2021 - Race 18 Mexico

[F1nKS]

Race moves to Mexico for race 18. Suppose to be a Red Bull track - but it seems conventional wisdom can be thrown out because this is not a conventional season.

Since the break (w/expanded standings) the drivers ranks are:

Tier 1
1. Verstappen
2. Bottas
3. Hamilton
4. Ricciardo
Tier 2
5. Leclerc
6. Sainz
7. Perez/Norris
Tier 3
9. Alonso
10. Gasly/Stroll
12. Russell
13. Vettel
14. Ocon
15. Giovanzzi
Tier 4
16. Latifi
17. Riakkonen
18. Yuki
19. Schmacher
20. Mazepin

[Fortitude]

FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO DE LA CIUDAD DE MÉXICO 2021 - PRACTICE 1
05 07 Nov 2021 Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City

https://www.formula1.com/en/results....ractice-1.html


FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO DE LA CIUDAD DE MÉXICO 2021 - PRACTICE 2
05 07 Nov 2021 Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City

https://www.formula1.com/en/results....ractice-2.html

[F1nKS]

Perez topped FP3 today - which continues to fuel the media "Will RBR make Perez give up the win to Max?". If RBR is leading the race, it will be Max IMO. But it would be great if Perez can qualify 1 or 2 this weekend. He is becoming what RBR was hoping he would be this year.

It does seem that Mercedes and RBR are diverging on a strategy based on their tire usage so far this weekend. Maybe we will know more in qualifying.

Norris, Ocon and Yuki all are taking engine penalties.

[Bagwan]

Alright , cue the epic traffic jam .
Things are going to get stupid , and stewards are going to be busy .

[Zico]

Perez topped FP3 today - which continues to fuel the media "Will RBR make Perez give up the win to Max?". If RBR is leading the race, it will be Max IMO. But it would be great if Perez can qualify 1 or 2 this weekend. He is becoming what RBR was hoping he would be this year.

It does seem that Mercedes and RBR are diverging on a strategy based on their tire usage so far this weekend. Maybe we will know more in qualifying.

Norris, Ocon and Yuki all are taking engine penalties.

Of course they would. Perez isn't in contention for the championship so he has to. If he doesn't, he will be sacked the moment he steps out of the car. They would likely just do it by pit strategy though.

[F1nKS]

Mercedes shocks Red Bull with provisional pole and front row lock-out. RBR now on the back foot for the 2nd run.

[F1nKS]

Wow - underperformance by Red Bull. Gasly almost beat the bulls. Again - throw the books out on this season. This was supposed to be RBR track but Mercedes locks out the front row.

[Zico]

Wow - underperformance by Red Bull. Gasly almost beat the bulls. Again - throw the books out on this season. This was supposed to be RBR track but Mercedes locks out the front row.

Bit of a RB mess up.. but looks like Merc have also been sandbagging a bit lol.
Max allegedly happier with p3 than p2, will be an interesting start tomorrow for sure.

[F1nKS]

Bit of a RB mess up.. but looks like Merc have also been sandbagging a bit lol.
Max allegedly happier with p3 than p2, will be an interesting start tomorrow for sure.

Yeah, there is no real advantage between cars, it is all about individual performance and Bottas was on it today. Max never looked really comfortable during qualifying.

[Nitrodaze]

Heehah!

What a turn of events? I bet Baggie is jumping up and down saying l told you Mercedes is hiding something. Mercedes taking pole on a Redbull track suggests that this championship is going to the wire.

What a lap from Bottas? A Mercedes one-two suggests Redbull have got something to worry about. They have either messed up or Mercedes has finally got their gizmo working properly again. Whatever the case, Brazil is set to be just as challenging for Redbull as Mexico.

It is crunch time!!!

Can Verstappen win from 3rd on the grid? Hamilton did it, so can he. But easily said than done.