com/news/vo...lity-to-logan/


Vowles tells Sargeant to be more consistent
15/10/2023 at 11:29
Andrew Lewin
F1i.com

Williams Racing team principal James Vowles has told their rookie driver Logan Sargeant that he needs to improve his consistency if he wants to keep his seat at Grove for a second season. “Logan performed well [in Qatar]," said Vowles in a post-event video report for the official William website this week. "Especially given his illness and his weakened immune system, the dehydration he was suffering from.”

“He qualified close to Alex for the main Grand Prix and in the main GP itself," he pointed out, "Until the dehydration really properly kicked in, he was a matter of seconds behind him. He had less track limits abuse than most of the other cars around him," he added. "So he was building on that consistency we’ve asked him to work on."

‘Be more consistent’;

https://f1i.com/news/489975-vowles-t...onsistent.html


Logan Sargeant admits he was blindsided by Williams announcement over his F1 future
Logan Sargeant has not yet scored a Formula 1 point in his first season in the sport, though Williams team principal James Vowles is being patient with the American
16:32 Fri, 06 Oct 2023.
By Daniel Moxon Senior F1 Writer
The Mirror

Logan Sargeant said he had no idea that his boss James Vowles was planning to publicly back him for a place on the 2024 Formula 1 grid. His seat at Williams is the only one on the grid still to be set in stone for next year. And, given the American still hasn't scored a point in his debut year in the sport, the external pressure has been mounting.

Questioned about those quotes as he faced reporters at the Qatar Grand Prix, Sargeant said he was not expecting such a statement but that it had been a pleasant surprise. "It’s always nice, I mean, from my side, I talk to James every single weekend. I knew that before anything was put on social media. It was just sort of a nice surprise, really," he said.

"I didn’t know that was coming. But at the end of the day, I have to just keep working hard, keep my head down, and try to be better. Japan, including the lap until the last corner in quali, was my best weekend to this point, 100 percent. I built it up nicely, did everything I needed to, I was just too heavy on the right foot in the last corner and that's how quickly it can go wrong. I think, realistically, now it's just more important to have a clean weekend and not go for every last hundredth, even if that means I'm leaving a tenth or two on the table."

‘Blindsided by Williams announcement’;

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/formu...-seat-31124806

LAWSON: I ‘DON’T HAVE TIME’ TO MAKE MISTAKES AFTER LAP ONE SPRINT RACE INCIDENT.
Liam Lawson rues that he “doesn’t have time” to make mistakes after his 2023 Qatar Grand Prix sprint race error.
October 8, 2023
Nathan Hartley
FormulaNerds

The Kiwi rookie, who has been filling in for injured Daniel Ricciardo, was left frustrated after making a mistake, losing the rear of his car, spinning into the gravel and out of the race. Lawson was asked whether he would be able to move on quickly from the mistake. However, due to having limited time, he will not get over it. He said:

“No, because I don’t have time to make these kind of mistakes.
“Obviously, I have a short run in Formula 1 at the moment, so it’s important for me to make the most of every session. And I definitely can’t afford to have mistakes like this.”

Lawson started the race on medium tyres, which many drivers struggled with the low-grip, dusty surface. The Kiwi was conscious of Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton having a snap of oversteer, but had already committed into the corner, carrying too much speed. “It was obviously pretty poor. But it’s the same for everybody. So obviously a big mistake for me and I’m obviously very sorry to the team. Really caught me out. Turn 1 was really good on line, made up some places.”

‘Can’t afford to have mistakes like this’;

https://www.formulanerds.com/news/la...race-incident/


Lawson disappointed not to ‘go out on a high’ as his super-sub stint comes to an end
08 Oct 2023
Speedcafe

Liam Lawson has stood in for Daniel Ricciardo at AlphaTauri for the last five races, but was disappointed not to get a better result on his last outing in the car as he finished P17 and last in Qatar.

‘Lawson disappointed not to ‘go out on a high’ ’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/v...352287568.html


Lawson disappointed with final F1 cameo
Monday 9th October, 2023 - 3:37pm
By Mat Coch
Speedcafe

With Daniel Ricciardo expected to return to the Scuderia AlphaTauri drive for the United States Grand Prix, it’s likely Lawson’s final F1 appearance until 2025.

“Obviously you want to go out on a high, so this is pretty tough to finish off on,” the 22-year-old said. “It’s just something really to look into.”

“Obviously the first couple of races went really good, we were building up, and then this weekend I think we just struggled.”

‘Final F1 cameo’;

https://www.speedcafe.com/2023/10/09...inal-f1-cameo/


Lawson laments ‘pretty tough’ end to AlphaTauri stint
10:19 Tue, 10 Oct 2023.
Michael Delaney
F1i.com

F1 rookie Liam Lawson hoped to conclude his cameo with AlphaTauri on a high, but instead it was a “pretty tough” end for the young gun in Qatar. Lawson crossed the checkered flag in 17th position as the final driver in the pecking order after running at the tail end of the field all evening, struggling for grip.

The 21-year-old, who spun out of F1’s sprint event on Saturday, left Qatar with few positives to take away from what was likely his final outing with AlphaTauri, as Daniel Ricciardo is expected to return to active duty at the US Grand Prix in Austin next week.

“We had a good start next to Stroll and [he] just didn’t really see me, so swiped across the front of me,” Lawson explained. “And then I lost like two more spots, so it was obviously pretty frustrating there.”

‘Lawson laments’;

https://f1i.com/news/489720-lawson-l...uri-stint.html


Lawson will linger on Qatar sprint mistake as F1 cameo ends
12:46 Sun, 08 Oct 2023.
By: Matt Kew
Motorsport.com

Japanese Super Formula points runner-up Lawson has largely impressed during his five-round cameo for Ricciardo, who crashed in practice at Zandvoort, breaking a bone in his left hand.

Lawson lost control through Turn 2 on the opening lap to beach his car in the gravel and retire from the Saturday race, his penultimate before Daniel Ricciardo is due to return from injury. The 21-year-old Kiwi said that this is a mistake that he “can’t afford” and will therefore likely dwell on as his effective audition for a full-time race seat in 2025 is fast approaching its end.

‘Qatar sprint mistake as F1 cameo ends’;

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/l...ends/10530325/


Liam Lawson will get a Red Bull F1 race seat – maybe sooner than you'd think.
Daniel Ricciardo's broken hand, sustained in a crash at the Dutch Grand Prix, gave the opportunity for Red Bull junior driver Liam Lawson to audition for a full-time F1 seat.
06:14 Mon, 09 Oct 2023.
By Daniel Moxon Senior F1 Writer
The Mirror

Liam Lawson has, barring any unexpected twists in Daniel Ricciardo's recovery, completed his final Formula 1 race this season. But I'll eat my own pen if it's the last of his career, even with the Aussie expected to be back in action at the United States Grand Prix next time out.

It is inconceivable that he won't get a full-time seat at some point, given the way he has proven himself in this temporary stint. Disappointingly, he did not manage to go out with a bang at the Qatar Grand Prix. He span out of the Sprint and was dead last of the finishers in the main race on Sunday as he struggled with the sweltering heat.

So did the rest of the drivers, to be fair. But his first four efforts were excellent. Solid drives at Zandvoort, Monza and Suzuka were not rewarded as they might have been, but his ninth-placed finish in Singapore, another sweatbox of a night race, remains AlphaTauri's best result of the season.

‘But I'll eat my own pen if it's the last of his career’;

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/formu...uture-31138668


Horner: Lawson will return to F1 in the future
Wednesday 11th October, 2023 - 5:00am
By Ian Parkes

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has made it clear to Liam Lawson he has not run his last race in F1. Lawson performed admirably over the five grands prix in which he deputised for Daniel Ricciardo with AlphaTauri, even if he felt he let himself down with his performance in the last of those in Qatar last weekend.

“He’s done a great job,” said Horner on Lawson’s five-race cameo. “Jumping in with zero mileage in the car, and he’s acquitted himself well as a grand prix driver. I think he’s caught all our attention in terms of the job that he’s done. It certainly won’t be his last race in F1, I’m sure of that, with what he’s done in these five races. He’s demonstrated that he deserves an opportunity in the future.”

‘Lawson will return to F1’;

https://www.speedcafe.com/2023/10/11...uri-f1-future/


Lawson ‘to keep fire warm’ under Ricciardo and Tsunoda
Tuesday 10th October, 2023 - 5:00am
By Ian Parkes
Speedcafe

The 21-year-old New Zealander then conjured an astonishing performance in Singapore where he scored the team’s best result of the season in finishing ninth. AlphaTauri CEO Peter Bayer has explained the rationale as to why Liam Lawson was overlooked for a race seat with the team in 2024. Bayer said: “We had lots of discussions about the future of the team and our shareholders said ‘We want you to continue and educate young drivers but we also want you to be successful’.

Assessing why Lawson was overlooked, “Ultimately, you can’t have both. You can’t have two ‘young’ drivers in the team. We looked at what we needed to deliver that, and we finally came to the conclusion that, first of all, we only have two seats. Daniel offers a lot of expertise, especially when it comes down to the setup of the car, which is something that we have struggled with.”

Bayer insists, though, AlphaTauri will always provide opportunities for upcoming drivers, but that now has to be tempered by the needs of the team in an increasingly competitive marketplace. Suggested to Bayer that AlphaTauri’s reason for existence was no longer as a platform for young drivers, he replied: “It is but not absolutely so. The reality today, if you’re looking at the grid, it’s so competitive, so tight, with every tenth of a second being fought for.”

‘Lawson ‘to keep fire warm’ ’;

https://www.speedcafe.com/2023/10/10...-yuki-tsunoda/

Andretti Drama Exposes Increasing Tension Between F1 and FIA.
FIA President Ben Sulayem says Andretti has nothing to worry about, but a war between the FIA and Formula 1 is brewing.
Oct 11, 2023 6:00 PM EDT
byChris Rosales|
TheDrive.com

Michael Andretti’s place on the Formula 1 grid is far from a given. Even though the FIA approved the American team for competition in F1, there’s still a major hurdle to be cleared. A political one, that can't simply be vaulted over by allowing Andretti to compete. Andretti may be the smoke, but a brewing war between the FIA and Formula 1 Management (FOM) is the real fire.

When speaking to Motorsport.com, FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem said that he is "very optimistic" that Andretti will get approval from F1. He continued, apparently unprompted, saying "We don't have to go to court, and I don't think any of us will go to court, I mean, maybe it sounds very exciting and thrilling to the media, but it will not go to court. I'm sure of that. Why should we go to court?"

Ben Sulayem’s comments reflect a situation brewing since Andretti first tendered its interest in F1, and it also reads like somebody with a lot to worry about. The FIA believes Andretti fits the bill for an 11th team—manufacturer backing and real intent to compete—and emphatically supports their entry into F1. But F1 isn’t convinced, and has acted borderline hostile to Andretti. All of this points to a growing political war between F1 and the FIA.

‘Growing political war’;

https://www.thedrive.com/news/andret...een-f1-and-fia


Fresh blow for Andretti’s F1 plans as Renault engine pre-contract agreement expires
12 Oct 2023
Lewis Larkam
Crash.Net

Alpine have revealed that a pre-contract agreement to supply customer engines to Andretti’s new F1 team has now expired. “We will not resume discussions until the review process has been completed with a positive result.”

Famin added: "In principle, we have nothing against an eleventh team if it turns out that it increases the value of the sport. But it is not our job to judge that. We follow the regulations, whether it is the sporting regulations or the Concorde agreement.”

‘Fresh blow for Andretti’s F1 plans’;

https://www.crash.net/f1/news/103794...option-expires


Andretti will not be left without F1 engine supply, says FIA
11:33, 2023.
By: Jonathan Noble
Motorsport.com

Andretti Global F1 had originally been expected a supply of Renault engines, but it emerged last week that a pre-contract the team had with the French manufacturer had now lapsed, and talks had not resumed. The situation means that, for now, Andretti does not have a firm engine contract in place.

Ben Sulayem said there was no doubt in his mind that the rules were explicit in ensuring a supply for Andretti. “It works that, with the rules, nobody can say no to them,” he said.

“If all the teams say no, then the FIA has the power to go on and say, the least two [engine manufacturers] being used, then we put them in a draw, and we take one. It’s not a secret, and I'm sure it is either Alpine or Honda, and one of them would win because that is the rules.”

‘That is the rules’;

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/a...-fia/10533383/


ANALYSIS: Full impact of Andretti Global F1 entry
Thursday 12th October, 2023 - 1:00pm
By Mat Coch
Speedcafe

How F1 prize money is divided: Currently, teams enjoy a $35 million flat payment from F1 for taking part in the championship, a simple $350 million pot split 10 ways.
Financial adjustments for Andretti Global in F1: What we can say with some certainty is that F1’s prize money fund will not get any larger, so the money will have to go further.

Ferrari will continue to receive its five percent bonus (though some sources suggest this is a flat $35 million sum rather than a percentage of income), while the ‘success’ bonus pot will also remain unchanged – worth around $3.6 million for each of the six currently eligible teams (Red Bull, Ferrari, Mercedes, Alpine, McLaren, and Williams).

From there, ‘Column 1’ payments, the flat fee paid out simply for competing, are assumed to reduce with the $350 million sum being split 11 ways rather than 10. Each team would therefore receive $31.82 million instead of $35 million, a reduction of $3.18 million for the existing 10 teams. However, given the prize money fund won’t increase, the performance-based payments would have to be adjusted.

‘A reduction of $3.18 million for the existing 10 teams’;

https://www.speedcafe.com/2023/10/12...obal-f1-entry/


FIA president delivers bad news to F1 teams trying to block Andretti bid
14 Oct 2023 7:45 AM
Sam Cooper
PlanetF1.com

FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem said the F1 teams have “no power” over Andretti joining and that it is a decision for the FIA and FOM. Formula 1 teams have been the biggest opponents to Andretti getting on the grid with many of them concerned that another mouth to feed will have a negative impact on their own profits. Regardless of their opinions, they officially do not get a vote but FOM is always going to be keen to get them on side.

As of right now, it appears as if you have the FIA in one corner and the F1 teams and FOM in the other when it comes to Andretti with the latter two being much less inclined to make room for the American team. It is an issue that threatens to bring tension to the FIA-F1 relationship but the sporting body’s president is unperturbed by this, remarking that the relationship between the two was like the Vatican and the Pope.

‘Tension to the FIA-F1 relationship’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/fia-pr...power-andretti


Hypocrisy over Andretti: The F1 teams waging war on 11th team entry
October 11th 2023
Author Chris Medland
Motor Sport Magazine

The major talking point on Thursday and Friday surrounded the FIA’s approval of Andretti Cadillac’s application to join Formula 1 in future. That approval had looked to be on its way for a number of months and all it has served to do is officially move the process onto negotiations with Formula One Management (FOM), an aspect that was always going to prove the biggest hurdle.

Opposition from FOM was also not unexpected given the comments made by teams and Stefano Domenicali ever since Andretti publicly announced its plans to set up a new team. But as you might have picked up from the post-race diary, what really stood out to me was the hypocrisy of some teams, as they outlined their resistance to the bid.

‘Hypocrisy over Andretti’;

https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/a...?nowprocket=1#


Revealed: The two F1 teams who oppose Andretti’s arrival the most
15 Oct 2023 8:30 PM
Henry Valantine
PlanetF1.com

Williams and Haas may be the most likely teams to take exception to an Andretti F1 entry, with former Williams team manager Peter Windsor explaining why.

Current Williams team principal James Vowles has made his position abundantly clear on the issue of an extra team, hoping to see Formula 1 become financially stable throughout the grid before adding to it, while Haas also oppose adding to the grid for now.

While Andretti would have to pay a $200m [£165m] anti-dilution fee to the existing teams if they do enter Formula 1, Windsor explained that the subsequent loss of income for the other teams would lessen the size of the proverbial “slices of cake” when split between 11 instead of 10.

‘F1 teams who oppose Andretti’s arrival’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/bigges...ition-revealed


Ferrari, Williams against Andretti F1 entry
Saturday 7th October, 2023 - 8:00pm
By Mat Coch

Ferrari and Williams team bosses have expressed their displeasure at the concept of Andretti Global being granted entry into F1. “Williams is against the addition of an 11th team and very strongly against,” explained James Vowles, Williams’ team principal.

“My responsibility is to 900 employees within my company.” Vowles argues that Williams has consistently made a loss and will continue to do so in at least the short term as it invests to boost its on-track competitiveness.

‘Against Andretti F1 entry’;

https://www.speedcafe.com/2023/10/07...etti-f1-entry/


Red Bull reveal opposition to Andretti joining F1
Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has revealed concerns about the impact of Andretti turning the sport into an 11-team competition.
10 October 2023
by Edward Hardy
Formula1News.com

Despite existing F1 teams lacking the authority to influence the decision of admitting an 11th team to the grid, Marko articulated his reservations about how the championship’s “cake” would be apportioned if it expanded beyond the current ten teams.

He remarked, “As a team, we have no legal opportunity to have a say in this. But my opinion is clear: if the cake is divided by eleven, instead of ten, there must be a balance.” While the FIA has granted its approval, the ultimate verdict resides with F1’s proprietors, Liberty Media.

‘Red Bull reveal opposition’;

https://formula1news.co.uk/red-bull-...ti-joining-f1/

Horner: McLaren now Red Bull’s ‘most consistent challenger’.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has praised McLaren's recent form, labelling team papaya as their "most consistent challenger” in Formula 1.
16/10/2023 at 15:45
Phillip van Osten
F1i.com

"It's moved around over the last four or five races but they've become certainly more consistent, the most consistent challenger,” Horner asserted. "They're doing a good job and the drivers are driving well. Particularly Oscar, in his rookie season is doing a very strong job."

McLaren’s strong run of form has allowed the Woking-based outfit to reduce its gap to fourth-placed team Aston in F1’s Constructors’ standings to just 11 points. However, in Qatar last time out, McLaren F1 boss Andrea Stella was cautious regarding his team’s ability to seize fourth in the championship…

“We stay very, very grounded,” said the Italian. “We saw how marginal things are. We saw what happened with Mercedes, like what happened with Ferrari who didn’t even start. This is not because they are not great teams with great drivers, this is because the sport is very marginal.”

‘Most consistent challenger’;

https://f1i.com/news/490035-horner-m...hallenger.html


McLaren now most 'consistent' Red Bull rival - Horner
16 October 8:45AM
Author Rory Mitchell
Co-author Aaron Deckers
RacingNews365

Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner believes McLaren has now become the most "consistent" rival to the team in Formula 1. Horner believes their resurgence in form has led to McLaren becoming the most consistent rival to Red Bull.

Max Verstappen believes McLaren's strong driver lineup is enabling them to be consistently behind Red Bull as a rival on track. "As a team they are probably the most consistent, compared to the others behind us," said the three-time World Champion.

‘Most 'consistent' Red Bull rival’;

https://racingnews365.com/mclaren-no...l-rival-horner


NORRIS: MCLAREN CLOSING CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS GAP TO FERRARI IS ‘DOABLE’
Ferrari holds a 79-point lead over McLaren in the Constructors' Standings
October 14, 2023
Jasmine Hughes
FormulaNerds

McLaren was something of a late bloomer this season, suffering a slow start to the year. But since garnering momentum at the British Grand Prix in July, McLaren has celebrated seven podiums between its two drivers, with rookie Oscar Piastri taking the Sprint Race win at the recent Qatar Grand Prix.

As of Qatar, McLaren sits fifth in the Constructors’ standings, just 11 points behind Aston Martin, which enjoyed a flying start to the season but has floundered in recent races. Third in the standings is Ferrari, bolstered by Carlos Sainz’s race win at the Singapore Grand Prix.

Although Ferrari has a 79-point advantage over McLaren, it seems Lando Norris believes that the British team could beat Ferrari to third in the standings by the end of the season. “It’s doable, I think so,” Norris told Motorsport.com.

‘GAP TO FERRARI IS ‘DOABLE’ ’;

https://www.formulanerds.com/news/no...ari-is-doable/


Norris: Making up 79-point gap to Ferrari F1 for P3 "doable"
09:10 Sat, 14 Oct 2023.
By: Filip Cleeren
Motorsport.com

McLaren started the season off the pace but following a change of concept and personnel reshuffle it has produced an impressive B-spec that turned the MCL60 into a reliable podium contender.

When asked if Ferrari can still be caught across the remaining five weekends, which include two more sprints, Norris replied: "It’s doable, I think so. A couple of races ago it was 70-something [points] to Aston.

"I think we're just doing a good job, not just in terms of pace but we had a 1.8 second pit stop which is pretty impressive from the guys. They've been working extremely hard so to reward the whole team consistently is only more motivating and a bigger boost every weekend."

‘79-point gap to Ferrari F1 for P3 "doable" ’;

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/n...able/10532525/


McLaren to trial landmark upgrade at US Grand Prix
Saturday 14 October 2023 11:57
Cal Gaunt
GPFans

McLaren are set to experiment with cutting-edge recycled carbon fibre components on their cars at the upcoming United States Grand Prix. Collaborating with V Carbon, an innovative composites organisation, McLaren have successfully procured materials to produce unique components designed for the cockpit branding panels.

This initiative marks a significant stride towards the team's goal of creating a fully sustainable Formula 1 car by the decade's end, aligning with the sport's broader sustainability objectives and offering remarkable advantages. “We're proud to team up with V Carbon to lead the charge in sustainable materials, running with recycled carbon fibre at the Austin GP," said McLaren chief operating officer Piers Thynne. "The potential future applications of rCF are hugely exciting.”

‘Landmark upgrade’;

https://www.gpfans.com/en/f1-news/10...-prix-upgrade/


McLaren reveal early optimism for 2024 development
October 13, 2023
By: Jaden Diaz-Ndisang
Last Word On Sports

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella reveals there are already promising signs for the team’s 2024 development. At this stage of the year, McLaren is capturing the majority of F1 headlines. Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri secured another double-podium at the Losail International Circuit, underscoring the team’s fantastic leap mid-season.

When the year began, the MCL60 was limited in almost all areas. Excessive drag and lousy top speed were among the most obvious weaknesses. The first large-scale updates in Austria largely resolved this area, with the next set of changes targeted at improving low-speed performance.

‘Early optimism for 2024 development’;

https://lastwordonsports.com/motorsp...4-development/


Mercedes F1 director reveals SECRET behind rival's resurgence
Friday 13 October 2023 10:57
Sam Cook
GPFans

Sky Sports F1 pundit Ted Kravitz has revealed that Mercedes technical director James Allison told him where McLaren have been able to make such huge gains in 2023.

“James Allison from Mercedes said, ‘You look at where the Red Bull is strong, where the McLaren is strong and it’s in that kind 220 to 250kph bracket,’ which kind of meant that in those medium to high-speed corners,” Kravitz said. “There it absolutely gains a huge amount of time.”

"On the balance of the tracks that we have nowadays, that’s a significant number of corners that are at that speed range. That’s where the McLaren has really made huge gains. Alright, it’s not so great in the low speed corners but they can sort of figure that out but it’s clearly a good car.”

‘SECRET behind rival's resurgence’;

https://www.gpfans.com/en/f1-news/10...ravitz-secret/

EL PLAN: Fernando Alonso lambasts Motorsport.com.
Fernando Alonso was accused of having a go at Aston Martin during the Japanese GP, and the Spaniard has fired back.
16 October 2023
by Nick Golding
Formula1News

When those around him made their first pit-stop, Alonso’s new tyres were already several laps old, with him being heard telling his team on the radio that they’d “thrown him to the lions”. Alonso’s radio message in Japan was viewed negatively; however, he’s insisted that this isn’t actually the case.

Not all of Alonso’s and the Silverstone-based team’s radio conversations during the Japanese GP were heard on the world feed, with the Spaniard having insisted after the race that his ‘lion’ remark had been taken out of context. Alonso recently explained how it’s difficult for those watching F1 to truly understand the meaning behind a radio message, as conversations prior to a session aren’t heard by the world.

The Aston Martin driver revealed that he’d spoken to the team about not pitting to early in Japan moments before the race whilst sitting on the grid, with his early-race comment having been in reference to that. “Even I think last Monday, Motorsport.com still put in the radio – so it was one week after Suzuka – saying that I was in traffic after my stop. Which was a little bit surprising because I don’t know what negativity it is on that, discussing with the team.” Fernando Alonso

‘EL PLAN: Motorsport.com still put in the radio…’;

https://formula1news.co.uk/fernando-...otorsport-com/


Alonso: ‘99% of people cannot understand’ F1 radio exchanges
17th October 2023, 13:21
by Taylor Powling
Motorsport Week

Alonso expressed that spectators can’t grasp the context of any dialogue that is released as they aren’t privy to prior discussions. “Yeah, I have no problem at all,” he began. “Obviously, in Suzuka it has been, yeah… It was difficult to get the point of the media. Even, I think, last Monday Motorsport.com still put in the radio.”

“So it was one week after Suzuka, saying that I was in traffic after my stop, which I was a little surprised, because I don’t know what negativity is on that, discussing with the team. And obviously you have no information about how the weekend goes, you know, the meetings that we have on Sunday morning.”

“Even on the grid, you know, the conversation on the grid on Sunday in Suzuka, we were talking, ‘don’t stop too early, because then with our lack of speed on the straights, we will be in traffic and we will get stuck’. So, when the radio comes out, obviously the level of maturity and complexity on the comments, 99% of the people cannot understand.”

“EL PLAN: 99% of people cannot understand”;

https://www.motorsportweek.com/2023/...dio-exchanges/


Aston Martin working on solving AMR23 ‘burning seat’ issue
15:59 Sat, 14 Oct 2023.
Phillip van Osten
F1i.com

Aston Martin team boss Mike Krack says the team is trying its best to address the burning seat issue suffered by Fernando Alonso in Qatar but which appears to be a recurring problem on the team’s AMR23.

“The seat is burning, mate. Anything we can do at the pit stop? Throw me water or something,” Alonso asked. Given the amount of electrical wire and components located in the cockpit of Aston’s car, the team predictably ignored its driver’s appeal.

After the race, when queried on Alonso’s plight, Krack admitted that it hadn’t been the first time the Spaniard had complained about the searing heat emanating from his machine’s seat. “Yes, it’s true. He reported on it already a couple of times,” said the Aston chief. “We are working on it. And it’s not that we have not done anything. We had it also in Singapore, which we thought was much, much better.”

‘EL PLAN: AMR23 ‘burning seat’ issue’;

https://f1i.com/news/489946-aston-ma...eat-issue.html


Alonso directs 'overconfident' jibe to McLaren
16 October 7:45PM
Author Fergal Walsh
RacingNews365

Fernando Alonso has suggested that it is good that McLaren is “overconfident” amid the fight for fourth place in the Constructors' Championship. Recently, McLaren's Lando Norris expressed conviction that the team could emerge on top in the fight.

Speaking to media including RacingNews365.com, Alonso has said that Aston Martin can benefit from their rivals having too much confidence. “Obviously they have the momentum for sure,” Alonso said. “And they've been quite fast. But every weekend we see up and downs for everybody.”

“They've been very strong before the August break in Austria, in Silverstone. I think they were close to being both on the podium in Silverstone. In Zandvoort, we were on the podium and they struggled a little bit. So, it's good if they're overconfident, and let's see if we can beat them in Abu Dhabi!”

‘EL PLAN: It is good that McLaren is “overconfident”;

https://racingnews365.com/alonso-dir...ibe-to-mclaren


Norris responds to 'silly' Alonso confidence jibe
14 October 8:45AM
Author Rory Mitchell
Co-author Aaron Deckers
RacingNews365

Lando Norris has responded to Fernando Alonso's jibe over McLaren becoming "overconfident" in its pursuit to finish ahead of Aston Martin in Formula 1 Constructors' Championship.

When asked about the comments, Norris told media, including RacingNews365: "How many points did we catch in Suzuka? 20? So unless his maths is deteriorating.... Which it definitely isn't!

"Fernando is just Fernando, he's always gonna say things, he always makes himself look very good or other makes other people look bad."

' EL PLAN: Silly Alonso confidence jibe’;

https://racingnews365.com/norris-res...onfidence-jibe

It is a season when Red Bull and Max are dominating. We already have champions of this season with 5 races still to go. I hope we see more competitive seasons in coming years.

Full schedule for the 2023 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix.
Check out the full weekend time schedule for the United States Grand Prix, which will take place from October 20th-22th at the Circuit of the Americas the 2023 F1 season heads onto its 18th round.
17 October 8:45AM
Author Fergal Walsh
RacingNews365

Formula 1 heads to the United States for the second time this year following its trip to Miami in May. This time around however, the paddock is setting up in Austin, Texas at the Circuit of the Americas for the 17th round of the campaign.

The weekend will also use the F1 Sprint format for the fourth time this year, while Daniel Ricciardo will make his return after sitting out the last five rounds due to a hand injury.

‘Check out the full schedule for the 2023 Formula 1 Qatar Grand Prix below’;

https://racingnews365.com/full-sched...tes-grand-prix


Austin gears up for record-breaking crowds with return of Formula One Lenovo Grand Prix
Tue, October 17th 2023, 3:52 AM UTC
by Andrew Freeman
CBS Austin

AUSTIN, Texas — Austin City Limits may now be behind us, but now with the Formula One Lenovo Grand Prix returning to Circuit of Americas this weekend, packed hotels and crowded airports are not. Next to summertime, October is the busiest period of travel for the Austin airport, even beating out the holidays. Last year, the Formula One Grand Prix broke records at the airport with more than 40,000 travelers, and airport officials are expecting another record-breaking event this year.

Speaking at an F-1 car presentation at the governor's mansion Monday, Governor Greg Abbott noted the grand prix has brought Texas more than $10 billion since it began in 2012. "It brings a lot of excitement, but also a lot of attention to Austin and to Texas,” Abbott said.

Circuit of Americas expects to generate another billion dollars in tax revenue this year between flights, hotel stays, and food. "It’s great for F-1, it’s great for the race. But think what it does for the bars and restaurants and entertainment locations across the entire area,” Abbott said.

‘Record-breaking crowds’;

https://cbsaustin.com/news/local/aus...ovo-grand-prix


F1's lesser known milestone GP - 2023 United States GP Preview
Published ‎Oct‎ ‎17‎, ‎2023‎ ‎10‎:‎32‎ ‎PM
Inside Line F1 Podcast (Weblog)

COTA marks the start of a triple header and will host a Sprint format weekend for the first time. Will Max Verstappen win his first race as a three times World Champion? OR will McLaren's surge at the front continue and will they finally conquer the Verstappen-Red Bull Racing barrier?

All eyes on Logan Sargeant and Haas F1 Team - the second of their three home Grands Prix this season. And of course, for Liberty Media, too.

‘2023 United States GP Preview’;

https://omny.fm/shows/inside-line-f1...nited-states-g


F1 NATION: Verstappen charges on, Mercedes look to bounce back and Ricciardo returns – it’s our United States GP preview
16 October 2023
Formula One - Official Site

After a weekend off, it’s almost time to go racing again as a triple-header sequence begins with the United States Grand Prix – and the F1 Nation crew are here to discuss all the major talking points. With Max Verstappen’s third successive title win fresh in the memory, host Tom Clarkson is joined by Damon Hill to discuss the standout moments of the Dutchman’s season so far.

From his best qualifying performance to his best Grand Prix win and the race in which he handled the most pressure, Clarkson and F1’s world champion of 1996 run through the lot.

Also stopping by for a chat is Mercedes Technical Director James Allison, who explains how the team dealt with the collision between Lewis Hamilton and George Russell last time out in Qatar, plus how they plan to bounce back at the Circuit of The Americas with a new floor.

‘United States GP preview’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...9Hqa0tbzp.html


‘Significant’ Mercedes update to provide vital W15 clue at US Grand Prix
17 Oct 2023 12:00 PM
Michelle Foster
PlanetF1.com

Bringing a new floor to Austin, James Allison says don’t expect Mercedes to “leap past” Max Verstappen, the upgrade is more of a “bellwether” to ensure they’re heading in the right direction towards a title challenge next year.

Mercedes will introduce a “modified floor” with 2024’s car in mind with Allison, the team’s technical director, hoping it will give them an indication of whether they’re heading in the right direction.

“Hopefully it will give us a bit of lap time, always a benefit,” Allison explained. “But it is mostly a useful thing because it’s a bellwether for whether we’re on the right track. But in lap time terms it will be small. Useful, but don’t expect us to have leapt past Max.”

‘Significant Mercedes update’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/merced...tes-grand-prix


Mercedes share details of new upgrade set for F1 United States Grand Prix
17 Oct 2023
Lewis Larkam
Crash.Net

Mercedes hope that the introduction of a new floor upgrade at the upcoming F1 United States Grand Prix will indicate they are “on the right track”. Mercedes’ 2022 and 2023 campaigns have been hampered by their troubled and inconsistent W13 and W14 cars, prompting a fundamental design change for next season.

Allison said Mercedes now have a “very clear idea of what we need to put right”. “I think that much of what ails us now is reasonably well-understood and we’re working to fix that,” he explained.

“I feel like all of us got a pretty clear-sighted view of what we want to do with the car. This championship, while we haven’t made the really impressive progress that McLaren have, we have nevertheless been charting a path through the season that gives us a very clear idea of what we need to put right. So that makes the next years fun, very exciting to look forward to, and actually this period of the year extremely enjoyable."

‘Hampered by their troubled and inconsistent W13 and W14 cars’;

https://www.crash.net/f1/news/103786...tes-grand-prix


James Allison: Fresh Upgrade at US Grand Prix Signals New Direction.
October 17, 2023
BaylaSportsF1

Their decision to introduce a new floor for the upcoming US Grand Prix in Austin is significant not just for its potential immediate performance gains but also for what it symbolizes in their ongoing efforts.

“Hopefully it will give us a bit of lap time,” said James Allison.“That’s always a benefit.” He continued:“But it is mostly a useful thing because it’s a bellwether for whether we’re on the right track.

‘New Direction’;

https://baylasportsf1.com/james-alli...new-direction/


Mercedes target podium return in Austin but admit to key ‘worry’ against Red Bull and McLaren
16 October 2023
Formula One - Official Site

Mercedes have set the clear goal of fighting for a podium finish at the upcoming United States Grand Prix as the team look to bounce back from a compromised race last time out in Qatar and get their hands on some more silverware.

Speaking in Mercedes’ post-Qatar Grand Prix debrief, Trackside Engineering Director Andrew Shovlin gave his thoughts on the W14’s performance at the Lusail International Circuit and any learnings that can be taken to Austin this weekend.

Shovlin admitted to a “big question” in the Mercedes camp regarding exactly where they will stack up in the pecking order at the Circuit of The Americas, but he nonetheless hopes to see Hamilton and Russell pushing for the rostrum places.

‘Mercedes target podium return’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...UA17HMCu2.html

Sainz win validated 'right direction' for Ferrari – Vasseur.
Ferrari Team Principal Frederic Vasseur believes Carlos Sainz's win during the Singapore Grand Prix gave the team "confirmation" that it is heading in the right development direction.
17 October 4:00PM
Author Rory Mitchell
RacingNews365

The team started off the 2023 season on the wrong foot, but now Ferrari is starting to come back to its early 2022 form. The SF-23 started off as a continuation of the F1-75, but it suffered from the same tyre degradation and inconsistencies that plagued the 2022 machine.

At the Spanish Grand Prix, Ferrari switched car concepts and moved away from the 'bathtub' design of sidepods in favour of the downwash effect, which is a popular trend due to the success of Red Bull.

While it did not bring immediate success to the team, Ferrari has worked at understanding its package, with a breakthrough made in practice at the Dutch Grand Prix, with Sainz going onto take pole and a podium in Italy before winning from pole in Singapore to halt Red Bull's unbeaten run.

‘ "Confirmation" that it is heading in the right development direction’;

https://racingnews365.com/sainz-win-...errari-vasseur


Vasseur hints at keeping ‘excellent’ driver lineup
October 18, 2023
by Andrew Maitland
Grandpx.news

Frederic Vasseur sounds determined to keep Ferrari’s “excellent” driver lineup intact beyond the expiry of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc’s 2024 contracts. The Maranello-based marque’s former president Luca di Montezemolo declared this week that “the last problem for Ferrari today is the drivers – it is the car”.

New team boss Vasseur appears to agree. “The drivers are part of the performance and we have two excellent ones – very good and competitive,” he said at the Il Festival dello Sport this week. “We have talked about them and they are professionals,” Vasseur added. “They know where the limits are and so far they have done a fantastic job.”

Sainz, also at the festival in Trento, denies it. “I trust him (Leclerc) a lot,” he insists. “I see him as honest and I see his commitment to the team. And the important thing is to build the future together.” Sainz, 29, has also been pushing Vasseur for clarity about his expiring contract.

‘Vasseur hints’;

https://grandpx.news/vasseur-hints-a...driver-lineup/


Sainz would expect title fight with Leclerc to be 'close'
17:47, 18th October 2023.
Michael Delaney
F1i.com

Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc have never fought each other for the world title in F1. But if they do, the Spaniard thinks it would be a close fight between the pair. Unfortunately, Ferrari’s hopes of fielding a championship winning car this season failed to materialize.

“Charles and I often find ourselves close,” commented Sainz during the recent Festival dello Sport. “We haven’t fought for the title, but for a third place in Monza or a pole, yes, and it wouldn’t be much different for a championship.”

“We had three years to train and get to know each other, and we know the respect between us. We all push in the same direction. We have always believed we could win, and we never gave up. It’s this drive that makes me say Ferrari is in the right place to win.”

‘Title fight’;

https://f1i.com/news/490141-sainz-wo...-be-close.html


Charles Leclerc addresses Ferrari boss’ leadership
Charles Leclerc has backed his team principal, Fred Vasseur, despite the team experiencing a challenging outing in 2023.
18 October 2023
by Edward Hardy
Formula1News

Charles Leclerc has commended the pragmatic leadership style of Fred Vasseur, who assumed the role of team principal at Ferrari earlier this year. He further elaborated on the unique blend of passion and pragmatism at Ferrari, stating, “I think as an Italian team, and as Ferrari, this is what I love most about Ferrari is the emotions that we feel.”

“Whenever we are at highs and how passionate the people are, but to have this balance with Fred I think is also really good.” Leclerc highlighted Vasseur’s ability to maintain a clear vision, regardless of the team’s performance, noting,

“To have the clear vision when things are going wrong, and also, when things are going very strong [and say] ‘But that’s not it, we still need to work very hard,’ I think we kind of already had that philosophy.” Leclerc also acknowledged the strengthening of this philosophy under Vasseur’s leadership, asserting, “But I think Fred has strengthened it, and that’s really good.”

‘Pragmatic leadership style’;

https://formula1news.co.uk/charles-l...ss-leadership/


WATCH: First trailer for Christmas Enzo Ferrari biopic
18 October 5:15PM
Author Jake Nichol
RacingNews365

The first trailer for the Enzo Ferrari, Ferrari, biopic has been revealed ahead of the film's release in cinemas in the United States on Christmas Day. Directed by Michael Mann whose previous films include Ali about boxing great Muhammed Ali and Miami Vice, the film focuses on the late 1950s and the 1957 Mille Migilia in Ferrari's life, dealing with the death of his son Dino from Duchenne muscular dystrophy in 1956.

Enzo is portrayed by Adam Driver - Kylo Ren in Star Wars while Laura Ferrari - the mother of Dino is played by Penelope Cruz. Sir Stirling Moss - who famously never drove for Ferrari in F1 after a falling out is played by Ben Collins - who was formerly The Stig on the BBC motoring show Top Gear while Tommaso Basili plays Gianni Agnelli - the former FIAT boss whose grandson John Elkann is now chairman of Ferrari and of the Stellantis group.

‘Enzo Ferrari biopic’;

https://racingnews365.com/watch-firs...ferrari-biopic

Toto Wolff opens up on 'frustrating' crash between Lewis Hamilton and George Russell that shattered Mercedes' points total at Qatar Grand Prix - but he is convinced pair will 'grow' from it ahead of Austin round.
But Wolff was keen to stress that recent events were unlikely to repeat themselves in Austin, with both drivers having learned their lesson.
Published: 17:02, 18 October 2023
By Tamara Prenn For Mailonline
Mail Online

'The last round in Qatar was a case of what might have been,' Wolff shared ahead of raceweekend in Austin. 'As a team, you never want to see your cars collide. It was frustrating to leave a lot of points on the table, particularly as the pace of the car was strong.”

‘It was encouraging though to see how the drivers and the team reacted. Both Lewis and George know the team comes first and do not ever intend to jeopardise that. I am sure we will all grow from this moment. We’re now focused on Austin and making sure we get the most out of each upcoming weekend.’

After reviewing footage of the crash, Hamilton was quick to apologise personally to Russell - with the pair sharing a hug after the race - and the team after first blaming his compatriot for the collision over his radio.

'Frustrating crash’;

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...tin-round.html


Mercedes vs Ferrari and Perez's ultimatum: What to watch for at 2023 United States GP
October 18th 2023
Author: Cambridge Kisby
Motor Sport Magazine

Now that Red Bull has secured its sixth constructors’ title and Max Verstappen is a three-time world champion, F1 approaches the US Grand Prix with eyes focused on the trailing field — four front-running teams set to do battle over a sprint race weekend at COTA.

The resurgence of McLaren has provided Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri with a car that can push Red Bull a little closer and take the fight to the rest of the midfield. Should the fast and flowing curves of COTA suit McLaren’s MCL60, expect the papaya cars to be at the sharp end again.

Who will win the race for second place?
Daniel Ricciardo’s return at the US GP
Sergio Perez’s future in doubt
Logan Sargeant still in search of a point
More scorching temperatures predicted at the US Grand Prix

‘What to watch for’;

https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/a...?nowprocket=1#


Behind the scenes with Logan Sargeant: Williams' rookie on returning to Austin and targets for the rest of 2023
18 October 2023
Logan Sargeant
Williams Racing Driver
Formula One - Official Site

Hey all, I’m touching base from the United States where I’ve been for a few days before heading to the Circuit of The Americas for the US Grand Prix. Retiring the car from the last race was a tough call to make, but I had to put my health first. It’s been good to have a week off to let my body recover. I’m back to full fitness now and fully ready to go for this weekend.

First stop was New York for a few media activities, including appearing on NBC Morning News with Savannah Sellers and chatting to Nylon Magazine and The Players' Tribune. Then it was over to Austin, which is one of my favourite cities in the world. There’s such a good vibe there and it’s one of the places I never tire of going back to.

I’ll be making stops at a few BBQ places – and a Mexican on the river called ATX Cocina, and we’ve got a team dinner, which is a great opportunity for everyone who has worked so hard this year to get together. The Circuit of The Americas is a very special place for me, as not only did I officially join the Williams family on that weekend in 2021, but last year I also did my first FP1 session at the track. So, it’s cool that I’m now heading back there to take the next step – my first race in Austin.

‘Behind the scenes with Logan Sargeant’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...s4d0SaOOp.html


F1 faces another hot race in Austin after punishing Losail temperatures
Formula 1
Posted on 19th October 2023, 7:15
Written by Ida Wood
RaceFans

Following the punishing weather conditions of the Qatar Grand Prix, which prompted the FIA to investigate its extreme effect upon drivers, the last thing the Formula 1 paddock wanted was another hot race. But the forecast for this weekend’s United States Grand Prix indicates they can expect one. The first of three consecutive weeks of racing in the Americas is set to be another battle against the heat.

The average daily high temperature around this time of year in Austin, Texas is 27C, but F1’s sprint sessions on Saturday will be held on that day in considerably hotter conditions. It will be 32C for qualifying at the start of the afternoon, then 34C for the sprint race at 5pm with 40% air humidity. F1 has scheduled in a 2pm start time for Sunday’s grand prix, but will likely have similar conditions to the sprint race. Air temperature will be between 33C and 34C through the race, humidity will be 40% and it is expected to be windier than on previous days.

Drivers can expect this weekend’s race won’t be as demanding as their visit to Losail was as the humidity won’t be as high and the Circuit of the Americas offers more respite between its many quicker corners. They can still expect this to be one of the more physically demanding rounds of the year, though compared to what they went through last time it shouldn’t offer a serious cause for concern.

‘F1 faces another hot race’;

https://www.racefans.net/2023/10/19/...-prix-weather/


Red Bull "vulnerable" at Austin GP as surprise F1 winner picked out over Max Verstappen
Max Verstappen and Red Bull will be favourites for victory in the United States Grand Prix, but Damon Hill thinks another F1 star has a chance to upset them in the Sprint race
19:50 Wed, 18 Oct 2023.
By Daniel Moxon Senior F1 Writer
The Mirror

Damon Hill tipped Lando Norris to upset Red Bull in the Sprint race at this weekend's United States Grand Prix. "I think Lando has got to win," said the Sky Sports F1 pundit, referring to Saturday's Sprint race in Austin. He's due one, isn't he Lando? Sprint, Lando – race is going to be Max.

"I just think it's a question of who else is on the podium. Checo [Perez] has got to turn the wick up. The Mexican Grand Prix is coming up. He's got to do something. Find that thing, whatever it is or not try too hard or something. I don't know what it is."

Norris takes part in his 100th F1 Grand Prix this weekend. The Brit has always enjoyed a strong reputation in the sport and is widely regarded as a potential future champion, but so far the stars have failed to align for Norris to win a race.

‘Red Bull vulnerable’;

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/formu...in-gp-31223682


Race guide for the United States Grand Prix
16:37 Wed, 18 Oct 2023.
By Balazs Szabo
F1 Technical

Following one of the physically most demanding races of F1 history, the Qatar Grand Prix, the field now moves to North America this weekend with the Circuit of the Americas set to host the United States Grand Prix, Round 18 of the 2023 FIA Formula One World Championship. F1Technical's senior writer Balázs Szabó picks out some trivia and stat ahead of the race in Texas.

The 5.513km track only joined Formula One in 2012, but it has already made its reputation since. The sport left the United States in 2007 due to the lack of interest and enthusiasm. However, there was always a growing wish for Formula One to return to the important market, and the idea of the reorganized United States Grand Prix was proposed in the middle of 2010.

The circuit was the first in the United States to be purpose-built for Formula One. The layout was conceived by 1993 Motorcycle World Champion Kevin Schwantz with the assistance of German architect and circuit designer Hermann Tilke, who has also designed the Sepang, Shanghai, Yas Marina, Istanbul, Bahrain, Yeongam, and Buddh circuits, as well as the reprofiling of the Hockenheimring and Fuji Speedway.

‘Track purpose-built for Formula One’;

https://www.f1technical.net/news/24239


West Aussie ace Daniel Ricciardo to make Formula 1 comeback at US Grand Prix
Wed, 18 October 2023 7:11PM
Philip Duncan
Press Association
The West Australian

Daniel Ricciardo will return from injury for this weekend’s United States Grand Prix. The 34-year-old Australian has missed the past five races after he broke his left hand in practice for the Dutch Grand Prix on August 25. However, the PA news agency has been told Ricciardo, who took part in a Red Bull demonstration run in Nashville last weekend, will be back in his AlphaTauri cockpit for practice at Austin’s Circuit of the Americas on Friday.

Ricciardo was handed a second chance by Red Bull’s junior team AlphaTauri following his dismissal by McLaren at the end of last season. Despite his injury, AlphaTauri announced last month they had retained the eight-time grand prix winner for 2024 alongside Japanese driver Yuki Tsunoda.

‘Formula 1 comeback’;

https://thewest.com.au/sport/f1/dani...rix-c-12247972

Red Bull warned of rival who ‘are going to be good’ at US Grand Prix.
Ex-F1 racer Jan Lammers has tipped Mercedes to provide a stern challenge to the dominant Red Bull team in Austin.
19 Oct 2023 1:45 PM
Jamie Woodhouse
PlanetF1.com

Lammers has name-dropped Mercedes as a team that could keep Red Bull on their toes, arguing that they have shown “potential” recently which they could not take advantage of. George Russell recovered to P4 in Qatar despite colliding with team-mate Lewis Hamilton on the opening lap.

“Mercedes has shown a lot of potential in recent races,” Lammers told RacingNews365.com. “They just haven’t gotten the most out of it for the time being. “I wouldn’t be surprised if they manage to do that now. In that case, Mercedes is going to be good in the United States.”

‘Stern challenge’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/red-bu...-us-grand-prix


What tyres will the teams and drivers have for the 2023 United States Grand Prix?
19 October 2023
Formula One - Official Site

Pirelli have announced which tyres they will be bringing to the circuit for this weekend’s United States Grand Prix – the fifth Sprint weekend of the season and the second in a row.
F1’s Official tyre supplier have decided that the teams will have the option to run the C2 (hard tyre), C3 (medium tyre), and C4 (soft tyre) in Austin – the same tyre range last used at the Sprint weekend at Spa-Francorchamps in July. Due to the revised Sprint format, there will be a change in the number of sets of tyres given to the teams. Pirelli will once again bring two sets of the hards, but they will also nominate four sets of the mediums, and just six sets of the softs.

The amount of medium compound tyres will be increased because of Saturday’s Sprint shootout, which will require the teams to run the mediums in both SQ1 and SQ2, with the softs only being used in SQ3. “Austin kicks off a series of four races – three of them run consecutively – on the American continent and it all begins with the United States Grand Prix," said Pirelli's Motorsport Director Mario Isola.

‘Pirelli have announced which tyres they will be bringing’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...oTFNZVcIl.html


The biggest F1 scandals: Qatar GP outshone by bizarre American tyre fiasco
19 October 2:00PM
Author Luke Merkx
Co-author Jesse Janse
RacingNews365

The year is 2005. Lewis Hamilton drives in Formula 3, Max Verstappen goes to primary school and Fernando Alonso fights for his first world title. It is also the year in which the United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis ends in farce.

Embarrassment: The result? Thousands of American fans in the grandstands and millions of TV viewers are presented with an embarrassing display. All twenty drivers will start their warm-up lap, but only six take to the start: Ferrari's Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello, Jordan's Tiago Monteiro and Narain Karthikeyan and Minardi's Christijan Albers and Patrick Friesacher.

The rest of the drivers dive into the pit lane at the end of the formation lap and then park their cars and do not participate in the race. During the starting procedure, the engine noise is drowned out by boos from the crowd. Schumacher would go on to claim the only Ferrari victory of the season, Monteiro scored his first and only F1 podium finish and Christijan Albers clinched points for the first and only time in his Formula 1 career

‘Bizarre American tyre fiasco’;

https://racingnews365.com/the-bigges...an-tyre-fiasco


Ricciardo eager for US GP F1 return after sideline frustration
19th Oct. 2023, 13:16
by Taylor Powling
Motorsport Week

Daniel Ricciardo is eager for his return from injury at this weekend’s United States Grand Prix after admitting it was “frustrating” watching from the sidelines.

Ricciardo, who replaced Nyck de Vries at AlphaTauri only 10 races into the year, has been absent from the previous five rounds since breaking his left hand in a practice crash at Zandvoort at the end of August. The Australian underwent a run in the simulator ahead of the Qatar Grand Prix but elected to delay his comeback by one race weekend to allow his injury to heal further.

“It’s good to be back! My hand is much better, and the simulator was a useful way of assessing it,” Ricciardo said in AlphaTauri’s Austin preview. “I tried it out in the week before Qatar, but I didn’t feel it was at full potential, so I spent the rest of that week in the UK, spending more time in the sim, and got to a point where I felt ready to go.”

‘Ricciardo eager’;

https://www.motorsportweek.com/2023/...e-frustration/


Stroll replacement rumours SWIRL after F1 poster mishap
Thursday 19 October 2023 11:57
Tyler Foster
GPFans

Aston Martin’s commitment to Lance Stroll seemingly came into question after an embarrassing error from the United States Grand Prix organisers saw reserve driver Felipe Drugovich included on an F1 poster instead of the Canadian.

In an ironic twist, the organisers for the upcoming United States Grand Prix in Austin accidentally included Drugovich instead of Stroll on a poster showing the current F1 drivers. After this was seemingly noticed on social media, the organisers moved to quickly correct this mistake and return Stroll to his spot.

‘Rumours SWIRL’;

https://www.gpfans.com/en/f1-news/10...d-prix-austin/


F1 take action to stop Lance Stroll rumour mill going into overdrive
19 Oct 2023 10:00 AM
Jamie Woodhouse
PlanetF1.com

The rumour mill was almost sent into overdrive when Felipe Drugovich, rather than Lance Stroll, featured on the United States GP signage, while Daniel Ricciardo also was not safe from the errors. Ahead of media Thursday in Austin, images appeared on social media showing Aston Martin reserve Drugovich on the driver posters, rather than Fernando Alonso’s actual team-mate Stroll.

Had Formula 1 let the cat out of the bag early? Stroll has suffered an alarming slump in form and was given a formal warning for his altercation in Qatar with trainer Henry Howe, triggering speculation that Stroll could be preparing to exit his father Lawrence’s Aston Martin team.

That was not the only mishap though, with fans also taking to social media to highlight that Ricciardo’s name above his AlphaTauri garage had been spelt wrong. The image showed that the ‘I’ had been missed out of his surname. He has not been gone that long!

‘F1 take action’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/f1-act...stroll-mistake

Five Things to Watch at the 2023 U.S. Grand Prix in Austin.
The second of three U.S. races this year, Austin has always delivered a fantastic spectacle on and off the race track since its debut on the calendar in 2012. Here are five story lines that you should know ahead of this weekend’s race.
Updated October 19, 2023 12:27 PM
By Katy Fairman Sports Illustrated
The News Tribune, Washington

Another Sprint weekend: For most F1 fans, they’ll know the format of a race weekend as follows: Friday practice, Saturday qualifying and then the race Sunday.
Ricciardo is back from injury: Daniel Ricciardo might be Australian, but the AlphaTauri driver has always had an obsession with the United States Grand Prix.

Big upgrades on the way for the Haas F1 Team: The team is fronted by drivers Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hülkenberg, with Netflix’s Drive to Survive favorite Guenther Steiner as their team principal.
F1 Academy makes its F1 debut: F1 Academy, which is in its inaugural season, will conclude in Austin this weekend and crown its first champion.

Pressure for Pérez and home hero Sergeant: Verstappen might have just clinched another world championship, but his teammate, Sergio Pérez, is not having quite the same fortunes. …he’s faced recent struggles and has not been putting in the performances expected of him. There’s also one final seat next season that’s not yet decided, and that’s at Williams Racing. Currently, American Logan Sargeant holds the slot for the rest of 20…

‘Five Things to Watch’;

https://www.thenewstribune.com/sport...mainstage_card


In pictures: Taking to Austin's streets to reward fans for their support.
19.10.2023
Aston Martin F1 - Official Site

Ahead of the United States Grand Prix, we took the streets of Austin to meet fans, hear your stories of fandom and reward your incredible support.

We hear you, Austin: I/ AM A FAN is all about recognising and rewarding your unique fandom, so we took to the streets of Austin to listen to your unique stories of support. We gave each of the fans we met a limited edition Fernando Alonso United States Grand Prix cap in return for their stories of fandom.

A unique reward for a unique story, with each cap different from the next due to no two caps featuring an identical pattern. View our gallery of passionate fans and hear some of their stories ahead of the United States Grand Prix.

‘EL PLAN: Limited edition Fernando Alonso United States Grand Prix cap in return for their stories of fandom’;

https://www.astonmartinf1.com/en-GB/...-their-support


MAX ABOUT AUSTIN GP: 'NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD HIT 50 WINS'
Published on 19 October 2023
by Florence Cobben
Verstappen.nl

Two weeks ago Max Verstappen claimed his third Formula 1 world driver's championship title in Qatar during the Saturday sprint race. After a small party with the Oracle Red Bull Racing Team, Max was prepared for another race that Sunday, which he won.

In Austin, Texas, the title-holder was asked if he could celebrate back home in Monaco: “A little bit with some friends. It was also just nice to be home, before heading into this triple header. So yeah, nothing too crazy.”

If Max wins this Sunday, it will be his 50th Grand Prix win. A real milestone. “It’s a nice number,” Max says, “I never thought I would hit (50 wins). Now that we’re getting close to it, we should try to expand a bit more. But, we’ll see. It’s more important that we focus on this weekend.”

'NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD HIT 50 WINS';

https://news.verstappen.com/en/article/5281/


What's the weather forecast for the 2023 United States Grand Prix?
19 October 2023
Formula One - Official Site

2023 Qatar Grand Prix weekend weather forecast
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 20 – FP1 AND QUALIFYING
Conditions: Extremely hot day with temperatures largely above normal and approaching record highs. FP1: 32°C // Q: 35°C.
Maximum temperature expected: 35 Celsius
Minimum temperature expected: 18 Celsius
Chance of rain: 0%

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 21 – SPRINT SHOOTOUT AND SPRINT
Conditions: A sunny day with a very hot feeling, with no wind anticipated throughout the day. SS: 32°C // SPRINT: 34°C.
Maximum temperature expected: 34 Celsius
Minimum temperature expected: 18 Celsius
Chance of rain: 0%

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 22 – RACE WEATHER
Conditions: Still fair and hot weather throughout the day but with southerly winds expected to gradually increase in the afternoon. RACE: 32°C
Maximum temperature expected: 33 Celsius
Minimum temperature expected: 18 Celsius
Chance of rain: 0%

‘Weather forecast’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...rLbz3Djjy.html


F1 stars could face massive new fines after remarkable rule change ahead of Austin GP
Formula 1 drivers are paid handsomely for their work, but their wallets could take a huge hit for any rule-breaking going forward after the FIA decided to make some changes
20:03 Thu, 19 Oct 2023.
By Daniel Moxon Senior F1 Writer
The Mirror

Formula 1 drivers face fines up to almost £1m for future rule-breaking after the World Motor Sport Council agreed to quadruple the current limit. The International Sporting Code previously stated that F1 stewards could give out fines up to a maximum of 250,000 euros (£218k). That figure has not been changed for more than a decade but, at a meeting held in Geneva, it was decided an increase was required.

And F1 drivers face the most significant rise as flouting the rules could now cost them up to one million euros (£871k). Competitors in all other FIA world championship series have a new limit of three-quarters of that amount, while all other FIA-sanctioned competitions have a maximum fine only half the size of F1.

In a statement issued by the governing body, it was asserted that the fine limit "has not been reviewed nor amended for at least the last twelve years", and that the previous limit "does not reflect the current needs of motor sport".

‘Massive new fines’;

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/formu...in-gp-31233299


Drew Barrymore is all smiles while checking out pit row and interviewing racers during previews of F1 Grand Prix of United States in Austin... amid her talk show writers controversy
Published: 01:44, 20 October 2023
By Brian Gallagher For Dailymail.com

Barrymore was donning a black Oracle/Red Bull Racing fire suit with red stripes down the side and a pair of blue sneakers. She also wore black gloves as her auburn hair flowed down past her shoulders for the outing.

The host was also seen interviewing Red Bull Racing Team Principal Christian Horner and Mexican racer Sergio Perez from Oracle Red Bull Racing.

‘Drew Barrymore is all smiles’;

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbi...ntroversy.html

Verstappen fastest in sole US GP practice.
World Champion Max Verstappen set the pace during the sole practice session for Formula 1’s United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas.
19:46 Fri, 20 Oct 2023.
by Phillip Horton
Motorsport Week

Verstappen clocked a time of 1:35.912s when drivers carried out qualifying simulations on Soft tyres during the closing stages of the one-hour session. The US Grand Prix is one of the six Sprint weekends designated by Formula 1 in 2023, meaning qualifying will take place later on Friday, ahead of Saturday’s Sprint sessions.

Verstappen’s time left him 0.156s clear of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, with Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton – who had been fastest during the Hard tyre runs – in third spot. Sergio Perez showed an upturn in performance by classifying fourth, three-tenths behind his team-mate.

‘Verstappen fastest’;

https://www.motorsportweek.com/2023/...s-gp-practice/


F1 United States Grand Prix 2023 - Friday Practice Results
20 Oct 2023
Connor McDonagh
Crash.Net

2023 F1 United States Grand Prix - Free Practice Results (1)
Pos Driver Nat. Team Time
1 Max Verstappen NED Oracle Red Bull Racing 1m35.912s
2 Charles Leclerc MON Scuderia Ferrari 1m36.068s
3 Lewis Hamilton GBR Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team 1m36.193s
4 Sergio Perez MEX Oracle Bull Racing 1m36.212s
5 Kevin Magnussen DEN MoneyGram Haas F1 Team 1m36.472s
6 George Russell GBR Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team 1m36.474s
7 Alex Albon THA Williams Racing 1m36.492s
8 Carlos Sainz ESP Scuderia Ferrari 1m36.533s
9 Nico Hulkenberg GER MoneyGram Haas F1 Team 1m36.702s
10 Pierre Gasly FRA BWT Alpine F1 Team 1m36.705s

‘Results from Friday practice at the United States Grand Prix, Round 18 of the F1 2023 world championship’;

https://www.crash.net/f1/results/103...actice-results


AS IT HAPPENED: Follow all the action from first practice for the United States Grand Prix
20 October 2023
Becky Hart.
Special Contributor.
Formula One - Official Site.

‘AS IT HAPPENED’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...EhiVZRRmd.html


F1 Live - United States GP Free Practice 1 Watchalong | Live timings + Commentary
20 October 2023
Racing Statistics

‘Free Practice 1 Watchalong’;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXEXciTmBDE


2023 United States GP FP1: Piastri pulls off impressive save after running off track in first practice.
20 Oct 2023
Formula One - Official Site.

Oscar Piastri was a heartbeat away from crashing into the barriers in first practice at the Circuit of The Americas, but just managed to catch his McLaren as he ran wide at Turn 9.

‘Impressive save’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/v...474299361.html


Lando Norris leaves Carlos Sainz shaken with Austin GP near miss – "Oh my god"
Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz was aware enough to avoid a nasty crash with his former McLaren team-mate Lando Norris in the first and only practice session at the United States Grand Prix
19:14 Fri, 20 Oct 2023.
By Daniel Moxon Senior F1 Writer
The Mirror

A panicked Carlos Sainz sounded shaken after a scary near-miss with friend Lando Norris during United States Grand Prix practice.

The session was less than 10 minutes old when they almost came together. The Ferrari driver was on a hot lap while Norris was driving his McLaren rather more sedately to get his tyres into their optimum window. But as Sainz came tearing through the COTA esses, his former team-mate failed to move too far off the racing line and the Spaniard had to bail out.

Drivers usually send angry messages after such incidents, but there was a not of worry in Sainz's voice as he reported the near-miss over the radio. "Oh my god, whoa," he said, before telling his team: "Lando there. I think he didn't see me, but we nearly crashed." Fortunately, Sainz was able to react in time to avoid hitting into the side of the McLaren.

‘Carlos Sainz shaken’;

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/formu...fying-31242545


Stroll MISERY worsens after United States Grand Prix practice disaster
Friday 20 October 2023 20:27
Tyler Foster
GPFans

Lance Stroll’s recent frustrations continue as the Canadian driver suffered mechanical issues during the opening practice session of the United States sprint weekend.

In FP1, his Aston Martin AMR23 was only able to complete five laps before having to pit due to overheating front left brake discs. Stroll subsequently finished the session as the slowest of the 20 cars due to his lack of running, and will now be behind the weekend’s run plan compared to the rest of the grid..

‘Frustrations continue’;

https://www.gpfans.com/en/f1-news/10...prix-practice/

US Grand Prix: Charles Leclerc takes stunning pole, Max Verstappen to start P6.
Charles Leclerc has earned a superb pole position for the US Grand Prix on Sunday, beating Lando Norris to the P1 grid slot in a thrilling qualifying session in Austin.
20 Oct 2023 11:07 PM
Henry Valantine
PlanetF1.com

Max Verstappen had set a time good enough for pole, but a track limits breach at Turn 19 saw him drop to sixth on the grid – with Lewis Hamilton, Carlos Sainz and George Russell rounding out the top five.

Further down, there was disappointment for both Aston Martin drivers, however, as Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll both dropped out in Q1, set to start 17th and 19th respectively as they struggled to extract pace from the updated AMR23.

Alex Albon and Logan Sargeant were the others to drop out in Q1, with a frantic session coming to a close.

‘Stunning pole’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/us-gra...lifying-report


Qualifying Results – 2023 United States Grand Prix
20th October 2023
by Emer Hedderman
FormulaSpy

Results (Classification):
Q3
1. Charles Leclerc Scuderia Ferrari -1:34.723
2. Lando Norris McLaren +0.130
3. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes +0.139
4. Carlos Sainz Scuderia Ferrari +0.222
5. George Russell Mercedes +0.356
6. Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing +0.358
7. Pierre Gasly Alpine +0.366
8. Esteban Ocon Alpine +0.431
9. Sergio Perez Red Bull Racing +0.450
10. Oscar Piastri McLaren +0.744

‘United States Grand Prix – Here are the complete results from qualifying for Sunday’s 2023 F1 World Championship race at the Circuit of the Americas’;

https://formulaspy.com/f1/qualifying...and-prix-83310


AS IT HAPPENED: Follow all the action from qualifying for the United States Grand Prix
20 October 2023
Formula One - Official Site

‘AS IT HAPPENED’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...iaWzFouGD.html


F1 United States Grand Prix 2023 - Qualifying: As it happened
20 October 2023
Reporting By: Connor McDonagh
Crash.Net

‘Qualifying: As it happened’;

https://www.crash.net/f1/live/f1-uni...ng-it-happened



F1 Live - United States GP Free Quali Watchalong | Live timings + Commentary
20 October 2023
Racing Statistics

‘Quali Watchalong’;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NU-sQbRusKk


F1 stewards penalise Max Verstappen as Red Bull F1 star rues Austin GP qualifying error
Max Verstappen was momentarily top of the timesheets in qualifying for the United States Grand Prix, but lost pole position to Charles Leclerc when his time was deleted
20 October 2023, 00:29
By Daniel Moxon Senior F1 Writer
The Mirror

Max Verstappen said a "little mistake" led to the moment which saw the United States Grand Prix stewards delete his pole-sitting lap in qualifying. The Dutchman looked to have gone quickest overall to cement his place at the front of the grid for Sunday's race in Austin.

But TV cameras showed Verstappen had appeared to exceed track limits on the penultimate corner of that lap and, soon after, the stewards concurred that it was an illegal lap. So it was scrubbed from the board and the Red Bull driver was relegated to sixth place. Charles Leclerc took pole in his absence, while Lando Norris pulled off an excellent lap to pip Lewis Hamilton to a spot on the front row.

"I knew in Turn 19 that it was going to be a close call," said Verstappen of that lost lap. "I had a little mistake in Turn 1 so I had to really push for it in the rest of the lap. It's fine margins, honestly, I didn't even understeer, I just tried to really maximise the corner and I misjudged it by a little bit."

‘F1 stewards penalise Max Verstappen’;

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/formu...fying-31243910

Leclerc admits surprise at Ferrari's pace after taking pole position for United States GP.
Charles Leclerc admitted that he was surprised by Ferrari's pace in Austin but praised the work of his team after he went on to take a stunning pole position for the United States Grand Prix.
20 October 2023
Formula One - Official Site

This is the third time this season that Leclerc has taken pole position on a Sprint weekend – after Baku and Belgium – and when asked why that continues to happen, Leclerc said: “I don't know. I think as a team we did a great job.

“We know that in this Sprint weekend it’s more important than ever to have a clean FP1 [and] we did. We had a good FP1, we started with a strong base thanks to the work the guys have done to prepare this weekend, with a car straight away feeling good, then I was feeling good.”

“I was happy throughout qualifying, the last lap in Q3, there was a bit of mistakes here and there, but I think it wasn’t easy for everybody. So, really happy to be starting on pole for Sunday.” Asked if Ferrari were surprised by their pace compared to their rivals, Leclerc said: “Yes, we are. In the last sector we have been very strong whether it’s in FP1 this morning or in qualifying.”

‘Surprised by Ferrari's pace’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...C1mcctVwI.html


ONBOARD: Charles Leclerc’s 2023 Pirelli Pole Position Award lap at the United States Grand Prix
21 Oct 2023
Formula One - Official Site

Ride onboard with Charles Leclerc as the Ferrari driver claims pole position with a lap of 1:34.723 in qualifying at the 2023 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix.

‘Pirelli Pole Position Award’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/v...028085354.html


Qualifying Highlights: 2023 United States Grand Prix
20 Oct 2023
Formula One - Official Site

Watch highlights from qualifying at the Circuit of The Americas ahead of the 2023 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix.

‘Highlights from qualifying’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/v...645839696.html


Max Verstappen predicts ‘fun’ US GP after falling foul of ‘fine margins’
21 Oct 2023 1:08 AM
Jamie Woodhouse
PlanetF1.com

Max Verstappen is ready to have some “fun” in Austin after a track limits violation dumped him out of pole position and down to P6. And Verstappen seemingly had done enough as he went 0.005s clear of Charles Leclerc, though then the nervous wait began to learn of whether he had breached track limits at Turn 19.

As it turned out, Verstappen had gone beyond the white line and so lost that time, meaning he would instead be forced to settle for a P6 grid slot. But, while it was “unfortunate” to fall foul of track limits, Verstappen is not letting that dampen his mood for the rest of the race weekend.

“I mean, I knew in [Turn] 19 that it was going to be a close call,” Verstappen told Sky F1. “I had a little mistake in Turn 1, so I had to really push for it in the rest of the lap. It’s fine margins, honestly. I didn’t even understeer, I just tried to really maximise the corner and I misjudged it by a little bit. It’s very fine margins when you’re pushing to the limit. It was a bit unfortunate, but it makes the Sunday also a bit more fun.”

‘Fine margins’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/max-ve...y-track-limits


CHRISTIAN HORNER: 'HE HAD TO GIVE IT ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING'
Published on 21 October 2023
by Johan Peeters
Verstappen.nl

Christian Horner, team principal of Oracle Red Bull Racing, reflects after Friday’s qualifying for the United States Grand Prix: “It looked like we were going to get pole today but then a small lock up at turn 1 put Max on the back foot so he had to give it absolutely everything. He tried, but unfortunately we didn’t quite do it today.”

“Checo struggled with balance slightly but it was tight margins with not a lot in it but it will make for an interesting race on Sunday. We start from P6 and P9 for the race which makes things a little harder for us but there is always an opportunity for victory and we look forward to seeing what Sunday brings."

‘ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING';

https://news.verstappen.com/en/article/5284/


Perez blames wind for Verstappen defecit in United States GP qualifying
Sergio Perez could only manage ninth in qualifying for the 2023 US GP
October 21, 2023
By Adam Dickinson
Total Motorsport

Perez would’ve been nearly half a second behind his teammate were it not for that intervention by the stewards though, and the highest he managed across all three qualifying sessions was sixth in Q1.

“It certainly wasn’t a straightforward one I was struggling with the balance from low speed to high speed, especially in the low-speed,” Perez told the media. “We did some changes that probably didn’t help us as much.”

‘Perez blames wind’;

https://www.total-motorsport.com/f1-...gp-qualifying/


Alonso rues Aston Martin’s ‘terrible’ FP1 as he predicts ‘heavily compromised’ race following shock Q1 exit
21 October 2023
Formula One - Official Site

Fernando Alonso is expecting Aston Martin to face a “heavily compromised” race in Sunday’s United States Grand Prix after the team suffered a double Q1 exit in qualifying, marking the first time that Alonso has failed to progress beyond the opening session in 2023.

Having lost momentum to rivals including Mercedes and Ferrari in recent races, the team brought a new floor for the AMR23 to Austin but struggled to collect crucial data in Friday’s free practice hour, in what will be the sole practice session of another Sprint weekend. When asked after the session if his early exit was due to not getting a clean lap in, or whether it was in fact the car’s maximum performance, Alonso explained: “No, it was the maximum, I think.

“The lap was not ideal, the out lap especially, the traffic was very badly managed. I think I crossed the line within one second of the limit, so I started the lap too close to the cars in front, so that didn’t help. The lap felt okay, and the pace was really not good enough to be into Q2, and let’s see tomorrow if we can make a good Sprint, because Sunday’s race is heavily compromised now.”

‘Aston Martin’s ‘terrible’ FP1’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...7aNxjyYsI.html

Verstappen nets USGP sprint pole despite 360-degree spin scare.
Max Verstappen returned to pole position for the United States sprint event as the Red Bull driver denied grand prix polesitter Charles Leclerc in Saturday’s shootout.
Sunday 22nd October, 2023 - 5:25am
By Ian Parkes
Speedcafe

With the soft tyres strapped to the cars for what was effectively a one-lap showdown in Q3 as none of the cars emerged from the garage until late on, Verstappen set the bar early on with a time of one minute 34.538secs around the Circuit of the Americas.

For Verstappen, there was a degree of redemption after claiming pole for the grand prix for a moment on Friday, only for his lap to be deleted, allowing him to clinch his third sprint pole from the five events so far this year.

Behind him, his rivals lined up to challenge, but the three-time F1 champion did enough to keep them at bay, with the top three separated by just 0.069s, with Leclerc on the front row, and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton third quickest.

‘Redemption’;

https://www.speedcafe.com/2023/10/22...hootout-scare/


Sprint Shootout Results – 2023 United States Grand Prix
21st October 2023
by Emer Hedderman
FormulaSpy

SQ3
1. Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing -1:34.538
2. Charles Leclerc Scuderia Ferrari +0.055
3. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes +0.069
4. Lando Norris McLaren +0.101
5. Oscar Piastri McLaren +0.356
6. Carlos Sainz Scuderia Ferrari +0.401
7. Sergio Perez Red Bull Racing +0.503
8. George Russell Mercedes +0.661
9. Alex Albon Williams Racing +0.828
10. Pierre Gasly Alpine +1.359

‘United States Grand Prix – Here are the complete results from the shootout for tonight’s 2023 F1 World Championship race at the Circuit of the Americas’;

https://formulaspy.com/f1/sprint-sho...and-prix-83326


LIVE COVERAGE: Follow all the action from the Sprint Shootout at the United States Grand Prix
21 October 2023
Becky Hart
Special Contributor.
Formula One - Official Site

‘As it happened’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...UHWlLCWlh.html


F1 United States Grand Prix 2023 - Sprint: LIVE UPDATES!
21 October 2023, 18:41
Reporting By: Connor McDonagh
Crash.Net

‘Sprint: LIVE UPDATES!’;

https://www.crash.net/f1/live/f1-uni...t-live-updates


F1 Live - United States GP Sprint Shootout Watchalong | Live timings + Commentary
21 October 2023
Racing Statistics

‘Sprint Shootout Watchalong’;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqaP63sq20A


Charles Leclerc calls for George Russell penalty as FIA investigate US GP near-miss
21 Oct 2023 7:08 PM
Jamie Woodhouse
PlanetF1.com

Charles Leclerc was clear in his mind that George Russell deserves a penalty after their impeding encounter in the Austin sprint shootout.

While qualifying to determine the United States Grand Prix grid took place on Friday, the drivers were back in qualifying action on Saturday to set the starting order for the sprint. And it only took until the latter stages of SQ1 for some drama, as Russell seemed to very much get in the way of Leclerc.

As Leclerc swept through the penultimate corner at the Circuit of The Americas, the Ferrari driver found a slow-moving Russell in his Mercedes on the exit, wrecking that final flying lap for Leclerc. Both drivers cleared the SQ1 stage, but that was of little comfort to Leclerc.

‘FIA investigate US GP near-miss’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/charle...-penalty-us-gp

Max Verstappen beats Lewis Hamilton to Austin GP Sprint win as George Russell gets penalty.
Max Verstappen started the Sprint race on pole with Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton in his mirrors, to make up for his disappointing qualifying result for the main Grand Prix.
23:42 Sat, 21 Oct 2023.
By Daniel Moxon Senior F1 Writer
The Mirror

Lewis Hamilton pushed Max Verstappen hard in the opening laps of the United States Grand Prix Sprint, but was unable to stop the Dutchman from winning. The Mercedes man got the better of Charles Leclerc early on and avoided a penalty despite appearing to overtake off the track. Hamilton was allowed to keep the place and was gunning for Verstappen, but he just did not have the race pace to trouble the Red Bull.

Leclerc got an excellent launch off the line and put Verstappen under pressure, but the Red Bull racer was in no mood to let the Ferrari man through. He squeezed Leclerc as much as he could on the inside of the track while still giving his rival enough room on the track. That pinched him into the first corner and made sure the Monegasque could not complete the overtake. And Hamilton took advantage of the scrap to slip by the Ferrari and into second place.

Leclerc came home third, but his Ferrari team-mate Carlos Sainz was unable to hold off the charge of Lando Norris. The McLaren man had given a glum prediction of his chances this weekend, but is proving himself wrong after qualifying second for Sunday's Grand Prix and showing good pace in the Sprint. Sainz had started on the soft tyres which began to lose grip around half-way through. Sergio Perez soon swallowed him up. George Russell didn't but he still scored a point despite picking up a penalty for an illegal overtake on Oscar Piastri.

‘Max Verstappen: Austin GP Sprint win’;

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/formu...esult-31249025


Sprint Results – 2023 United States Grand Prix
21st October 2023
by Emer Hedderman
FormulaSpy

Results (Classification):
1. Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing -19 laps
2. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes +9.465
3. Charles Leclerc Scuderia Ferrari +17.987
4. Lando Norris McLaren +18.863
5. Sergio Perez Red Bull Racing +22.928
6. Carlos Sainz Scuderia Ferrari +28.307
7. Pierre Gasly Alpine +32.403
8. George Russell Mercedes +34.250 *
9. Alex Albon Williams Racing +34.567
10. Oscar Piastri McLaren +42.403

‘United States Grand Prix – Here are the provisional results from today’s penultimate Sprint of the 2023 F1 World Championship’;

https://formulaspy.com/f1/sprint-res...and-prix-83339


AS IT HAPPENED: Follow all the action from the F1 Sprint in the United States
21 October 2023
Becky Hart.
Special Contributor.
Formula One - Official Site

‘AS IT HAPPENED’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...5IuKIj6BR.html


F1 United States Grand Prix 2023 - Sprint: As it happened
21 October 2023
Reporting By: Connor McDonagh
Crash.Net

It's sprint day at the Circuit of the Americas which plays host to this weekend's United States Grand Prix. Follow all of the action here with the Crash.net live blog.

‘Sprint: As it happened’;

https://www.crash.net/f1/live/f1-uni...nt-it-happened


F1 Live - United States GP Sprint Race Watchalong | Live timings + Commentary
21 October 2023
Racing Statistics

F1 Live United States Grand Prix Sprint Race Watchalong | US GP Live | USA GP F1 Live Timings, Updates and Commentary of all F1 Sessions with Racing Statistics. Lets Watchalong!

‘Sprint Race Watchalong’;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVKmDStYLLI


Max Verstappen the lone star in crushing US GP Sprint Race victory
Max Verstappen eased to victory in the 2023 US GP Sprint Race ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc
October 21, 2023
By Adam Dickinson
Total Motorsport

Max Verstappen coasted to victory of an anticlimactic 2023 United States Grand Prix sprint… Verstappen got very aggressive with Leclerc on the run turn one, forcing the Ferrari all the way to the paint on the left of the track, and that allowed Hamilton to sweep into second around the outside.

Ferrari gambled with the soft tyres for Carlos Sainz and that backfired dramatically – if not unpredictably, with the Spaniard unable to even get past his teammate. From a high point of fourth, Sainz sunk like a lump of the tarmac he was driving on in the second half of the race to come home sixth.

Lando Norris was the first to pass his former teammate-turned-overtaking buffet, finishing the race where he started in fourth but never close to troubling the podium. However, those five points move McLaren to just six behind pointless Aston Martin in the constructors’ championship.

‘Max Verstappen the lone star’;

https://www.total-motorsport.com/f1-...-race-victory/


MAX VERSTAPPEN WINS SPRINT RACE IN AUSTIN: 'PACE WAS VERY GOOD'
Published on 22 October 2023
by Misha van der Kroon
Verstappen.nl

After the race, Max comments: “It was quite tight, but luckily there’s a lot of space going into turn 1, so that definitely helps. I gave Charles just enough space and made the corner as tight as possible for him, so he couldn’t break late, and that worked out well in the end. After that, we could do our own race and control the pace. The most important thing was to stay calm and keep the tyres alive. I had a bit of fun at the end, when I could push a bit more.”

The pace of the RB19 was encouraging for Max, who has a tough task tomorrow, starting from P6: “The confidence is definitely there, and I’ll need it tomorrow. Starting from P6 is going to be different than today, but it makes it interesting. Hopefully we can have a bit of fun out there tomorrow, a few overtakes. And of course we want to win.”

'PACE WAS VERY GOOD';

https://news.verstappen.com/en/article/5286/

STRATEGY GUIDE: What are the possible race strategies for the 2023 US Grand Prix in Austin?
Four teams covered by little more than a tenth of a second and Max Verstappen starting down in sixth creates the prospect of excitement at Circuit of The Americas. So here are a few of the strategic options that are likely to be open to the teams and drivers on race day in Texas…
22 October 2023
Chris Medland
Special Contributor
Formula One - Official Site

What’s the quickest strategy? The Sprint format means we’ve been able to see a glimpse of what is likely to happen in terms of tyre performance at COTA – and it still points to a two-stop race.

How about a different option for the top 10? So you might have been able to work out from the above list of teams that many of those at the sharp end of the grid need to do something different. While Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri can run the medium-hard-hard strategy, Ferrari, Mercedes, Red Bull, Alpine and Aston Martin cannot.

What are the options for the bottom half of the field? Perhaps an option for those in the top 10 too, another two-stop strategy could see all three tyre compounds used.
Wait, but what’s the weather doing? There’s a slight difference to the conditions expected on Sunday compared to the rest of the weekend but it’s a change that is likely to be welcomed by the teams and drivers.

‘STRATEGY GUIDE’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...5FdRKreJt.html


Why pole-winner Leclerc doubts he’ll be able to fight Verstappen for victory
There may be three grands prix in the United States of America – but there’s only one United States Grand Prix.
Posted on 22nd October 2023, 11:0522nd October 2023, 11:10
Written by Will Wood
RaceFans

While the glitz, glamour and human interest stories at the heart of the sport have attracted scores of new fans to Formula 1, the last two seasons have failed to offer the true edge-of-your-seat action and intrigue at the front of the field that would surely be the best way of keeping fresh fans engaged and even bringing new eyes to the sport. Max Verstappen has been almost literally unstoppable, his domination of the sport this year on a par with anything his predecessors achieved.

Pirelli are projecting a two-stop strategy sticking with the medium and hard tyres as the optimal approach to the 56 lap race. As the run to turn one will be critical for Leclerc’s chances of fighting for a victory, he will surely fit the medium tyres for the opening stint to help him have the traction he needs to beat Norris on the run up the hill to the first corner. Pirelli then expect most teams to run the hards in the middle stint before switching to hards or mediums at their second stop...

“It’s going to be tight,” Leclerc said. “I expect Max to get ahead and to not be too much of a fight but then otherwise it’s going to be tight. I think we have to look into our data and try to understand what we can do better for tomorrow’s degradation because the pace is there, it’s always been there, sometimes we seem to be a bit inconsistent with our race pace. Today was the case, we struggled more than others and we’ll try to understand what’s wrong and see if we can do anything different for tomorrow to help that.”

‘Leclerc doubts';

https://www.racefans.net/2023/10/22/...n-for-victory/


Horner curses Verstappen BAD LUCK ahead of United States Grand Prix.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has said that new track limit rules at the United States Grand Prix were 'unlucky' for Max Verstappen, as he only managed to qualify sixth for Sunday's race.
Sunday 22 October 2023 12:57
Sam Cook
GPFans

The dominant Dutchman had his final lap time deleted during Q3, after a track limits infringement was penalised by the stewards. That lap time was five thousandths of a second quicker than Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, but its deletion meant that the three-time world champion could only manage sixth, whilst Leclerc went on to take his third pole position of the season.

Now, Horner has commented on the fact that new track limit rules brought in after qualifying mean that Verstappen wouldn't have been punished for the same offence on Saturday. According to the FIA, the white line at the outside of Turn 9, Turn 12 and Turn 19 was widened in order to give drivers further room on the track. The decision was taken after talks were held with both drivers and teams on Friday night.

‘New track limit rules’;

https://www.gpfans.com/en/f1-news/10...-bad-luck-fia/


‘Won’t be easy’: Max’s admission sparks hopes of US GP thriller after sprint dominance — LIVE
October 22nd, 2023 8:04 pm
AFP from Fox Sports
LIVE Fox Sports (Australia)

Max Verstappen will be hunting a “fun” 50th career victory from sixth on the grid in Monday’s United States Grand Prix (starts 6am AEDT) after cruising to victory for Red Bull in Sunday’s sprint race. The newly crowned three-time world champion led from pole position to the chequered flag to finish 9.465 seconds clear of revitalised seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes. Charles Leclerc came home third for Ferrari, 17.997 adrift.

“The pace of the car was really good today,” said the 26-year-old Dutchman, who wrapped up his third consecutive drivers’ title with victory in Qatar earlier in October. But I’m going to need it tomorrow because starting P6 is going to be a bit more difficult and different from today. It makes it more interesting and hopefully we can have a bit of fun out there with quite a bit of passing... It won’t be easy because I need to pass five cars to win.”

‘Won’t be easy’;

https://www.foxsports.com.au/motorsp...f264ae87d344c6


Optimistic George Russell outlines target for US GP after disappointing Sprint Race
George Russell starts the 2023 United States GP fifth for Mercedes
October 22, 2023
By Adam Dickinson
Total Motorsport

Mercedes brought a new floor to the Circuit of the Americas and Hamilton‘s certainly bedded in quickly, qualifying third for the grand prix after just an hour of free practice then repeating that performance in the sprint shootout.

“In the end, it was a shame I couldn’t get past Carlos, he was just too quick in the corners that matter compared to us,” Russell told the media. “But we’re in a strong place for tomorrow, I think starting fifth we’ve got a good chance to fight for a podium. But a fight it’s going to be with probably with Lando.”

“It’s feeling good, we know that a circuit like this with high and low-speed corners doesn’t naturally suit our car but definitely a lot of positives to take, it’s all going in the right direction so feeling optimistic.”

‘Optimistic George Russell’;

https://www.total-motorsport.com/f1-...g-sprint-race/


Alonso: Upgrade 'risk' not reason behind Aston Martin Austin slump
22 October 12:40PM
Author Jake Nichol
Co-author Aaron Deckers
RacingNews365

Fernando Alonso feels Aston Martin was right to bring its big upgrade to the United States Grand Prix, despite the "risk" of it being a Sprint weekend. "The frustration was not really increasing in the race because we've been on the same page, the whole weekend," Alonso told media including RacingNews365. "We were uncompetitive in FP1, in qualifying and in the Sprint. The car as been in parc ferme since FP1 and maybe we are not optimised in terms of set-up.”

"We want to think [it would be better on a normal weekend] with more free practice you have the time to test many different combination of setups and different ways of optimising the new package. It was also a bit risky to bring the upgrades to a Sprint weekend as you rely so much on a perfect FP1 with two cars doing different tests between the two. We had a very chaotic FP1 and since then have been on the backfoot.”

‘EL PLAN: Big upgrade’;

https://racingnews365.com/alonso-upg...n-austin-slump


Fast facts ahead of the United States Grand Prix
22 October 2023, 10:37
By Balazs Szabo
F1 Technical

Long history – Today’s race will be the 44th United States Grand Prix and the 74th F1 race in the United States. First held in 1959 at Sebring, the United States Grand Prix has a peripatetic history. Races followed at Riverside (1960), Watkins Glen (1961-1980), Phoenix (1989-1991) and Indianapolis (2000-2007) before the Circuit of the Americas joined the sport in 2012. The racetrack in Texas has hosted the United States Grand Prix in every year since except in 2020 when the coronavirus pandemic forced the sport to call off its trip to the North-American continent.

Importance of the starting position – Joining the Formula One race calendar in 2012, the Texas racetrack has produced some thrilling duels since. Although the long circuit features a wide layout and offers several overtaking spots, starting from the first row has proved crucial so far. In almost every edition of the event, one of the two drivers starting from the front row won the race, with five victories from pole and four from P2. The only exception was last year when three-time world champion Max Verstappen climbed up from third on the grid to win the race.

‘Fast facts’;

https://www.f1technical.net/news/24251

F1 United States GP: Verstappen beats Hamilton to take 50th win from sixth on grid.
Max Verstappen won Formula 1's 2023 United States Grand Prix ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris, the trio taking different paths to victory in a gripping strategic affair.
22nd October 2023
AUTHORAlex Kalinauckas
Motorsport.com

The win gave Verstappen his 50th F1 career victory in a race where he struggled with brake problems and Ferrari's challenge disappeared early. Norris got a better start than Ferrari's polesitter Charles Leclerc and was quickly alongside the Ferrari before heading to the Turn 1 apex to make certain of the lead.

Verstappen triggered the race's first big strategy call when he came into take more new mediums, with McLaren bringing Norris in from the front a lap later at the end of the 17th tour, but putting him onto new hards.

By stopping earlier and with consistent pace in the 1m41s, Verstappen had cut his previous seven-second gap to Norris in half and he was soon homing in on the McLaren – which retook the lead when Leclerc finally pitted on lap 23.

‘50th F1 career victory’;

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/f...grid/10536471/


Race Results – 2023 United States Grand Prix
22nd October 2023
by Emer Hedderman
FormulaSpy

Results (Classification):
1. Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing -56 laps
2. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes +2.225
3. Lando Norris McLaren +10.730
4. Carlos Sainz Scuderia Ferrari +15.134
5. Sergio Perez Red Bull Racing +18.460
6. Charles Leclerc Scuderia Ferrari +24.662
7. George Russell Mercedes +24.999
8. Pierre Gasly Alpine +47.996
9. Lance Stroll Aston Martin +48.696
10. Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri +74.385

‘United States Grand Prix – Here are the provisional results from today’s 2023 F1 World Championship race around the Circuit of the Americas’;

https://formulaspy.com/f1/race-resul...and-prix-83350


LIVE COVERAGE: Follow all the action from the 2023 United States Grand Prix
22 October 2023
Becky Hart.
Special Contributor.
Formula One - Official Site

‘As it Happened’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...HCkKJ0UMt.html


F1 United States Grand Prix 2023 - As it happened
22 October 2023, 19:25
Reporting By: Connor McDonagh
Crash.Net

‘As it happened;

https://www.crash.net/f1/live/f1-uni...23-it-happened


F1 Live - United States GP Race Watchalong | Live timings + Commentary
22 October 2023
Racing Statistics

F1 Live United States Grand Prix Race Watchalong | US GP Live | USA GP F1 Live Timings, Updates and Commentary of all F1 Sessions with Racing Statistics. Lets Watchalong!

‘Race Watchalong’;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyHOeW2YYh4


Verstappen outruns Hamilton to win United States GP from sixth on grid
Formula 1
Posted on 22nd October 2023, 21:51
Written by Will Wood
RaceFans

Max Verstappen rose from sixth on the grid to win the United States Grand Prix, beating Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris to take his 15th win of 2023. The world champion gained five places to move into the lead of the race just after his final pit stop, leading home Hamilton and Norris in a hard-fought race where just 20 seconds covered the top five at the chequered flag.

Verstappen checked off the remaining laps and took the chequered flag to secure the win, his record-equalling 15th of the season, by just over two seconds from Hamilton. Norris claimed the final podium place in third, around ten seconds behind the winner.

Sainz came home fourth for Ferrari, ahead of Perez in fifth and Leclerc finishing sixth after a one stop strategy failed to pay off. Russell came home in seventh, with Pierre Gasly securing four points for Alpine in eighth. Lance Stroll secured his first points since the summer break with ninth, while Yuki Tsunoda took tenth place and a bonus point for fastest lap after pitting for soft tyres on the penultimate lap.

‘Verstappen outruns Hamilton’;

https://www.racefans.net/2023/10/22/...sixth-on-grid/

Hamilton, Leclerc disqualified from United States Grand Prix.
The planks on the Mercedes and Ferrari did not conform to regulations in post-race checks.
23 October 2:20AM
Author Ewan Gale
RacingNews365

Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc have been disqualified from the United States Grand Prix after excessive skid-block wear meant their planks did not conform to F1's Technical Regulations. Post-race checks carried out by the FIA's Technical Delegate discovered the infringements after the 56-lap event on a bumpy Circuit of the Americas.

Hamilton had closed into within 19 points of Red Bull's Sergio Perez in the Drivers' standings with second, having pushed Max Verstappen all the way to the end following a fascinating strategic battle. Leclerc on the other hand had slipped from pole to sixth by the end of the race having been left on a one-stop strategy by Ferrari.

"The Stewards note that the onus is on the competitor to ensure that the car is in compliance with the regulations at all times during an event. In this particular case, the rear skid in the area defined in the Technical Delegate’s report was outside of the thresholds outlined in Article 3.5.9 e) of the FIA Formula One Technical Regulations, which includes a tolerance for wear.”

‘Hamilton, Leclerc disqualified’;

https://racingnews365.com/hamilton-l...tes-grand-prix


Hamilton and Leclerc disqualified from United States Grand Prix for technical breach
23 October 2023
Formula One - Official Site

Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc have both been disqualified from the United States Grand Prix. Following the race in Austin, their cars were inspected and irregularities were spotted by the FIA Technical team after a plank wear inspection was carried out.

The Delegate’s Report stated that: “The skids located in the area -825 ≥ XR ≥ - 1025 are found to be not in compliance with Article 3.5.9 e) of the 2023 Formula One Technical Regulations.” As such, both were immediately referred to the stewards. Both teams sent a representative to speak to the stewards, stating that "the high wear on the skid pads was probably a result of the unique combination of the bumpy track and the Sprint race schedule that minimized the time to set up and check the car before the race."

However, the Stewards noted that "the onus is on the competitor to ensure that the car is in compliance with the regulations at all times during an event. In this particular case, the rear skid in the area defined in the Technical Delegate’s report was outside of the thresholds outlined in Article 3.5.9 e) of the FIA Formula One Technical Regulations, which includes a tolerance for wear."

‘Disqualified from United States Grand Prix for technical breach’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...eWxWOhw0a.html


F1 United States Grand Prix 2023 - Race Results after Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc DSQ
23 Oct 2023
Connor McDonagh
Crash.Net

2023 F1 United States Grand Prix - Race Results
Pos Driver Nat. Team Time
1 Max Verstappen NED Oracle Red Bull Racing 56 Laps
2 Lando Norris GBR McLaren F1 Team + 10.730s
3 Carlos Sainz ESP Scuderia Ferrari + 15.134s
4 Sergio Perez MEX Oracle Red Bull Racing + 18.460s
5 George Russell GBR Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team + 24.999s
6 Pierre Gasly FRA BWT Alpine F1 Team + 47.996s
7 Lance Stroll CAN Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team + 48.696s
8 Yuki Tsunoda JPN Scuderia AlphaTauri + 74.385s
9 Alex Albon THA Williams Racing + 86.714s
10 Logan Sargeant USA Williams Racing + 87.998s

‘Full results from the United States Grand Prix, Round 18 of the F1 2023 world championship’;

https://www.crash.net/f1/results/103...on-leclerc-dsq


Hamilton and Wolff react to United States GP disqualification
23 October 5:00AM
Author Ewan Gale
RacingNews365

Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff has conceded the team "got it wrong" with set-up after Lewis Hamilton was disqualified from the United States Grand Prix. The seven-time F1 World Champion had put in a stirring performance to challenge Max Verstappen and Red Bull for victory at the Circuit of the Americas.

But post-race inspection found his plank had worn too much during the race and thus failed to conform with the sport's Technical Regulations, resulting in a disqualification. Reacting to the result, Hamilton said: "It is of course disappointing to be disqualified post-race but that doesn't take away from the progress we've made this weekend."

"Set-up choices on a sprint weekend are always a challenge with just one hour of free practice - and even more so at a bumpy circuit like COTA and running a new package," explained Wolff. "In the end, all of that doesn't matter; others got it right where we got it wrong and there's no wiggle room in the rules. We need to take it on the chin, do the learning, and come back stronger next weekend."

‘Hamilton and Wolff reaction’;

https://racingnews365.com/hamilton-a...squalification


Winners and losers from F1's 2023 United States Grand Prix
Oct 23, 2023
The Race

Winners
Max Verstappen: When the best are up against it, they still tend to find a way to win. That's what Verstappen and Red Bull did at Austin.
Lance Stroll: It was far from Aston Martin's strongest weekend but this was easily Stroll's best of the second half of the season so far. He finished ahead of Alonso in the sprint and was only a few seconds behind him in the grand prix when Alonso slid down the order and retired with suspected floor damage.

Yuki Tsunoda: Never mind that attrition and disqualifications aided his result; Tsunoda got the maximum available to him ensured he was the one to benefit from retirements ahead.
Williams: What was initially going to be a painful 11th and 12th place finish for Williams turned into a first double points finish since the 2021 Belgian Grand Prix for the team.

Losers: Lewis Hamilton, Lando Norris, Charles Leclerc, Fernando Alonso, Lap-one clashers Oscar Piastri, Esteban Ocon

‘Winners and losers’;

https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/w...ted-states-gp/


Logan Sargeant wins first F1 point at US GP after Lewis Hamilton disqualified
Logan Sargeant is finally a Formula 1 point-scorer and becomes the first American to achieve that in three decades, since Michael Andretti at the 1993 Italian Grand Prix
Oct 23, 2023, 02:19
By Daniel Moxon Senior F1 Writer
The Mirror

Logan Sargeant scored his first ever Formula 1 point as a result of Lewis Hamilton's disqualification from the United States Grand Prix. The Floridian drove well to finish 12th on the road in Sunday's race at the Circuit of the Americas in Texas. He finished just over a second behind Williams team-mate Alexander Albon in one of his most impressive results to date.

But it still was not the top-10 finish he so desperately craves – or so he thought. Hours after the conclusion of the race, it was announced both Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were under investigation. And both were disqualified after a lengthy probe from the stewards. It elevated Albon into ninth place while Sargeant inherited 10th, securing his first point in the sport in his 18th Grand Prix.

‘Logan Sargeant wins first F1 point’;

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/formu...point-31254292


United States GP: Double points result for Williams Racing
October 23 2023
By Williams Racing
WilliamsF1 Supporters

Despite having finish 11th and 12th in the 2023 United States GP subsequent post race inspections would see penalties handed out to two top ten finishing drivers seeing the Williams Racing Team finish with a double points scoring result. Alex Albon would originally finish in 11th and Logan Sargeant 12th but with the penalties we would see Alex moved into 9th and Logan 10th. Prior to the points scoring decision both Alex and Logan had put in good drives that saw them just outside the points but for the team to come away with the points was an amazing reversal of fortunes. Especially for Logan who would score his first point of his F1 career.

Logan Sargeant: "It’s amazing to score my first point in F1 on home turf after the challenging weekend I’ve had. I’m so proud of this team and myself for the hard work and progress we’ve been making this season.”
Alex Albon: "I’m very happy for the team and especially Logan for scoring points today. We had our luck, but we were there to take it!”

Dave Robson, Head of Vehicle Performance: "After Leclerc and Hamilton’s post-race disqualifications, we come away from Austin with double points for the team for the first time since the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix. It’s also Logan’s first point in Formula 1 and he becomes the first American to score a point since Michael Andretti at the 1993 Italian Grand Prix.”

‘Double points result’;

https://www.sportnetwork.net/main/s107/st205260.htm

Aston Martin boss explains how Sprint Race led to Hamilton and Leclerc being disqualified from US GP.
Mike Krack suggests Sprint weekend to blame for Hamilton and Leclerc DSQs
October 23, 2023
By Roman Brock
Total Motorsport

A disappointing result for them, and Aston Martin chief Krack’s thoughts on the matter may well point at the fact the hectic nature of the Sprint has led to these disqualifications. “[Ride height] is one of the issues with a Sprint weekend,” Krack said to the press. “You know you have to do the Sprint and the race and two qualifyings and you can wear one mm and you have to run low.

“It’s tough [to find the right ride height]… you always have a risk.” Indeed, the statement from the FIA around the ruling to throw both drivers out suggests that the congested schedule was indeed, at least partially, to blame for the ruling.

The statement read: “During the hearing the team acknowledged that the measurement performed by the FIA Technical Team was correct and stated that the high wear on the skid pads was probably a result of the unique combination of the bumpy track and the Sprint race schedule that minimised the time to set up and check the car before the race.”

‘Disappointing result’;

https://www.total-motorsport.com/f1-...ed-2023-us-gp/


'Sprint weekend robbed Hamilton of podium' - US Grand Prix hot takes
Monday 23 October 2023 13:27
Sam Cook
GPFans

Max Verstappen claimed his 15th race victory of the season, and his 50th career win, by coming from sixth on the grid to win the United States Grand Prix. The Dutchman nursed braking issues and a very fast Lewis Hamilton to take victory by just over two seconds. Except...that wasn't quite the case, it turned out. When scrutineers examined Hamilton's Mercedes, they judged his skid blocks to be too worn down – and disqualified him from the final result.

Chris Deeley: Lead Editor: This weekend showed, above all else, what F1 teams, drivers and fans will miss out on if sprint weekends are made the norm. Instead of a genuinely pacy Aston Martin mixing it with their 2023 rivals, Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll had to start prohibitively far back – all because their single practice session before Friday's qualifying was disrupted by a brake issue.

‘Hamilton robbed of podium'’;

https://www.gpfans.com/en/f1-news/10...-race-50-wins/


Should the FIA do more after Leclerc and Hamilton findings?
23 October 3:45PM
Author Rory Mitchell
RacingNews365

The planks are a safety feature introduced after the deaths of Roland Ratzenberger and Ayrton Senna at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, and 1mm of wear is allowed from a 10mm block.

The disqualifications of Hamilton and Leclerc posed a question, what about George Russell and Carlos Sainz? Both sister cars are identical, and as the image below shows, both Russell and Sainz also had a low ride height, creating sparks. But their cars were not selected for further inspection, despite their team-mates being found in breach of the technical regulations.

Owing to the sheer number of components on every car, it is impossible for the FIA's technical inspection team to strip down every car after every race to check its legalities, which is why the team led by Jo Bauer conduct random checks to ensure cars are legal.

‘Should the FIA do more’;

https://racingnews365.com/should-the...ilton-findings


Vasseur claims Ferrari 'FAILED' Leclerc with United States GP blunder
Monday 23 October 2023 12:42
Joe Ellis
GPFans

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has said that his team failed Charles Leclerc at the United States GP – even before the Monegasque driver was disqualified for an illegal car.

The 26-year-old produced a fabulous lap in qualifying to claim pole position ahead of McLaren's Lando Norris but the race pace wasn't there for the Scuderia, and the FIA scrutineers eventually disqualified him for an illegal floor on his car.

Ferrari attempted an audacious one-stop strategy on Leclerc's car but the tyre wear was too great to make it truly work and he was passed by his team-mate Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez late in the race.

‘Ferrari 'FAILED' Leclerc’;

https://www.gpfans.com/en/f1-news/10...es-grand-prix/


The Schumacher precedent that made Hamilton and Leclerc's DSQs inevitable
23 October 10:30AM
Author Jake Nichol
RacingNews365

Disqualification for excessive plank wear is nothing new either, with Michael Schumacher's Benetton removed from the 1994 Belgian Grand Prix for a similar offence. The plank was introduced at the 1994 German Grand Prix as a safety measure following the deaths of Roland Ratzenberger and Ayrton Senna in that year's San Marino Grand Prix.

The idea was to have the plank of wood there to raise ride heights, thus slowing the cars. The worn planks for both Hamilton and Leclerc were found during routine post-race scrutineering in which the #44 and #16 were both randomly selected for more detailed checks in addition to the standard ones performed on all cars.

Max Verstappen's Red Bull and Lando Norris's McLaren were the other two cars checked post-race for more detailed examination. The fact that four cars were submitted to further checks and two of them failed led to some on social media to claim that the strike rate of 50% surely indicated that others too must have been in a similar situation.

‘The Schumacher precedent’;

https://racingnews365.com/the-schuma...sqs-inevitable

Sargeant ends a 30-year wait for American driver to score in F1.
AUSTIN, Texas - Williams rookie Logan Sargeant celebrated a surprise first point in Formula One on Sunday, thanks to the disqualifications of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, and ended a 30-year wait for a U.S. driver to score.
03:22 Mon, 23 Oct, 2023
The Straits Times

Sargeant was classified 10th at Austin's Circuit of the Americas after Mercedes' Hamilton was stripped of second place and Ferrari's Leclerc lost his sixth place when their cars failed post-race checks. The last US driver before the 22-year-old Florida native to score in a grand prix was Michael Andretti with McLaren in 1993.

"It’s amazing to score my first point in F1 on home turf after the challenging weekend I’ve had," said Sargeant, who failed to finish the previous race in Qatar after suffering exhaustion in the heat. "I’m so proud of this team and myself for the hard work and progress we’ve been making this season," added the rookie whose seat for next season is far from certain.

"We worked hard overnight to find a direction with the car that was going to be positive, and we found that...The pace was so much better today, and I was driving really well." Williams also had Alex Albon finish in ninth place, with the team having two drivers in the top 10 for the first time since the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix.

‘30-year wait ends’;

https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/f...to-score-in-f1


Logan Sargeant becomes the first American to score a Formula One point in 30 years
11:20 Mon, 23 Oct 2023.
CNN

CNN — At the United States Grand Prix, Williams driver Logan Sargeant ended a three decade-long wait for an American driver to score points in an F1 race, grabbing a 10th place finish on home soil in Austin, where the drama continued even after the checkered flag.

Sargeant had initially crossed the line in 12th position, but after Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc were disqualified post-race for a technical infringement, the American was bumped up two places to 10th, giving him his first ever point at the Circuit of the Americas. Williams also gained a double points finish, with Alex Albon promoted to P9.

Sargeant, competing in his first season in F1, bounced back from a tough Sprint race on Saturday where he finished at the back of the pack. It was also a much better race weekend for the rookie than the prior Qatar Grand Prix, in which he retired on lap 41 after the sweltering conditions caused him to experience intense dehydration.

‘First American to score a Formula One point in 30 years’;

https://edition.cnn.com/2023/10/23/s...ntl/index.html


Williams reveal wholesome moment Sargeant discovers he's an F1 points scorer
Monday 23 October 2023 15:57
Sam Cook
GPFans

Williams have revealed the moment that Logan Sargeant and Alex Albon realised they had achieved a double-points finish for the team at the United States Grand Prix. The disqualification off both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc after the race for having excessive wear on their skid blocks led to the promotion of many drivers up the order, including Albon and Sargeant who take home ninth and tenth repspectively after a solid race.

For Sargeant, it means he has finally managed to score his first point in Formula 1, and becomes the first American driver for 30 years to score a point in the sport. Now, in a series of photos on X, formerly known as Twitter, Williams have revealed the special moment that the pair found out together that they had scored the team's first double-points finish of the season.

Reading the final results… pic.twitter.com/S4vy8XYO7u
— Williams Racing (@WilliamsRacing) October 23, 2023

‘The wholesome moment’;

https://www.gpfans.com/en/f1-news/10...qualification/


Long-awaited F1 first achieved after Hamilton and Leclerc disqualifications
23 Oct 2023 1:36 AM
Jamie Woodhouse
PlanetF1.com

Not the way he thought it would happen, but Logan Sargeant is now finally off the mark as a Formula 1 points scorer! It has been a challenging rookie season for Williams’ American racer, who did not have a point on the board as he battles to, as Williams wish, secure a second season with the team.

And 18 grands prix into his Formula 1 career, Sargeant has finally scored his first point, though it certainly was not the usual way for it to come about. Sargeant crossed the line P12 at the Circuit of The Americas, a strong result in front of his home crowd, though one that would not snap his point-less run.

But, news soon emerged that Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton, who finished P2, and Ferrari’s P6 finisher Charles Leclerc were facing disqualification from the results, after the FIA discovered excessive wear on the skid pads under their respective challengers in post-race checks. That nightmare scenario would indeed come true for Hamilton and Leclerc, bumping Sargeant up to P10 as he secured his first Formula 1 point, with several other drivers benefitting in a major way from that duo’s misfortune.

‘Long-awaited F1 first achieved after disqualifications’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/logan-...f1-point-us-gp


Vowles: Pat Fry Williams arrival to have ‘real effect’ in 2025
14:37 Thu, 19 Oct 2023.
by Dan Lawrence
Motorsport Week

Williams Team Principal James Vowles says the appointment of new Chief Technical Officer Pat Fry will have a “real effect” on the team from 2025 onwards. Fry departed Alpine earlier this year and was snapped up by Williams to take on the role of CTO, with his duties officially commencing on November 1. Speaking to the official Formula 1 website, Vowles commented how the effect of Fry’s appointment is all about the long-term gains, with the development of next year’s car well underway.

“We’ve brought together a really good group of individuals at Williams, and we are working together,” he said. “In part, I have sadness because I have to start letting go of that side of things. With 2024 though, the dye is pretty much set in the direction of travel. This chassis will already, by the time he comes through the door, be most of the way produced. It has to be. That’s what the timelines are for these things, which means you define some of the big elements to things.”

“The aero package again will be most of the way through development, even though it’s going to be for next year. But the impact – and I’ve said it all along – I’m not interested in short term, I’m interested in the long term. So, he will already, in the 2024 season, have a positive effect but that real effect will kick in in ’25, ’26, [2027].”

‘Real effect’;

https://www.motorsportweek.com/2023/...ffect-in-2025/

Verstappen on 50th F1 win: Rookie numbers compared to Hamilton.
After claiming his 50th Formula 1 victory at the 2023 United States GP, Max Verstappen joked that he only has rookie numbers compared to Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton, who has 103 F1 wins to his name.
October 24, 2023
By Ed Spencer
Total Motorsport

Max Verstappen took his 50th Formula 1 win at the 2023 United States GP. Despite struggling with a race-long brake problem and a hard-charging Hamilton, Verstappen clung on to win at the Circuit of the Americas, to take his 15th victory of the 2023 F1 season.

The win also made Verstappen the fifth driver in Formula 1 history to have emerged victorious in 50 Grand Prix, putting him one win away from tying with Alain Prost as the F1’s fourth-most-successful driver.

“It’s a great number still rookie numbers compared to Lewis,” joked Verstappen after the race on Sunday. “For sure, it’s a great number. I’m very happy with it. But let’s try to win a few more. The first stint, I tried to be patient, but at the same time, following for so long did hurt my tyres a little bit. I was struggling a lot with the brakes compared to yesterday.”

‘50th Formula 1 win’;

https://www.total-motorsport.com/max...ewis-hamilton/


Verstappen on Fans Hostility: ‘I’m the One Bringing the Silverware Home’.
Max Verstappen, fresh off his triumph in the United States Grand Prix, has openly embraced the less-than-friendly reception from fans at the Circuit of the Americas.
October 23, 2023
BaylaSportsF1

Max Verstappen, fresh off his triumph in the United States Grand Prix, has openly embraced the less-than-friendly reception from fans at the Circuit of the Americas. The Dutch driver clinched his 50th Formula One race victory, engaging in a thrilling strategic battle with Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes in Austin.

Despite securing the Drivers’ title at the previous race in Qatar, Verstappen faced a chorus of boos during his parc fermé interview with former champion Jenson Button, upon stepping onto the podium, and while receiving his well-earned trophy.

Rumours circulating on social media have hinted at a portion of the booing possibly being aimed at Greg Abbott, the Governor of Texas. Furthermore, another contributing factor to the reception Verstappen received at the Circuit of the Americas was the substantial presence of Mexican fans who turned out to support his teammate, Sergio Perez.

‘Openly embraced the less-than-friendly reception’;

https://baylasportsf1.com/verstappen...lverware-home/


Max Verstappen shows true colours with comments on US Grand Prix boo boys
Max Verstappen was heavily booed by fans after winning the United States Grand Prix.
13:25, Tue, Oct 24, 2023
By Archie Griggs

Max Verstappen has insisted that he is only focused on winning races and not making fans happy after he was loudly booed on the podium at the United States Grand Prix. The Dutchman fought back from sixth on the grid to win the 50th race of his career despite being put under heavy pressure by Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris.

The occasion was somewhat marred after the race by loud boos from the thousands of fans in attendance as Verstappen collected his winner's trophy on the podium. More booing was clearly heard during the Dutch national anthem, with many fans taking the opportunity to declare their support for Sergio Perez by chanting his name.

Verstappen did not seem too bothered by the frosty reception he received when quizzed on the topic after celebrating his win, saying: "In the end, I'm the one who goes home with the trophy, fine by me." The Red Bull man was then asked if he will be frustrated if he is booed again at this weekend's Mexican Grand Prix but insisted that he does not care as long as he keeps winning. He simply said: "Then I'll still go home with the trophy!"

‘Does not care’;

https://www.express.co.uk/sport/f1-a...d-Prix-F1-news


Verstappen's girlfriend Kelly Piquet unimpressed by podium boos at US Grand Prix
Tuesday 24 October 2023 11:57
Cal Gaunt
GPFans

Despite starting from sixth place, he fought his way to victory, pushing Lewis Hamilton to second place, prior to his subsequent disqualification, and Lando Norris to third. The triumph marked his 50th Formula 1 win, making him the second fastest to reach this milestone after Michael Schumacher.

Although some fans were displeased, Verstappen's girlfriend, Kelly Piquet, seemed confused by the negative crowd reaction in footage posted on social media. Verstappen, however, now a three-time world champion, appeared unfazed by the negative reception when asked on Viaplay.

‘Unimpressed by podium boos’;

https://www.gpfans.com/en/f1-news/10...and-prix-boos/


VERSTAPPEN: AUSTIN TRACK ISN’T ‘F1 LEVEL’ AND IS ‘BETTER SUITED TO A RALLY CAR’
A couple of drivers had a few critiques for the Austin track...
October 24, 2023
Caitlyn Gordon
FormulaNerds

Austin is notoriously known for its bumpy track. The bumps are caused due to the unstable position in which the track was built. Previously, it has been reconstructed to cater to Moto GP and F1 weekends more. However, Verstappen came out and said that the track still needs to have more work done:

“It needs to be redone because at the moment it feels like it’s better suited to a rally car, “I’m jumping and bouncing around. In an F1 car probably you don’t even see it as much because we are glued to the ground because of the downforce. But the bumps and jumps that we have in some places is way too much. I don’t think it’s F1-level.” The Dutchman confessed.

The Red Bull driver was quick to show support for the track after his criticisms but continued to go on about how change is needed: “I love this track, honestly, the layout is amazing,

‘AUSTIN TRACK ISN’T F1 LEVEL’;

https://www.formulanerds.com/news/ma...o-a-rally-car/


Verstappen urges Red Bull to ‘understand’ US GP brake issue
24th Oct. 2023, 16:47
by Taylor Powling
Motorsport Week

Max Verstappen has urged Red Bull to get on top of the race-long brake issues that hampered him during the United States Grand Prix.

“But at the same time, I was struggling a lot with the brakes compared to yesterday, so I couldn’t really be that nice to the tyres under braking, just being very inconsistent. That basically carried on for the rest of the race, which compared to yesterday that was quite a big factor because I never really had a lot of confidence to be consistent under braking.”

“But, nevertheless, I think as a team we did the right strategy, we pitted at the right time, and basically because of that I could work my way forward. I think we did everything correct today but I was hoping for a little bit more pace because I think yesterday we were a lot more competitive.”

‘Race-long brake issues’;

https://www.motorsportweek.com/2023/...p-brake-issue/


Verstappen grumpy all weekend in Austin says Marko
OCTOBER 24, 2023
GrandPrix.com

As he struggled with the car's handling earlier on Sunday, cracks in the relationship with his engineer Gianpiero Lambiase emerged again. Lambiase, having been chided by Max throughout the race, then told Verstappen on the radio I'll see you on Friday - as he skipped the podium proceedings and post-race debrief.

Asked to explain one angry outburst to Lambiase about not talking to him in braking zones, Verstappen hit back: I said it nicely. At least I said please. Dutch GP boss Jan Lammers thinks Max was right to chastise his engineer. When you're downshifting, it's important that you hear the revs properly, especially if you're having problems, he told NOS.

Team boss Christian Horner, meanwhile, denied that Lambiase actually boycotted the podium and post-race debrief. He just had to get back to England - he was rushing to catch his flight, he insisted. Normally it's Helmut, but now it's the engineer.”

‘Grumpy all weekend’;

https://www.grandprix.com/news/verst...ays-marko.html

Will Perez bow under hometown pressure? What to watch for at 2023 Mexico City GP.
Verstappen's continued dominance is mounting stress on the career of Sergio Perez — his Red Bull seat still at risk. Could a surprise announcement steal Mexican GP headlines, or will the focus remain on 2024 race seats and possible debut victories?
October 24th 2023
Author: Cambridge Kisby

Having wrapped up his third consecutive world title in Qatar, Max Verstappen is currently on cruise control but remains in dominant form: winning from sixth on the grid in the USA and breaking numerous F1 records in the process. Therefore, attention has now been drawn to those behind him, but the spotlight will surely shine brightest on the hometown hero of this coming weekend: Sergio Perez.

The Mexican finds himself in the midst of a season-long struggle; having not qualified on the front row of the grid since Miami and not having won a race since Azerbaijan; while his team-mate has dominated out front. Such a difference in performance has caused many to question Perez’s long-term future — not only at Red Bull but on the F1 grid entirely.

‘Will Perez bow under hometown pressure?’;

https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/a...?nowprocket=1#


Paddock “rumour” shared that will worry Sergio Perez before F1 Mexican Grand Prix
24 Oct 2023
James Dielhenn
Crash.Net

A “rumour” spreading through the F1 paddock is that Sergio Perez has pressure to claim P2 in the drivers’ championship to retain his Red Bull seat. Sky’s Ted Kravitz shared the whisper after the United States Grand Prix, just days before F1 heads to Perez’s home race in Mexico.

“There is a rumour around the place,” Kravitz claimed. “If Checo does not manage to seal P2 in the drivers’ championship - which is something Red Bull have never done, and something Christian Horner and Helmut Marko value very highly this year - then they’ll have to have a serious think about whether Checo does stay within his contract next year.”

‘Paddock “rumour” shared’;

https://www.crash.net/f1/news/103902...-f1-mexican-gp


Marko fires at 'Mexican' support after Verstappen US F1 booing
Monday 23 October 2023 08:57
Shay Rogers
GPFans

Helmut Marko has spoken out against the vocal displeasure of fans after the United States Grand Prix, where Max Verstappen was booed on the podium. The Austrian believes that a select group of Mexican fans may have been behind the noise, with Verstappen’s team-mate Sergio Perez currently struggling heading into his home race.

“We are in contact with a lot of Mexicans,” he told Sky Germany. “The majority are very friendly and fair, but there are always some, let's say enthusiastic people, who don't maintain the fair sporting standard. But we have no concerns and are happy to go to Mexico.”

‘Marko fires at 'Mexican' support’;

https://www.gpfans.com/en/f1-news/10...es-grand-prix/


Mexican GP concern raised for Max Verstappen as Christian Horner makes "villain" comment
Max Verstappen was booed at the United States Grand Prix by fans of his teammate Sergio Perez and Red Bull's team principal Christian Horner has addressed the situation
09:30 Tue, 24 Oct 2023.
By Matthew Cooper Sports Writer
The Mirror

Red Bull chief Christian Horner is expecting Max Verstappen to get booed at the Mexican Grand Prix, following his frosty reception at last week's United States Grand Prix.

Verstappen was loudly booed as he stood on the podium after winning the race, with some fans chanting the name of his teammate Sergio Perez. The Mexican is hugely popular in the US and, with Texas bordering Mexico, his supporters made their voices heard at the Circuit of the Americas.

And Horner is expecting Verstappen will receive a similar reception at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, but insisted it is "water off a duck's back" for the three-time F1 world champion. When asked about the booing, Horner replied: "I don't think Max is going to get the warmest reception in Mexico!

‘Expecting Max Verstappen to get booed at the Mexican Grand Prix’;

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/formu...dbull-31264256


Christian Horner suspects Max Verstappen to receive poor Mexican GP reception
Max Verstappen was booed throughout the Dutch national anthem at the 2023 US GP.
23 October 2023
by Nick Golding
Formula1News

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner suspects that Max Verstappen won’t receive the “warmest reception” at this weekend’s Mexican Grand Prix, after he was subjected to boos and jeers last weekend.

“I don’t think Max is going to get the warmest reception in Mexico! But that’s water off a duck’s back. One year you are the villain, the next year you are the hero,” said Horner.

‘Max Verstappen to receive poor Mexican GP reception’;

https://formula1news.co.uk/christian...-gp-reception/


Horner unfazed by Red Bull Mexico welcome after Marko slur
23 October 11:35AM
Author Ewan Gale
Co-author Aaron Deckers
RacingNews365

On whether Red Bull could expect a confrontational atmosphere in Mexico City given Marko's comments about the country and attitude towards Perez, Horner insisted: "I am not worried about that.”

"The team is fully behind Checo and both of our drivers. We love racing in Mexico, we love the Mexican fans, the passion - that stadium is unique. So we are really looking forward to it."

Unfazed and really looking forward to it’;

https://racingnews365.com/horner-unf...ter-marko-slur


Christian Horner shares Max Verstappen Mexico GP ‘villain’ fear after Marko's Perez slur.
Max Verstappen was given a hostile reception when stepping onto the podium at the United States Grand Prix.
12:49, Mon, Oct 23, 2023
By Harry Smith
Daily and Sunday Express

Between Verstappen’s refusal to help him in the fight for P2 in the Drivers’ Championship at the Brazilian Grand Prix last season and Helmut Marko’s unacceptable comments about the 33-year-old’s Mexican heritage after the Italian Grand Prix this summer, there is a frosty sentiment towards the Red Bull hierarchy among the Perez’s fans.

This boiled over at the most recent race in Austin with Perez’s loyal fans booing Verstappen as he took to the top step of the podium at the Circuit of the Americas. The three-time world champion saw off the threat of Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton to clinch his 15th win of the season. Marko attracted widespread criticism from the world of F1 after he claimed Perez’s struggles this season relative to team-mate Verstappen were partially down to a ‘lack of focus’ stemming from his Mexican heritage.

While Perez publicly stated that he had put the incident behind him, his on-track performances remain a point of concern. However, a fourth-place finish in Texas will give the 33-year-old confidence ahead of his return to the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez next weekend. "He should take a lot of confidence out of that,” Horner said after Perez’s performance at the United States GP. "His race pace was strong, we know he always races well and hard and hopefully, it is just the injection of confidence he needs going into his home race which I am sure is going to be nuts for him."

‘Injection of confidence he needs’;

https://www.express.co.uk/sport/f1-a...rko-Perez-slur

Perez urges respect from fans over Vertsappen hostility.
Sergio Perez has urged his faithful supporters to support the entire Red Bull team during the Mexico City Grand Prix weekend.
25 October 3:40PM
Author Ewan Gale
RacingNews365

A partisan crowd was in attendance at the Circuit of the Americas for last weekend's United States Grand Prix, where chants of 'Checo' preceded a chorus of boos for teammate and three-time World Champion Max Verstappen after he secured a 50th career F1 win. Perez and Verstappen have had a fractured history as teammates with tension spilling over at last season's São Paulo Grand Prix.

Since then, fans of the Mexican have been less than impressed with the support given to Perez by Red Bull and matters were not helped by a xenophobic slur made by Motorsport Advisor Helmut Marko when assessing the six-time race winner's poor form mid-season - though an apology was forthcoming.

"Mexico is my most important weekend of the season and I can’t wait for my home race," said Perez. "The support in Austin this weekend was crazy, so I can’t even imagine what Mexico will be like, it’s going to be very special. We have made some very good steps with the car but didn’t get to fully show our progress due to taking some wrong directions with the set-up this past weekend.”

"I want Mexico to come out to support the whole Red Bull team, not just me";

https://racingnews365.com/perez-urge...ppen-hostility


Horner: No need for Perez to finish second to retain Red Bull seat
25/10/2023 at 14:23
Phillip van Osten
F1i.com

Christian Horner has once again set the record straight regarding Sergio Perez’s future, insisting the Mexican does not have the obligation to finish second in the championship to retain his seat with Red Bull for 2024. Horner denied that such a performance-related clause would be enforced against Perez at the end of the year.

"There's no pre-mandate like that," said Horner in Austin. "We've never finished first and second in a championship. We finished first and third a few times with Mark [Webber] and Sebastian [Vettel] and we finished it last year with Max and Checo. So, with this car, it would be fantastic, in such a season that we've had, if we could finish first and second.”

"But there's no pre-mandate on Checo that you have to finish second or you won't be driving the car next year. That's never been discussed." Horner insisted that he had no doubts about Perez’s ability to perform on a par with Verstappen, as he did at the start of the year, but suggest that the Mexican is lacking the proper “mindset” to battle at the front.

‘Christian Horner has once again set the record straight’;

https://f1i.com/news/491180-horner-n...bull-seat.html


Red Bull deny Perez F1 2024 stay dependent on second place
25/10/2023, 12:15
by Taylor Powling
Motorsport Week

Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner has denied that Sergio Perez’s stay with the side in 2024 is dependent on him securing second place in the Drivers’ Championship. “But there’s no pre-mandate on Checo that you have to finish second or you won’t be driving the car next year. That’s never been discussed.”

Horner outlined that Red Bull’s sole intention is to help Perez return to the level that enabled him to consistently battle and support Verstappen at the sharp end. “We know Checo,” he added. “If you see Checo’s performances in the first part of the year: Bahrain, was very, very tight with Max. The race in Saudi, it was a great race between the two of them pushing each other really hard, with very fine margins.”

“His race in Azerbaijan, winning the sprint and the grand prix there. Those are the kinds of performances that we know he’s capable of. I think it’s just getting him back into that mind frame and to get the most out of him to get him back to those levels of performances.” Although Perez’s future is secure for 2024, Red Bull is yet to determine who will partner triple World Champion Verstappen in the team beyond the end of next season.

‘No pre-mandate on Checo’;

https://www.motorsportweek.com/2023/...-second-place/


IT'S RACE WEEK: 5 storylines we're excited about ahead of the 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix
25 October 2023
Chris Medland
Special Contributor
Formula One - Official Site

The fallout from Austin: Both Hamilton and Charles Leclerc – originally classified sixth – were disqualified for having too much wear on the plank that is under the car, with the skids that are checked designed to measure how low a car is running to conform to the regulations.

Perez with home advantage: I call it home advantage, but when the interest is so enormous there must be a big dose of pressure that comes with being Sergio Perez in Mexico City. The Mexican is a huge star and already enjoyed massive support in Texas last weekend, where his name was regularly being chanted from the grandstands.

Can Aston hit back at McLaren? McLaren’s impressive turnaround has made their overhauling of Aston Martin feel like an inevitability for a few races now, as Mike Krack’s team have struggled to match the development rate of their rivals.

‘Sargeant’s signs of progress, Rookie FP1 outings’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...0NPA2ItcM.html


Lewis Hamilton v Max Verstappen rivalry could reignite at Mexican Grand Prix
25 Oct 2023 9:00 AM
Luke Murphy
PlanetF1.com

After Red Bull managed to survive scares and claim US Grand Prix victory, will the champions prove their mastery in Mexico or could it finally be ‘Hammer Time’ for Mercedes again?

Max Verstappen overcame handling difficulties, brake issues and rampant rivals to take win number 15 of the season and the Dutchman will return to one of his most successful circuits to take the unique technical challenges of the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

After an improved showing at the US GP, Mercedes will be hoping their upgrades continue to show more promise in Mexico. In a difficult 2022 season, last year’s race was one of Mercedes’ better events, partly due to the reduced effect of their draggy car. This year, they will be hoping their car optimisations can help them challenge for their first win of the season.

‘Rivalry could be reignited’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/lewis-...can-grand-prix


MAX AHEAD OF MEXICO GP: 'EXPECT MORE OF A FIGHT'
Published on 25 October 2023
Niels Hendrix
Verstappen.nl

After winning the race in Austin last weekend, Max Verstappen is now looking forward to coming weekend, the Mexican Grand Prix: “It’s great to be in Mexico. The team has a great history there, winning and taking a double podium in the last two years. It is of course Checo’s home race so it will be a big one for us. The atmosphere is always amazing driving through Foro Sol.”

Max continues: “Mexico City is the highest altitude track of the season, which is more stressful on the cars, but the RB19 has been faultless in most conditions so I’m looking forward to seeing how we will perform. We’re also returning to the normal race format this weekend so that’ll be good, as we head into the second race of the triple header. Following Austin, we can expect the race to be more of a fight, but we’ll use our strategy to our strength. The aim is to keep on winning.”

'EXPECT MORE OF A FIGHT';

https://news.verstappen.com/en/article/5293/

Pressure on Perez to perform at home: Six talking points for the 2023 Mexican GP.
Sergio Perez has struggled to match the performance of his Red Bull team mate Max Verstappen for the vast majority of the year, so prospects of a home victory for Mexico’s sole F1 driver do not seem high. But after an improved showing last weekend in Austin, can Perez spring a surprise and spark a fiesta in the grandstands?
Formula 1
Posted on 25th October 2023, 7:15
Written by Will Wood
RaceFans

Casa de Checo: From the moment Sergio Perez was announced as a Red Bull driver at the end of the 2020 season, the scores of Formula 1 fans in Mexico could hardly be blamed for getting their hopes up about the prospect of seeing one of their own win their home grand prix. But in his third season in the Red Bull, Perez has never looked less likely to compete for victory at his home grand prix as he has this time around. Perez was again off the level of his team mate last weekend in Austin – which did little to raise the expectations of him competing for the win in Mexico City.

Ferrari’s altitude sickness: Ferrari’s form has yo-yoed so regularly throughout the 2023 season that Charles Leclerc admitted he had effectively given up on predicting whether they would be strong or weak heading into each race weekend.
Friday practice cameos: As the season winds down with both world championship titles already decided, this is the part of the year when F1 teams begin to fulfil their Friday young driver practice allocations before the end of the season like a university student cramming in last minute revision before a big exam.

Plank problems? The disqualifications of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc from the final results of the US Grand Prix was a stunning story for how unusual it was as well as the major implications it had on the order throughout the field.
Battle at the back heats up: As a result of the post-race drama in Austin, the biggest winners were two of the teams who value points finishes the most – Williams and AlphaTauri. Seventh-placed Williams went from missing out on points at the chequered flag to gaining three points out of the blue – moving them from seven points clear of Alfa Romeo to ten points ahead.

‘Pressure on Perez to perform at home’;

https://www.racefans.net/2023/10/25/...23-mexican-gp/


F1 monitoring Hurricane Otis ahead of Mexico City GP
Thursday 26th October, 2023 - 11:07am
By Mat Coch
Speedcafe

F1 officials are monitoring Hurricane Otis ahead of this weekend’s Mexico City Grand Prix. Hurricane Otis made landfall at Acapulco in southern Mexico on Wednesday knocking out power and communication after being upgraded from tropical storm to Category 5 in the space of just 12 hours, the most severe rating possible for a hurricane.

Otis increased in intensity prior to reaching land prompting the National Hurricane Centre to warn of a “nightmare scenario” with sustained winds of more than 250km/h. The storm has since made its way inland and is currently around 200km west of Mexico City, home of this weekend’s grand prix.

Since making landfall and moving inland, Otis’ intensity has been downgraded to Category 4. Organisers are monitoring the situation though do not expect the event to be impacted as its projected to continue northwards. Home to almost nine million people, Mexico City remains outside the area predicted to experience even tropical storm-strength winds.

‘F1 monitoring’;

https://www.speedcafe.com/2023/10/26...exico-city-gp/


Mexico City GP Weather: Latest forecast for F1 race at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez
Max Verstappen could break the record for most wins in an F1 season at the 2023 Mexico City GP
October 25, 2023
By Adam Dickinson
Total Motorsport

Friday: Practice 1 & Practice 2 - Things stay pretty consistent over the weekend, with a bright and sunny start on Friday morning.

Saturday: Practice 3 & Qualifying - Similar to Friday, temperatures won’t get too hot and the wind won’t be too gusty. There is a 10% chance of rain for qualifying, but expect that number to go down as the weekend approaches. Interestingly, humidity will plummet from 90 percent in early morning, to 50 percent at for FP3 at 11:30am local time and just 30 percent by the time qualifying starts at mid-afternoon.

Sunday: Race: Again temperature won’t get any higher than 25 degrees, but the chance of rain is up to a whopping 14 percent come lights out at 14:00. However, this is F1 where the forecast seemingly needs to be north of 99% for fans to be sure of getting some wet-weather action. Humidity and wind speed won’t be an issue either, so it really is on whether Red Bull can somehow screw up their setup with the altitude.

‘Mexico City GP Weather’;

https://www.total-motorsport.com/f1-...nos-rodriguez/


Mexican GP will be hot but not a repeat of last year’s high
Formula 1
Posted on 26th October 2023, 8:14
25th October 2023, 23:22
Written by Ida Wood
RaceFans

It will be cloudy on Friday when practice begins, but the sun should start to break through by the time the F1 field takes to the track. Maximum air temperatures of around 25C expected in the second practice session, which begins at 4pm, and there is an outside chance of rain with a 40% chance of a shower currently forecast.

The next two days will be slightly warmer and the low threat of rain will recede even further. Third practice in the middle of Saturday being held when it’s likely only 23C but with an increase to 26C by the time qualifying starts at 3pm. The grand prix will start at 2pm on Sunday again with the air temperature expected to be around 26C. After last year’s scorching trip to Mexico, this is set to be the second hottest grand prix in Mexico since F1 returned to the country in 2015.

It’s not unusual to see considerable variation in track temperatures during this race, with a range of up to 10C seen in some recent events. That can make tyre selection tricky. Last year Mercedes chose a more conservative strategy for the race than rivals Red Bull, and paid the price as Max Verstappen won as he pleased.

‘Hot but not a repeat of last year’s high’;

https://www.racefans.net/2023/10/26/...st-years-high/


Plank Gate, High Altitude & Rookies - 2023 Mexico GP Preview
Published ‎Oct‎ ‎26‎, ‎2023‎ ‎12‎:‎00‎ ‎AM
Inside Line F1 Podcast (Weblog)

Will 'plank gate' continue to be a thing as Formula 1 reaches Mexico City for this weekend's 2023 Mexico Grand Prix? Yes, we think so - and it should be so.

Is Formula 1 too complex for FIA to police it fairly? And 'fairly' is the word, especially with 50% of the cars scrutineered post-race in Austin failed the test. Does this system need to evolve, and if so, what's the most fair way to do so given Formula 1's logistical schedules?

‘2023 Mexico GP Preview’;

https://omny.fm/shows/inside-line-f1...ico-gp-preview

Red Bull go against Max Verstappen wishes with security decision for Mexico Grand Prix.
But Verstappen’s popularity in Mexico has been affected by his perceived relationship with hometown hero Sergio ‘Checo’ Perez.
26th October 2023, 2:50 pm
Sean O'Brien
talkSPORT

Formula 1 star Max Verstappen will be protected by bodyguards at the upcoming Mexican Grand Prix. The Red Bull driver wrapped up his third title in record-equalling time earlier this season.

Rumours suggest Red Bull are considering getting rid of Perez one year before his contract expires amid questions over his form. The saga has led to a backlash from Mexican fans towards Verstappen, which was demonstrated at the US Grand Prix last weekend.

Perez is hugely popular in Texas and the Dutch national anthem was drowned out with boos towards Verstappen and chants of ‘Checo! Checo! Checo!’ This aside, drivers have complained about fan behaviour in the paddock at the Mexican Grand Prix before.

‘Speaking to F1-Insider on the use of bodyguards for Verstappen’s safety, Red Bull Motorsport Advisor Helmut Marko explained: “Max doesn’t actually want that and is relaxed’;

https://talksport.com/sport/1617240/


'Marko confirms Verstappen BODYGUARDS' for Mexican Grand Prix
Thursday 26 October 2023 12:42
Cal Gaunt
GPFans

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has reportedly confirmed that bodyguards will be provided to ensure the safety of Max Verstappen during the Mexican Grand Prix.

According to F1-Insider, Marko has confirmed that the team will have two bodyguards in place for Verstappen in Mexico City, but insists it's only as an act of precaution. "Max doesn’t actually want that and is relaxed," he told the publication. But we have responsibility for him, so we just want to be on the safe side.”

'Marko confirms Verstappen BODYGUARDS';

https://www.gpfans.com/en/f1-news/10...co-grand-prix/


Red Bull to give Max Verstappen bodyguards at Sergio Perez’s home race, the F1 Mexico City Grand Prix
26 Oct 2023
James Dielhenn
Crash.Net

Red Bull will reportedly give Max Verstappen two bodyguards to protect him this weekend in Mexico. While his teammate Sergio Perez returns to home soil where he is idolised at the F1 Mexico City Grand Prix, it’s a different story for Verstappen.

Threats via social media were a main reason why Red Bull opted for extra security, the report states. Red Bull also reportedly expect Perez to minimise the hostility from fans aimed at Verstappen through a public statement.

‘Two bodyguards’;

https://www.crash.net/f1/news/103911...me-race-mexico


Pirelli explain Mexican Grand Prix tyre test
25 October 2023, 8:00PM
Author Ewan Gale
RacingNews365

Pirelli will introduce a prototype C4 tyre for teams to trial during Friday practice at the Mexico City Grand Prix. The Italian manufacturer is in the process of homologating its compounds for next season, where F1 will tackle 24 races between March and November.

"Mexico gives us the chance to try out a new variant of the C4 with all the teams," said Head of Motorsport Mario Isola.”

"During the two hours of free practice on Friday, each driver will have two sets of these new prototypes to use as they wish. Once we have analysed all the data, we will then decide whether or not to homologate this version for use in 2024."

‘Tyre test’;

https://racingnews365.com/pirelli-ex...prix-tyre-test


Podcast: Perez's patchy F1 form ahead of pivotal home race
How pivotal a race might the 2023 Mexican Grand Prix be in the Formula 1 career of Sergio Perez?
Oct 26, 2023
The Race

Attention is on Perez heading to his home race given his tricky run of late in the RB19, and the panel ask whether he's turned a corner - having responded to two dreadful weekends with a solid performance at Austin - in time for the visit to the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez circuit he's scored podiums at in the last two years.

What route Perez needs to take to get the best out of Red Bull's cars and the key quality he needs to show Red Bull are also considered - as is the role successfully exhibiting those could play in Perez staking his claim for a 2025 contract extension.

There's a closer look too at Perez's hero status in Mexico and whether he can use his home support to raise his performance level, at how his slump in competitiveness has been received in Mexico, and whether second in the F1 standings is his to lose or win.

‘Perez's patchy F1 form’;

https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/p...-f1-home-race/

Lewis Hamilton fumes as F1 rivals got away with "illegal" cars in Mexico GP rant at FIA.
Lewis Hamilton believes more cars should be checked after races after being disqualified from last Sunday's United States Grand Prix.
27th Oct. 2023, 08:50
By Tom BlowSports Writer
The Mirror

The seven-time world champion finished second last time out after producing one of Mercedes' best displays since 2021 when they last won the Constructors' Championship. Yet Hamilton was forced to return his runners-up trophy after being disqualified. Hamilton's car was declared illegal during a post-race review for excessive wear on the underfloor skid blocks. It was a frustrating climax to the Brit's race weekend after finishing in P2, a result that's hard to achieve due to the dominance of Red Bull.

Hamilton's car was only reviewed because of a spot check. The Mercedes icon believes all cars should be reviewed after races to ensure the process is equal. He thinks that "far more" cars would've been found illegal if all 20 were checked last Sunday. "What's crazy is they only test four cars, 50 cent fail," said Hamilton ahead of this Sunday's Mexican Grand Prix. "And I've had information from many others that were also illegal but they got away with it. That's messed up."

He added: "There have been many other scenarios like this where some people have got away with certain things and some people have got unlucky and got tested. There needs to be some form of better structure to make sure it is fair and even across the board."

‘Lewis Hamilton fumes’;

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/formu...p-fia-31291744


'Rules are rules' – Leclerc accepts ‘completely fair’ Austin disqualification as he sets target for Mexico City GP
26 October 2023
Formula1 Official Site

Charles Leclerc has called his disqualification from the United States Grand Prix “completely fair” after both his and Lewis Hamilton’s cars were found to be in breach of the regulations following the event.

It was a challenging race in Austin for Leclerc, with the Ferrari driver having slipped back from pole position to P6 by the chequered flag. He later suggested that adopting a one-stop strategy had been “wrong” and that the team needed to understand why their predictions for the plan had been incorrect.

When asked in the build-up to the Mexico City Grand Prix about the processes Ferrari had put in place to ensure that a scenario like the disqualification could not happen again, Leclerc explained: “It’s a very difficult question to answer, especially on a Sprint weekend, because at the end we only have one session to actually set up the ride height of the car, and once we’ve finished FP1 we are nowhere.

'Rules are rules';

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...KzWcIa9Qw.html


Hamilton: Window closing for Mercedes to keep alive F1 streak
27 October 7:30AM
Author Fergal Walsh
Co-author Aaron Deckers
RacingNews365

Lewis Hamilton has suggested that Mercedes could be in the fight at the front of the field during the Mexico City Grand Prix weekend, with only one other chance to win in 2023 afterwards.

Mercedes has not yet won a race this season with the only non-Red Bull victory coming in Singapore through Ferrari and Carlos Sainz in a season otherwise dominated by Max Verstappen with 15 wins from 18 races.

Last time out in the United States, Hamilton had strong pace throughout the Grand Prix and crossed the line in second place before he was disqualified for a technical infringement, as he looks to end his own personal win drought stretching back to the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

‘Window closing’;

https://racingnews365.com/hamilton-u...nces-in-mexico


Mexican GP: Thursday's build-up in pictures
26/10/2023 at 23:00
Michael Delaney
F1i.com

It’s on to the second leg of F1’s grueling triple header and to the always colorful Mexican GP at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

Here is out first batch of pictures of the weekend from round 19 of the 2023 F1 world championship.

‘Thursday's build-up in pictures’;

https://f1i.com/news/491269-mexican-...ictures-4.html


Mexican GP: F1 tech images from the pitlane explained
OCT 27, 2023, 8:39 AM
AUTHOR Matt Somerfield
CO-AUTHOR Giorgio Piola
Motorsport.com

Ferrari has opted for more cooling at the Mexican Grand Prix, as the rarified air at the circuit's altitude means teams are less concerned about the ill effects running so much cooling might have on the aerodynamic output.

McLaren looks set to employ a high downforce rear wing and beam wing layout from the suite of options at their disposal, which also includes an open-ended endplate and tip section solution. Note also the placement of a kiel probe array in the central portion of the wing that the team will use to collect data during FP1.

The front wing on the Mercedes W14 also has a Gurney in the central, moveable section of the upper flap. It’s a high downforce rear wing configuration for Mercedes in Mexico, as you’d expect, with the team employing its version of the open-ended endplate tip section. Also note the heat tape that’s been added to the front and rear brake drums.

‘F1 tech images from the pitlane explained’;

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/m...ined/10538294/


Max Verstappen sends message to ‘disrespectful’ fans ahead of Mexican Grand Prix
Thursday 26 Oct 2023 10:25 pm
Callum McAvoy
Metro.co.uk

Max Verstappen has called for Formula One fans to have more respect for all the drivers on the grid after he was booed at last weekend’s United States Grand Prix. The three-time champion was jeered while celebrating his win in Texas, partially by Mexican fans who were supporting his Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez.

The organisers of the Mexican Grand Prix have launched the #racepect campaign as a reaction to the ‘unfortunate statements and attitudes in recent years and during the current championship we have seen’. Asked about the campaign, Verstappen told Sky Sports it was: ‘Good that they’re raising awareness not only in our sport but lots of different sports.’

‘I arrived Tuesday evening and honestly the reception I’ve got has been great, very nice. People always have questions about it but for me I’m here to do my job and so far the welcome I’ve got has been amazing and has always been amazing. Hopefully it will stay like that for everyone and that is why they’re trying to promote that. It’s not only about here, it’s in general in the sport right now.’

‘Have more respect for all the drivers’;

https://metro.co.uk/2023/10/26/f1-ma...o=newsnow-feed


There’s no place like home but the pressure’s on for Sergio Perez in Mexico
Thursday 26 Oct 2023 7:33 pm
Adam Hay-Nicholls
Metro.co.uk

It’s difficult to ascertain how much pressure Sergio Perez is under on the eve of his home grand prix. The Mexican has, clearly, underperformed in a Red Bull that is by far and away the best car this season, and one of the most dominant – in Max Verstappen’s hands, at least – of all time. But Red Bull insist he’ll still be driving for them next year.

If ever there was a time to change the narrative it’s now. Perez would love nothing more than to finish the season on a high at home, and on to Sao Paulo, Las Vegas and Abu Dhabi with a spring in his step. But it’s all psychological. Whatever this barrier is, it’s been reinforced by Verstappen’s constant winning. Perez needs a clean weekend, no mistakes. He won’t want that 39-point buffer to Hamilton to shrink.

If he doesn’t hang on to second in the championship, some have questioned whether his contract with Red Bull will be honoured for next year. Christian Horner has gone out of his way not to be too critical of Checo’s performances, in public at least, and has moved to dispel some of that pressure.

‘There’s no place like home’;

https://metro.co.uk/2023/10/26/sergi...o=newsnow-feed

Perez sets sights on achieving his 'biggest dream' of winning his home race in Mexico.
Sergio Perez has set his sights on having the “perfect weekend” as he looks to achieve his “biggest dream” of lifting the first place trophy in front of his home crowd at the Mexico City Grand Prix.
26 October 2023
Formula One - Official Site

Perez is set to race at home for the eighth time in his career, and he has finished inside the top-10 at all but one of those events – in 2018 when he was forced to retire with a brake issue. His record at his home race since joining Red Bull in 2021 makes for even better reading, as he has finished third at the last two events.

When asked if he had dreamt about winning in front of the Foro Sol, Perez said: “It would be insane. “That's obviously... that [would] be my biggest dream, to achieve that this weekend. Now [it is] full focus on tomorrow, the practice, and [to] try to get a perfect weekend here.”

To get that win Perez will be hoping to recapture the sort of form he showed when he last won a race – which was at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in April. The Mexican showed good pace in Austin last time out, where he placed fifth on the road before gaining a place after Lewis Hamilton was disqualified.

'Biggest dream: “It would be insane”!’

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...JpTZBkxxc.html


Max Verstappen discusses Sergio Perez relationship ahead of Mexico City GP
Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez's relationship will be under the spotlight in Mexico City
October 27, 2023
By Roman Brock
Total Motorsport

Max Verstappen has played down talk of a rivalry between himself and Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez ahead of the 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix. The Dutchman and the Mexican are the top two drivers in the Formula 1 driver standings but it is the former who has won the world championship at a canter this year.

“That’s made up,” said Verstappen to the press in Mexico on a rivalry between the two. “Checo and I get on really well and I mean, for us, I don’t think there is any rivalry. Obviously as a driver on track you always want to be first but I think we have a lot of respect for each other and we appreciate each other’s performances.”

To pre-empt hostility, #RacePect has been plastered around the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in a bid to try and quell some of what could be directed to Verstappen, whilst he has been quick to play down any idea that there is a bad relationship between himself and his team-mate.

‘Quell and play down’;

https://www.total-motorsport.com/f1-...exico-city-gp/


High altitude AND high drama! Will we finally see a good Mexico City GP?
There's just four races to go in the 2023 F1 season, starting with the Mexico City GP
October 27, 2023
By Adam Dickinson
Total Motorsport

Formula 1 arrives in Mexico City on a high after a scintillating 2023 United States GP, though mercifully for teams it’s a standard three-practice weekend this time. In the middle of an Americas triple-header with Interlagos coming up next, the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez at least always plays host to some of the most passionate fans in F1.

Can Checo Perez perform? “It’s very different,” Perez told the media. “It’s the weekend you want to be perfect, the weekend that you want to maximise your result. And if there’s one particular grand prix that you want to win it’s your home grand prix.”

“Once I’m in the car, it’s a lot easier. It’s very easy, it comes naturally, but when you are out of the car or even in the paddock, the attention is very different, a lot of flies on you and a lot of support from the crowd.”

‘High altitude AND high drama!’;

https://www.total-motorsport.com/f1-...exico-city-gp/


Aston Martin spark Mexico GP intrigue with unique rear wing configuration
27 Oct 2023 9:45 AM
Uros Radovanovic
PlanetF1.com

After perhaps the most exciting race of the season in Texas, we’re heading straight to Mexico for one of the more unique challenges on the calendar. This high-altitude track can pose serious challenges to the teams. So, let’s take a closer look at the cars and see who could potentially benefit the most from this track.

The burning question is which of the leading teams will benefit the most from this unique track set-up? First and foremost, teams like Mercedes and Aston Martin, which introduced significant upgrades last week, should be noted.

An interesting note is that Aston Martin is the only team this weekend without a gurney flap on the rear wing. This aero element is placed on the trailing edge of the rear wing, preventing airflow separation on the wing’s underside. This increases downforce, which is crucial in Mexico.

‘Aston Martin spark Mexico GP intrigue’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/aston-...-configuration


Ferrari’s unwell F1 drivers in Mexico
14:15, 27th October 2023.
by Andrew Maitland
Grandpx.news

Ferrari is navigating a tricky situation as both their drivers, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, grapple with health issues ahead of the Mexico Grand Prix. On media day at the circuit, Leclerc was noticeably alone, engaging with the press and attending PR events with only reserve driver Robert Shwartzman sometimes by his side.


Sainz, his usual race teammate, was conspicuously absent, confined to the hotel and “feeling unwell,” as stated by the Maranello-based team. Ferrari maintained a positive outlook, however, assuring that “nothing serious” was at play and expressing their expectation for Sainz to be back and ready for action the following day.

Leclerc, though present at the track, was not in peak condition himself. He revealed an ongoing battle with pain, a challenge he also faced during the US GP weekend. Initially suspecting an impacted wisdom tooth, Leclerc had to rely on painkillers to get through the events. Unfortunately, the issue persisted into the Mexico GP.

‘Ferrari’s unwell F1 drivers in Mexico’;

https://grandpx.news/ferraris-unwell...ers-in-mexico/


McLaren racing into F1 Mexico City Grand Prix on podium streak by Norris and Piastri
27th October 2023, 07:06
Associated Press

McLaren still likes to be coy about its expectations from week to week. Before the Texas race, Norris tried to downplay the team’s chances on a track he said would expose its weakness in slow speed corners. Norris had barely finished the U.S. Grand Prix when he was already suggesting McLaren could struggle in Mexico City and Brazil, the next race.

“I think our best chances (to win) are gone,” Norris said. “There’s no super high speed circuits left, which is where we are strong. I don’t think they are any good ones for us coming up. Think our best have come and gone.” Verstappen wasn’t buying it. “You are always quick (in Brazil),” Verstappen told Norris.

‘Podium streak by Norris and Piastri’;

https://apnews.com/article/norris-pi...ef96211c842a86

F1 Mexico GP: Verstappen pips Albon by 0.095s in FP1.
The Anglo-Thai driver split the Red Bulls, as Perez was approximately 0.3s behind Verstappen's headline time. This put him above Norris after the Briton's brief spell at the top.
27th October 2023, 20:42
AUTHORJake Boxall-Legge
Motorsport.com

Verstappen logged a 1m19.718s on softs, having dispatched Lando Norris from the top spot as the McLaren driver had been among the first of the frontrunners to switch to the red-walled tyre.

Norris had gone just 0.008s faster than Verstappen's medium-tyre effort of a 1m20.245s - but the Dutchman returned to the top on his first soft run.

Albon then set the best first sector as he offered Verstappen more than a token challenge and, although the Williams driver lost a sprinkling of time in the following two splits, he still sat within a tenth of his former team-mate.

‘Verstappen pips Albon’;

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/f...-fp1/10538804/


F1 Mexico City Grand Prix 2023 - Friday Practice Results
27 Oct 2023
Connor McDonagh
Crash.Net

2023 F1 Mexico City Grand Prix - Free Practice Results (1)
Pos Driver Nat. Team Time
1 Max Verstappen NED Oracle Red Bull Racing 1m19.718s
2 Alex Albon THA Williams Racing 1m19.813s
3 Sergio Perez MEX Oracle Bull Racing 1m20.015s
4 Lando Norris GBR McLaren F1 Team 1m20.237s
5 Charles Leclerc MON Scuderia Ferrari 1m20.297s
6 Oscar Piastri AUS McLaren F1 Team 1m20.463s
7 Carlos Sainz ESP Scuderia Ferrari 1m20.479s
8 Daniel Ricciardo AUS Scuderia AlphaTauri 1m20.568s
9 Esteban Ocon FRA BWT Alpine F1 Team 1m20.677s
10 Lance Stroll CAN Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team 1m20.687s

‘Results from Friday practice at the United States Grand Prix, Round 19 of the F1 2023 world championship’;

https://www.crash.net/f1/results/103...actice-results


AS IT HAPPENED: Follow all the action from first practice for the Mexico City Grand Prix
27 October 2023
Becky Hart.
Special Contributor.
Formula One - Official Site

‘AS IT HAPPENED’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...67G0iaYpo.html


F1 Mexico City Grand Prix 2023 - Friday Practice: LIVE UPDATES!
27th October 2023, 19:40
Reporting By: Connor McDonagh
Crash.Net

The Mexico City Grand Prix kicks off with two practice sessions on Friday. Follow all of the F1 action here with the Crash.net.

‘LIVE UPDATES!’;

https://www.crash.net/f1/live/f1-mex...e-live-updates


F1 Live - Mexico GP Free Practice 1 Watchalong | Live timings + Commentary
27 October 2023
Racing Statistics

F1 Live Mexico Grand Prix FP1 Watchalong | Mexican GP Live F1 Live Timings, Updates and Commentary of all F1 Sessions with Racing Statistics. Lets Watchalong!

‘Free Practice 1 Watchalong’;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HirXL79qIGA


Mexican GP practice one: Albon splits the Red Bulls
Oct 27, 2023
by Ben Anderson
The Race

Alex Albon came within a tenth of a second of beating Max Verstappen to the fastest time in first practice for Formula 1's Mexican Grand Prix, as Williams proved Red Bull’s closest challenger in the early running at the Mexico City circuit.

Key moments
• Verstappen fastest for Red Bull
• Albon beats Perez to second
• Three rookies make F1 debuts
•
There’s a good chance the Williams ran higher power settings on its Mercedes engine for this session compared to Red Bull’s Honda unit - something Williams often does on Fridays - but Albon’s pace was still impressive.

‘Mexican GP practice one’;

https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/m...the-red-bulls/

Mexico GP: Verstappen stays on top in Practice 2.
Max Verstappen completed a Friday sweep by leading Practice 2 at the Mexico City Grand Prix.
27 October 2023
Ben Issatt
Inside Racing

The reigning world champion was fastest in a very tight session at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, with less than a second covering the top 16 cars. Lando Norris was closest to the Red Bull driver, finishing just over a tenth behind in second for McLaren with Charles Leclerc taking third for Ferrari.

The start of the session saw Alex Albon maintain his strong pace from Practice 1, leading Verstappen by just 0.01s on the prototype C4 tyre. A nearby dark cloud threw some spots of rain to the final corner but didn't disrupt the early running. Max would switch to mediums for his second run and upped the pace with the fastest time of the weekend on a 1m19.5s, a tenth clear of Leclerc.

Oscar Piastri briefly displaced the Red Bull at the top after being among the first onto the soft compound, with Albon going second on the red-marked tyre. Fernando Alonso's tricky Friday continued with a high-speed spin on the kerb at Turn 9, destroying his soft tyre run in the Aston Martin.

‘Verstappen stays on top’;

https://www.insideracing.com/formula...-in-practice-2


(FP2) Second Practice Results – 2023 Mexican Grand Prix
28th October 2023
by Emer Hedderman
FormulaSpy

Results (Classification):
1. Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing -1:18.686
2. Lando Norris McLaren +0.119
3. Charles Leclerc Scuderia Ferrari +0.266
4. Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo +0.269
5. Sergio Perez Red Bull Racing +0.302
6. Daniel Ricciardo AlphaTauri +0.316
7. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes +0.338
8. Esteban Ocon Alpine +0.391
9. Oscar Piastri McLaren +0.477
10. George Russell Mercedes +0.541

‘Mexican Grand Prix – Here are the complete results from the second practice session ahead of this weekend’s 2023 F1 World Championship race in Mexico City’;

https://formulaspy.com/f1/fp2-second...and-prix-83384


AS IT HAPPENED: Follow all the action from second practice for the Mexico City Grand Prix
27 October 2023
Becky Hart
Special Contributor.
Formula One - Official Site

‘AS IT HAPPENED’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...Y4keDfo0W.html


F1 Mexico City Grand Prix 2023 - Friday Practice: As it happened
28thOctober 2023, 00:14
Reporting By: Connor McDonagh
Crash.Net

The Mexico City Grand Prix kicks off with two practice sessions on Friday. Follow all of the F1 action here with the Crash.net.

‘As it happened’;

https://www.crash.net/f1/live/f1-mex...ce-it-happened


F1 Live - Mexico GP Free Practice 2 Watchalong | Live timings + Commentary
27 October 2023
Racing Statistics

F1 Live Mexico Grand Prix FP1 Watchalong | Mexican GP Live F1 Live Timings, Updates and Commentary of all F1 Sessions with Racing Statistics. Lets Watchalong!

‘Free Practice 2 Watchalong’;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LpseNffLO8


Mexico City GP weekend going ‘better than I expected’ – Verstappen
28 Oct 2023
Formula One - Official Site (Video)

Max Verstappen said he’d had “a positive start to the weekend” after going P1 in both FP1 and FP2 at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

‘Better than I expected’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/v...852225585.html


Alonso says Aston Martin will ‘see where we are tomorrow’ after working on race pace on Friday
28 Oct 2023
Formula One - Official Site (Video)

Fernando Alonso was at the bottom of the time sheets after second practice in Mexico, but said after the session he was concentrating on high-fuel long-run performance, so it was not a true reflection of his pace.

‘See where we are tomorrow’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/v...507211246.html

Leclerc: Ferrari unlikely to repeat US shock in Mexican GP.
Charles Leclerc believes it will be a "huge surprise" if Ferrari can challenge for pole position at the Mexico City Grand Prix.
28 October 8:45AM
Author Rory Mitchell
RacingNews365

The Monogasque was third quickest and 0.266s slower than the best time set by Max Verstappen in the opening day's running at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez with Lando Norris separating the two, with Leclerc coming off a surprise pole position last time out in the United States.

While it was a reasonable day for his side of the Ferrari garage, Leclerc, who was disqualified from sixth place in Austin due to excessive plan wear, feels the SF-23 package is just not quick enough to be challenging at the top come the sharp end of qualifying.

Leclerc: We've got work to do: When asked about his chances of taking back-to-back poles for the first time this season, Leclerc conceded to F1TV that: "It will be a huge surprise if we achieve pole position, but never say never. "It's a tricky track, it's very difficult to put the lap together, but I feel like this weekend we are a bit too far away. We've still got a lot of work to do.”

‘SF-23 package is just not quick enough’;

https://racingnews365.com/leclerc-ma...rget-in-mexico


Ferrari boss admits Mexico struggles after tough Friday running
Saturday 28 October 2023 02:12
Shay Rogers
GPFans

Fred Vasseur has revealed that Ferrari struggled to come to terms with conditions during Friday’s running for the Mexican Grand Prix and have work to do to improve across the rest of the weekend. Despite their struggles, Vasseur believes that teams up and down the pitlane are struggling to cope with the conditions of the Mexican altitude.

“We are all struggling to find the right feeling this weekend,” he told Sky Sport Italia. “We will have a better look tomorrow. We’re very focused on cooling down the engine and the tyres, and we will work on that tomorrow to be ready for the race.”

“We are all struggling”;

https://www.gpfans.com/en/f1-news/10...an-grand-prix/


Norris regrets showing McLaren's Mexican GP pace 'too early'
28 October 9:25AM
Author Rory Mitchell
RacingNews365

Lando Norris felt his quickest effort during practice for the Mexico City Grand Prix was "too quick" for so early in the weekend as he nipped at Max Verstappen's heels.

"Many drivers were within three-tenths, but I think it was a good Friday and good start to the weekend," Norris told F1 TV with the top eight drivers down to Esteban Ocon close behind Verstappen.

"Things could swing very quickly either way. I did a very good lap, maybe it was too good for this early in the weekend, but we'll continue to try and improve.”

"Too quick", 'Too early'’;

https://racingnews365.com/norris-sho...rly-in-weekend


McLaren challenge Red Bull for top spot in rain-hit Mexican Grand Prix practice
Saturday 28 October 2023 01:06
Sam Cook
GPFans

Max Verstappen once again topped practice at the Mexican Grand Prix, building on his FP1 performance by taking first place in a rain-affected FP2.

He finished 0.119 seconds ahead of second-place Lando Norris, with McLaren providing yet more evidence that they now have a car that's capable of challenging for the front row at most races.

‘McLaren challenge’;

https://www.gpfans.com/en/f1-news/10...actice-report/


Sergio Perez and George Russell in agreement as F1 praised for popular new change
Sergio Perez and George Russell have backed up each other's opinions over the latest changes from F1.
07:00, Sat, Oct 28, 2023
By Harry Smith
Daily and Sunday Express

The Mexican GP is always one of the most anticipated events on the F1 calendar thanks to the passion of the home crowd, but that love for the sport has often led to one of the most hectic paddocks of the season with drivers struggling to make their way past swathes of adoring fans to get to team meetings and media duties. Therefore, the decision was made this year to have a quieter paddock. This is something that many drivers have been calling for at different races throughout the season with Alpine’s Pierre Gasly particularly vocal about the increasing difficulty drivers are facing throughout race weekends.

Perez was asked about the changes to the paddock…“We have to make sure that the drivers are comfortably going around the paddock, and I think that that should be a nice balance. And I just want everyone to have a great time in my country and I think that's something that went over the limit last year, that hopefully this year can be improved. Because overall it's in my opinion the best reception for all the drivers in the world."

These opinions were backed up by Mercedes’ Russell, who insisted that he loves to see as many fans as possible in the paddock but admitted that changes were probably needed. "I think for me, the more the merrier is great," the 25-year-old said. "But at the end of the day, we're all here to do a job, and last year, we were struggling just to get from our engineers' office to the garage without people jumping on us and sticking cameras right in our faces.”

‘Sergio Perez and George Russell in agreement’;

https://www.express.co.uk/sport/f1-a...ell-FIA-change


Hamilton bemoans 'night and day' difference in Mercedes
28 October 3:24AM
Author Jake Nichol
RacingNews365

Lewis Hamilton bemoaned the difference in how his Mercedes performed after practice ahead of the Mexico City Grand Prix compared to last weekend in the United States.

"The car is completely night and day different compared to last week, and I just don't know what to say. You never know what you're going to get with the car.”

"Some days she is great, and some days she is not. It is hard to extract the lap, but I think there is definitely performance there - so it is just trying to extract it.”

"Some days she is great”;

https://racingnews365.com/hamilton-b...ce-in-mercedes


Ricciardo: I’ve a top-10 quali car for Mexico City GP
Saturday 28th October, 2023 - 11:29am
By Ian Parkes
Speedcafe

Daniel Ricciardo was left beaming following Friday practice for the Mexico City Grand Prix and expressing confidence of a top-10 place in qualifying.

“I’m definitely confident,” said Ricciardo. “I can’t stand here and predict where I will be because who knows in quali and what other teams might do with fuel or engines.”

“But I know what I felt in the car was good, and I believe that is a top-10 car tomorrow. A top-six car would be nice. I will try to keep that going.”

‘Daniel Ricciardo was left beaming’;

https://www.speedcafe.com/2023/10/28...city-gp-quali/

Red Bull’s rivals have time to find – but Perez is closer to Verstappen than it seems.
“We didn’t have a straightforward day,” Perez admitted after he had been safely ferried from the Red Bull garage and through the packed paddock to the media pen.
28th October 2023, 12:2428th October 2023, 12:25
Written by Will Wood
RaceFans

Verstappen finished day one of the Mexican weekend in perfect form. His best time of a 1’18.686 was ultimately four places and three tenths faster than his Red Bull team mate’s personal best – about par for the course for Perez over the period following the summer break. But while the timing screen suggested that there was another small but significant gulf in performance between the two Red Bull drivers, Perez at least could offer a plausible excuse this time by.

“We didn’t get a good read on the softs over a single lap. I had a yellow flag on my lap, so I ended up doing it on the second timed lap. So plenty of things to understand.” Data shows that Perez was far closer to Verstappen’s best time of the day on his first push lap on softs – just 0.072s off from his team mate through the first half of the lap until having to back for yellow flags at turn eight.

Although it’s impossible to know what time he would have eventually posted after completing the lap, it does suggest that at this early stage of the weekend, Perez may not be as far off his team mate as the timing screen suggests.

‘Perez is closer’;

https://www.racefans.net/2023/10/28/...than-it-seems/


Red Bull address reliability concern ahead of 2023 Mexico City GP
Red Bull have won the Mexico City GP four times since 2017
October 28, 2023
By Brandon Sutton
TotalMotorsport.com

Red Bull have introduced an updated cooling louvre to their RB19 ahead of the 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix, as the team aims to solve a reliability concern by combatting the high-altitude of the track. The Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez is situated 2238m above sea-level meaning that the air is much thinner at that altitude. Whilst the benefit is a reduction of drag due to less air resistance, increasing straight-line speed, it does comes with a penalty elsewhere.

The trade-off is that there isn’t as much air to keep the cars cooler and with Formula 1 cars notoriously prone to overheating there can be issues with the power unit or brakes, issues capable of leading to retirement from the 71-lap race. The world champions bid to solve the conundrum by enlarging the forward exit louvres on the right side of their car, with the goal of achieving their desired level of cooling in the lower atmospheric pressure of the Mexican capital.

Red Bull, as part of modern F1 regulations, are mandated to publicly state updates and upgrades brought to any race weekend and this track-specific change is the only one they have brought. The requirement is part of an open-knowledge initiative aiming to help the slower teams find ideas to close up the field spread and thus create closer and more competitive racing.

‘Reliability concern’;

https://www.total-motorsport.com/f1-...exico-city-gp/


Norris emerges as Red Bull’s closest rival in Mexico Practice
October 28, 2023
By: Jaden Diaz-Ndisang
Last Word On Sports

Lando Norris proved competitive for McLaren on the first day of Mexico practice, keeping company with Red Bull and Max Verstappen.

Max Verstappen was fastest across in both sessions, wasting no time in the RB19. Red Bull will be favourites all weekend, but they are accompanied by McLaren. Specifically, the #4 machine of Lando Norris has shown strong pace in Mexico. McLaren has been consistently fast since the Austrian GP, often contending for podium finishes. This weekend should be no different.

‘Red Bull’s closest rival’;

https://lastwordonsports.com/motorsp...xico-practice/


Williams mystified by Albon P2 placing in Mexico FP1
28th October 2023, 14:10
by Taylor Powling
Motorsport Week

Williams Head of Vehicle Performance Dave Robson admits it was “quite a big surprise” when Alex Albon wound up second in FP1 at the Mexico City Grand Prix. Asked if Albon’s FP1 effort provided an unexpected shock to the team, Robson said: “Yes, quite a big surprise, if I’m honest. We still don’t fully understand why.”

“I think it’s quite clear that Alex was very confident and happy in the car, right from the first lap, which makes a big difference. But obviously, the debrief is going on now. I’m not exactly sure whether they’re able to pick it apart. But yeah, it’s definitely a surprise. A nice way to start the weekend but a bit of a surprise.”

‘Williams mystified’;

https://www.motorsportweek.com/2023/...in-mexico-fp1/


Guenther Steiner shares Mexican Grand Prix concerns after Friday practice
28 Oct 2023 1:15 PM
Michelle Foster
PlanetF1.com

Guenther Steiner is worried Haas could be in for a difficult Mexican Grand Prix weekend as their VF-23 package is “just not enough” for the high altitude of Mexico City. Having put a B-spec car on the track at the previous race in Austin, Haas’ upgraded VF-23 is still in its infancy with Kevin Magnussen calling it the “early version” of next year’s car.

Steiner is worried Haas’ high downforce package just isn’t enough to deal with the challenges of the circuit. “It looks like our heaviest downforce package is just not enough for here, we’ve struggled in the slower sectors because of the thin air at this altitude,” said the Italian. “It’s one of these things. We’ll work on it for next year so that our high downforce package works here as well.”

‘Guenther Steiner: “It’s one of these things”!’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/guenth...mexico-demands


Leclerc: ‘Huge surprise’ if Ferrari challenge for Mexico GP pole
28th October 2023, 13:19
by Sam Tomlinson
Motorsport Week

There is little optimism for Ferrari’s Mexico City Grand Prix weekend as Charles Leclerc warns it will be a ‘huge surprise’ to see a scarlet car challenge for pole on Saturday. Leclerc enters the Mexico race weekend off the back of a pole position in Austin, but the Monegasque is doubtful over the possibility of repeating last weekend’s qualifying result.

“We still have a lot of work to do because the McLaren seems to be extremely strong, obviously the Red Bull and Max seem to be very very strong,” the 21-time polesitter said. “Mercedes are a bit more difficult to read into for now but focusing on ourselves, we know what are the areas we need to work on and hopefully that will help us take a step forward tomorrow.”

‘Little optimism for Ferrari’;

https://www.motorsportweek.com/2023/...exico-gp-pole/

F1- Verstappen continues to set the pace in final practice for Mexico City Grand Prix ahead of Albon, Pérez.
Max Verstappen made it a clean sweep of practice sessions at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, topping final practice for the Mexico City Grand Prix ahead of Williams’ Alex Albon and Red Bull team-mate Sergio Pérez.
28.10.23
FIA (Press Release)

The three-time champion was biding his time, however, and when he went out for a final run he returned to the top of the order. It was not by much, though. Quickest in the opening sector, the Dutchman lost time in S2 and crossed the line just 0.070s ahead of Albon. The Dutchman was quickly on the radio to report that he had encountered significant traffic during his lap.

Pérez took third just 0.139s behind Verstappen, followed by Russell, McLaren's Oscar Piastri, the Alfa Romeo of Valtteri Bottas and the AlphaTauri of Yuki Tsunoda. Lando Norris was eighth for McLaren, ahead of Ricciardo and the top 10 was rounded out by Hamilton. The shape of the top 10 might have been different had either Ferrari driver managed a clean lap on Softs at the end of the session with Leclerc and Sainz ending up 13th and 15th respectively.

Sainz was also involved in an incident in which he appeared to be blocked by the slow Aston Martin of Lance Stroll while on a push lap. The Spaniard had to break hard to avoid the Canadian, spinning as a result.

‘Max Verstappen made it a clean sweep of practice sessions’;

https://www.fia.com/news/f1-verstapp...ad-albon-perez


(FP3) Third Practice Results – 2023 Mexican Grand Prix
28th October 2023
by Emer Hedderman
FormulaSpy

Results (Classification):
1. Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing -1:17.887
2. Alex Albon Williams Racing +0.070
3. Sergio Perez Red Bull Racing +0.139
4. George Russell Mercedes +0.361
5. Oscar Piastri McLaren +0.505
6. Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo +0.550
7. Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri +0.563
8. Lando Norris McLaren +0.593
9. Daniel Ricciardo AlphaTauri +0.612
10. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes +0.635

‘Mexican Grand Prix – Here are the complete results from the final practice session ahead of this weekend’s 2023 F1 World Championship race in Mexico City’;

https://formulaspy.com/f1/fp3-third-...and-prix-83393


AS IT HAPPENED: Follow all the action from third practice for the Mexico City Grand Prix
28 October 2023
Becky Hart
Special Contributor.

‘AS IT HAPPENED’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...QL4CXxPyh.html


F1 Mexico City Grand Prix 2023 - Final Practice: LIVE UPDATES
28 October 2023, 18:13
Reporting By: Connor McDonagh
Crash.Net

‘Final Practice: LIVE UPDATES’;

https://www.crash.net/f1/live/f1-mex...g-live-updates


F1 Live - Mexico GP Free Practice 3 Watchalong | Live timings + Commentary
28 October 2023
Racing Statistics

F1 Live Mexico Grand Prix FP3 Watchalong | Mexican GP Live F1 Live Timings, Updates and Commentary of all F1 Sessions with Racing Statistics. Lets Watchalong!

‘Free Practice 3 Watchalong’;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0XyEdirjSM


Albon right with Verstappen again in final Mexican GP practice
Oct 28, 2023
by Scott Mitchell-Malm
The Race

Alex Albon split the two Red Bulls in the final practice session for Formula 1’s Mexican Grand Prix to raise hopes of a mighty Williams surprise in qualifying.
KEY MOMENTS
• Verstappen fastest, 0.1s covers the top three
• Starring Albon second-quickest
• Both Ferraris outside the top 10

The top three drivers were covered by just over a tenth of a second at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, with Max Verstappen quickest ahead of Albon and Sergio Perez.

‘Albon right with Verstappen again’;

https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/a...n-gp-practice/


Verstappen pips surprise challenger in FP3 at Mexican Grand Prix
Saturday 28 October 2023 20:54
Shay Rogers
GPFans

Max Verstappen lead his third consecutive practice session at a hot Mexican Grand Prix, ahead of Williams’ Alex Albon in second and home favourite Sergio Perez in third. George Russell had a solid session for Mercedes in fourth, with Oscar Piastri and Valterri Bottas behind in fifth and sixth.

Red Bull tried to spoil everyone’s party as they have so often this season, but Verstappen failed to crack Russell’s lap with his first attempt, despite setting his time on a slightly more rubbered in track. Eventually the Dutchman found his way past and into first place, with Perez lifting himself up the order to leave Red Bull handily placed in first and third halfway through the session.

‘Verstappen pips surprise challenger’;

https://www.gpfans.com/en/f1-news/10...rand-prix-fp3/


Williams admits their Mexican Grand Prix pace is “a big surprise”
Formula 1
Posted on
28th October 2023, 20:02
Written by Keith Collantine
RaceFans

Williams admitted their competitive start to the Mexican Grand Prix weekend has taken them by surprise. Alexander Albon was second-quickest behind Max Verstappen in the opening practice session, a position he repeated in the final hour of running ahead of qualifying on Saturday. The team’s head of vehicle performance Dave Robson said after the first practice Albon’s pace had been “quite a big surprise, if I’m honest.”

“This car obviously has had a reasonable amount of input from Alex over the last couple of years,” he said. “So I think the car is better than it has been in recent years. It still has issues, for sure [but] I think the car for whatever reason was just good straight out of the box, so the set-up work that Alex had done on the simulator clearly helped.”

“He has a good understanding when the car is working well, or when it’s not working in some corners but well in others, he’s quite capable of adapting to that without getting too frustrated,” Robson added. “So he is very good at making the most of what we’re able to give him and in the background that continual sort of medium-term development of the car is going on and he’s leading that and so as we bring the improved parts to the car, if it delivers what he has asked for, then inevitably he finds the lap time.”

“A big surprise”;

https://www.racefans.net/2023/10/28/...-big-surprise/


Stroll causes chaos as F1 rival rages at him ruining flying lap
Saturday 28 October 2023 21:17
Sam Cook
GPFans

Lance Stroll has avoided a penalty after impeding Ferrari's Carlos Sainz during FP3 at the Mexican Grand Prix. Sainz rages at Stroll. The Spaniard wasn't the only Ferrari driver who was left feeling aggrieved during the session.

Charles Leclerc also felt he was impeded, by Haas' Kevin Magnussen who admitted over his team radio that he hadn't seen the Monagasque driver, attempting to blame his engineer for not letting him know he was there…

‘Chaos’;

https://www.gpfans.com/en/f1-news/10...ctice-penalty/

Leclerc pole, Ferrari 1-2 and Norris shock elimination in astonishing Mexico City GP.
Charles Leclerc led a shocking Ferrari front-row lockout in a tumultuous, helter-skelter qualifying for the 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix with Max Verstappen third but facing a grid penalty along with both Mercedes.
October 28, 2023
By Adam Dickinson
Total Motorsport

Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell are all under investigation after qualifying for the 2023 Mexico City GP. Ferrari were 1-2 after their first runs after seeming nowhere in the weekend up until Q3, and no one could improve to depose them on their final runs.

Once the dust settled at the chequered flag in Q3 though, it was Ferrari celebrating a stunning second successive pole position. Daniel Ricciardo made Q3 for the first time since the 2022 Abu Dhabi GP, and will start at least fourth which would’ve been a much bigger talking point at almost any other qualifying session of the year, and Sergio Perez is fifth.

Mercedes had looked like the most likely challengers to Red Bull for pole position and Hamilton topped Q2, but neither driver could challenge at the death and they’ll start sixth and eighth led by the seven-time champion. They were split by Oscar Piastri, while the Alfa Romeos completed the top 10.

‘Leclerc pole, Ferrari 1-2’;

https://www.total-motorsport.com/f1-...exico-city-gp/


Qualifying Results – 2023 Mexican Grand Prix
28th October 2023
by Emer Hedderman
FormulaSpy

Results (Classification):
Q3
1. Charles Leclerc Scuderia Ferrari -1:17.166
2. Carlos Sainz Scuderia Ferrari +0.067
3. Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing +0.097
4. Daniel Ricciardo AlphaTauri +0.216
5. Sergio Perez Red Bull Racing +0.257
6. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes +0.288
7. Oscar Piastri McLaren +0.457
8. George Russell Mercedes +0.508
9. Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo +0.866
10. Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo +0.884

‘Mexican Grand Prix – Here are the complete results from qualifying for tomorrow’s 2023 F1 World Championship race at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez’;

https://formulaspy.com/f1/qualifying...and-prix-83405


LIVE COVERAGE: Follow all the action from qualifying for the Mexico City Grand Prix
28 October 2023
Becky Hart
Special Contributor.
Formula One - Official Site

‘As it happened’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...ZCTHV8Ubw.html


F1 Live - Mexico GP Qualifying Watchalong | Live timings + Commentary
28 October 2023
Racing Statistics

F1 Live Mexico Grand Prix Quali Watchalong | Mexican GP Live F1 Live Timings, Updates and Commentary of all F1 Sessions with Racing Statistics. Lets Watchalong!

‘Qualifying Watchalong’;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5f6i4bVdwKA


Norris suffers shock Mexican GP qualifying elimination
28 October 11:29PM
Author Rory Mitchell
RacingNews365

Lando Norris suffered a shock exit from Mexico City Grand Prix qualifying, after he elected to abort his fastest lap in Q1. Both McLarens were in the drop zone during the dying moments of the session, with Oscar Piastri managing to improve his time to second quickest.

While Norris was on his final lap, Fernando Alonso spun and continued at Turn 4, causing a brief yellow flag in the area. This prompted Norris to abort his lap time, causing him to get knocked out of the session early after the gamble by the team for the first runs on Medium tyres backfired forcing the late switch to Softs that ultimately failed.

‘Lando Norris suffered a shock exit’;

https://racingnews365.com/norris-suf...gp-elimination


Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen face Mexico GP penalties as F1 stewards investigate
Lewis Hamilton, his Mercedes team-mate George Russell and Red Bull rival Max Verstappen were among several drivers under the F1 stewards' microscope for their actions during Mexico GP qualifying
28 October 2023, 22:45
By Daniel Moxon Senior F1 Writer
The Mirror

Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen are under investigation for potential rule-breaking in Mexican Grand Prix qualifying. And several other drivers are also under the microscope after a farcical start to the session. Q1 was marred by several incidents as traffic played a major role in the first part of qualifying on a relatively short track.

Logan Sargeant is another driver potentially facing a penalty after the session as the American is probed for both failing to slow under the yellow flags and is also accused of overtaking while they were flying.

Yuki Tsunoda is also involved in that probe as he was the one who was passed by the Williams driver. But Sargeant was the slowest qualifier anyway with only Tsunoda set to be behind him on the grid after accepting penalties for taking new engine components.

‘F1 stewards investigate’;

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/formu...appen-31306285

Leclerc and Sainz ambush Verstappen in Mexico quali.
Charles Leclerc will start tomorrow's Mexican Grand Prix from pole position, with Carlos Sainz completing a Ferrari front row lock-out in qualifying in Mexico City leaving Max Verstappen in P3.
28/10/2023 at 23:11
Andrew Lewin
F1i.com

The surprise of the session was AlphaTauri's Daniel Ricciardo clinching fourth on the grid ahead of Sergio Perez, with Lewis Hamilton only able to claim P6 from Oscar Piastri and George Russell. The Mexican fans cheered Perez setting the first lap of Q3 with a time of 1:17.788s, but it proved half a second slower once again compared to Verstappen. An impressive Ricciardo then flew to second before Ferrari sprang a surprise from out of nowhere by going P1 and P2 for Leclerc and Sainz respectively.

The Mercedes cars of Russell and Hamilton took provisional spots on the third row ahead of Perez and Piastri, with the Alfa pair at the bottom. The final order was confirmed by one final push: Leclerc, Sainz, Verstappen and Ricciardo could wring no more pace out of their cars, but Piastri dug deep for sixth. Hamilton found enough to move back ahead of the McLaren but Russell was left in eighth ahead of the two Alfas.

But crucially, no one had been able to catch the two Ferraris with Leclerc confirmed on pole and Sainz completing a 1-2 lock-out for the Scuderia. A spin for Fernando Alonso at the end of Q1 triggered yellow flags affecting several drivers, with Lando Norris a conspicuous casualty as the McLaren ended up P19 after failing to complete a fully representative time.

‘Leclerc and Sainz ambush Verstappen’;

https://f1i.com/news/491649-leclerc-...ico-quali.html


HEAD-TO-HEAD: How Leclerc edged ahead of Sainz to take pole for the 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix
29 Oct 2023
Formula One - Official Site (Video)

Watch to see how Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and team mate Carlos Sainz compared in qualifying at the 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix.

‘HEAD-TO-HEAD’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/v...765201382.html


Ferrari drivers react to surprise front-row lockout after huge pace jump
28 Oct 2023 11:53 PM
Oliver Harden
PlanetF1.com

Carlos Sainz has admitted he is “struggling to understand” Ferrari’s performance leap after sealing a front-low lockout in qualifying for the Mexican Grand Prix. Despite setting pole position for last weekend’s United States GP, Ferrari were largely quiet throughout practice at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

Sainz was left bemused by Ferrari’s sudden improvement, admitting he has struggled for rhythm on the low-grip track all weekend until Q3. He said: “It was a very strange one. Honestly, the whole weekend I’ve struggled to put a lap together. The first lap that I put together was in Q3, the first run.”

“Suddenly I was P1 at the time, Charles beat me by half a tenth. But I just struggle to understand where suddenly we can find half a second and then go half a second slower on the next lap.
“It’s very tricky with the tyres, the feeling with the car is very strange around this circuit, but we managed to do a good lap when it counted and it puts us in a good position for tomorrow.”

‘Ferrari drivers react to surprise front-row lockout’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/carlos...rari-pace-jump


Why Verstappen, Mercedes duo and Alonso avoided Mexico penalties
Oct 29, 2023
by Josh Suttill
The Race

Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton, George Russell and Fernando Alonso have all escaped punishment for the incidents that earned them summons to the stewards after Mexican Grand Prix qualifying.

Verstappen, Russell and Alonso were investigated for impeding in the pitlane, when all three cars were seen to have slowed to a crawling pace at the pit exit in Q1 with a large gaggle of cars behind them.

But the officials effectively expressed sympathy for the drivers' need to create gaps in the qualifying traffic and agreed that - while discouraged by the wording of the regulations - doing so in the pit exit was preferable to slowing on circuit.

‘Mexican penalties avoided’;

https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/v...rix-penalties/


Ricciardo adamant stunning Mexican qualifying ‘no fluke’
Sunday 29th October, 2023 - 10:44am
By Ian Parkes
Speedcafe

Daniel Ricciardo is adamant his stunning fourth place on the grid for the Mexico City GP in his AlphaTauri was “no fluke”. “From lap one yesterday I felt good, and really all weekend I felt we had a car to figure well inside the top 10,” said Ricciardo.

“This morning (in final practice), we were still there – P9 – but honestly, I was not happy with my lap this morning. I knew we could show more than that. You never know in quali because obviously everyone turns it up but I was confident in myself that I could definitely get some more tenths out of the car.”

“In Q1 and Q2, Yuki was great, gave me a tow just to obviously make sure we got into Q3, but then in Q3, I didn’t have a tow and we still showed really good pace. So I think that’s probably the coolest thing about today, that it wasn’t ‘Oh, okay, they did it, but he gained a couple of tenths from a tow’.”

‘No fluke’;

https://www.speedcafe.com/2023/10/29...ying-no-fluke/


Sergio Perez warned more Mexico GP embarrassment could come after Daniel Ricciardo blow.
In front of his adoring home crowd at the Mexican Grand Prix, Sergio Perez could only go fifth fastest in qualifying while Daniel Ricciardo outperformed him in the slower AlphaTauri sister car
29th October 2023, 01:59.
By Daniel Moxon Senior F1 Writer
The Mirror

Daniel Ricciardo thinks he can deliver "a big bag of points" in the Mexican Grand Prix and is adamant his qualifying result was no fluke. In a Saturday session full of surprises, the Aussie's result was a contender to be the biggest of them all. Out of nowhere, Ricciardo put his AlphaTauri car on the second row with a lap quick enough for fourth place.

It meant he got the better of Sergio Perez, who could only manage to go fifth fastest despite having the support of the crowd and the quicker Red Bull car. And that did not go unnoticed by F1 fans on social media. Speaking to reporters after the session, Ricciardo insisted the result was no fluke and could not hide his excitement over what might be possible in Sunday's race. "From lap one yesterday I felt good, and really all weekend I felt we had a car to figure well inside the top 10," he beamed.

“A big bag of points";

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/formu...perez-31306646


Self-critical Lando Norris returns after nightmare Mexican GP qualifying
28 Oct 2023 11:50 PM
Jamie Woodhouse
PlanetF1.com

Norris was asked by Sky F1 to explain how the events unfolded, having pitted to ditch the mediums for soft tyres. He said though that actually the “pace was good” and so why he was told to pit is a mystery, though he was not pointing the finger at his team, rather admitting that he should have done a better job.

“I got told to box for some reason,” he confirmed. “The pace was good. I don’t know, I got told to box so something obviously wasn’t right. But that wasn’t the problem, I just made some mistakes on my one lap that I had, obviously there was a yellow [flag] in the end from Fernando.”

“So yeah, that one opportunity, that one lap that I was given, I didn’t put together and I went off and that was it. We’ll speak about it after. I had one lap and I didn’t do it, so it’s on me.”

‘Nightmare’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/lando-...mexico-q1-exit