Grand Prix 2018 Mexico Grand Prix Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion

The Mexican grand prix is our next race and you lucky people have got me writing this one up. Good luck to all who carry on reading, you might need it ;)

F1 has long had a stop and start love affair with Mexico City but the Autrodromo Hermanos Circuit once again hosts this race. For those who don't already know, Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez was in part named after two brothers who tragically lost their lives there. Ricardo died shortly after the circuit opened in 1962 and sadly his brother Pedro also died whilst racing some nine years later in 1971 but in Germany. It is located in Magdalena Mixhuca Sports City which is in the south east of Mexico City and is a public park that has been used for other events such as a baseball, the park is also home to the Insomniacs Electric Festival or EDC Mexico, a popular music festival that attracts over 200,000 people.

The thin air in Mexico City can cause problems for both drivers and cars, the speed at which the cars can get up to on the main straight is 370 km/h or 230 mph in old money. It first appeared on the calendar in 1962 as a non championship race before becoming a championship race in 1963. It remained on the calendar until 1970, had a brief reinstatement from 1986 to 1992 before finally returning again in 2015 and has since run to date. During one of the breaks it was used for the Grand Prix Of Mexico Champ Car. Sebastien Bourdais the former Toro Rosso driver apparently won three of the six races held there from 2002 - 2007.

After some speculation in the years beforehand, this race returned to the calendar in 2015. It was probably helped by having two Mexican drivers at that time with Sergio 'Checo' Perez and Esteban Gutierrez. Whilst Gutierrez is now a mere memory Perez is still there plugging away at Racing Point Force India and will no doubt be the busiest man on the grid this race weekend. Perez has never done that well at his home race, he's certainly not made an appearance on the podium so far. Can he do better this year? Somehow I doubt it unless something extraordinary happens ahead of him. Checo has of course been confirmed at Racing Point Force India in 2019 most likely with Lance Stroll as his team mate. His current team mate Esteban Ocon could be doing a straight swap with Stroll by taking his former seat at Williams.

Since 2015 we've had three different winners here, Rosberg in 2015, Hamilton in 2016 and Verstappen in 2017, so will it be a fourth different driver on the top step in 2018? In 2017 your pole sitter was Vettel and the podium was as follows: 1st Verstappen, 2nd Bottas, 3rd Raikkonen.

With only this race and two more this year it’s so far been a season for Mercedes to savour and for Ferrari to wonder where it all went so wrong. A really good race in USA and a rare win by Kimi with Seb 4th and the title goes on to Mexico. Vettel has made some big mistakes, mostly borne out of his desperation to win for Ferrari it seems, whether the pressure on him is coming from himself or the team it’s hard to say, either way it’s not done his racing any good. He did well in Austin though, that pass at the end on Bottas was crucial in some ways. Vettel and Verstappen both have new team mates coming in 2019, I am wondering what, if any, effect that will have on them. I’d like to think it would be positive but who knows?

So it's hello or Hola! to Mexico, slap on your sombrero, let your feet get tapping to the rhythmn of the mariachi bands and let’s hope we all enjoy another good race.
 
Last edited:
I do not pretend to understand a person who feels comfortable to drive "that" fast

You get used to speed, it's not a very big deal, the exciting bits are the g forces in corners, it's being close to the limit, it's being faster than the other guys, I've never known a driver who was happy with the power of the car that he or she was driving, they all want more, it's never enough. Also please conside that the perspective that you have from the cockpit of a car is one thing and what you see from the outside is another one, from the outside things that look fairly standard from the cockpit can look scary, and by the same token from the outside it can be difficult to notice thing that look rather intense from the cockpit
 
Last edited:
You get used to speed, it's not a very big deal, the exciting bits are the g forces in corners, it's being close to the limit, it's being faster than the other guys, I've never known a driver who was happy with the power of the car that he or she was driving, they all want more, it's never enough. Also please conside that the perspective that you have from the cockpit of a car is one thing and what you see from the outside is another one, from the outside things that look fairly standard from the cockpit can look scary, and by the same token from the outside it can be difficult to notice thing that look rather intense from the cockpit
Thanks, nicely explained, and I think what personal comfort zone means. I've pushed my car on autobahn 200+ and rolled back almost immediately to my comfort zone, which is 140 or less. It is possible to push oneself, but I am sure there is a limit somewhere. Michael Schumacher in contrast goes twice as fast, while watching TV on sidelines. All good but guys aren't definitely psychopaths.
 
Apparently Mercedes ran with their vents in their wheels closed at Mexico, even though FIA had ruled them legal (and Ferrari is challenging it). I gather that was to be safe and secure the championship. It does explain their high tire wear and slower pace.

Wonder what they will do for the last two races of the season. I gather they can win the Team Championship by just getting 5th and 6th at the next two races.
 
ahhh, that clears that up. It's a bit of a pain trying to get them banned as a moveable aerodynamic device (which seems to still be code for anything Ferrari don't like), since the whole bloody car is a moveable aerodynamic device....

And these aren't for aero, they're for cooling/heat transfer optimisation which at least has some relevance to the real world....
 
Apparently Mercedes ran with their vents in their wheels closed at Mexico, even though FIA had ruled them legal (and Ferrari is challenging it).

If I remember correctly the FIA didn't rule those wheels legal instead they talked of "limited illegality" which is a new legal definition because either something is legal or it's not
 
If I remember correctly the FIA didn't rule those wheels legal instead they talked of "limited illegality" which is a new legal definition because either something is legal or it's not

Well, that makes things perfectly clear. ;)

Anyhow, I gather that Mercedes then is going to struggling with tire wear for the last two races of the season. Could we see Vettel take two wins at the end of the season?
 
Clay the 1st one that comes to mind is the obvious multi 21 when he defied a team order from the team boss & showed no remorse, if anything was smug as he thought he was bigger than the team.
It was the moment Vettel grew on me and in a recent interview Webber said Vettel is the ultimate competitor. In the Interview Webber was questioned on the differences between Vettel and Rosberg and said that Rosberg lacked the same fire and desire and also confidence. Malaysia 2013 was also the race in which Rosberg remained behind Hamilton because he was also told to follow his teammate across the line.
Rosberg didn’t have the same sense as Vettel of belonging at the top.

It’s an interesting interview. He also claims Rosberg was mentally done after his first 8 months in F1. With that in mind I can’t believe he still went on to beat Hamilton. I sure he’s much happier at home spending time with his kids, reading books, and doing all the other stuff he’s more cut out to do. Listening to that interview makes you realise he probably really was in F1 only to win one championship and then walk away from it all.
 
Well, that makes things perfectly clear. ;)

Anyhow, I gather that Mercedes then is going to struggling with tire wear for the last two races of the season. Could we see Vettel take two wins at the end of the season?

I think that these discussions about the holes in the Mercedes' wheels or Ferrari's double battery are red herrings, IMHO there is one area which should be closely monitored by the FIA, fuel, both fuel consumption as well as the chemical composition of the fuels used by the various engine manufacturers
 
Clay Mark Webber comes across more and more bitter as the years go on. Him talking down Rosberg (who achieved what he couldn't on a regular basis - I.E. at least finish second in the best car in the field) does not surprise me. Straight out of Alonso media school and heading towards Villeneuve status.
 
yes it was an interesting interview Clay if your talking about the beyond the grid series which is very good. but Rosberg wasnt necessarily mentally done because he wouldn't have lasted 10 years otherwise but yes I heard that he really struggled with expanded Media & PR side. which Is expected because even now the jump from F2 & F1 I see it in George Russell when he gave word for word the same answer to question about working with lewis Hamilton to BBC & SKY, until this year you only had to give 1 interview if you finished in top 3 of feature or sprint race

webber can be great pundit but like RasputinLives says webber in 2011 & 2013 was in terrible form. vettel would be all conquering winning races by 40 seconds & webber would be fighting to be on podium. similar to bottas this season. Webber like Rosberg had 1 shot at winning the title Rosberg took full advantage, something webber couldn't do as he made a huge mistake in korea when he should've settled for 2nd instead of pushing in wet & fading light for the win

problem I have with multi 21, they are racers & compeitiors but as they always say drivers are the final chain in 1000 person link. if you are told by your team boss to stay behind, their is a reason for that you cant know as your too busy driving & to not only disobey your team boss but think your more important with no sympathy was wrong
 
problem I have with multi 21, they are racers & compeitiors but as they always say drivers are the final chain in 1000 person link. if you are told by your team boss to stay behind, their is a reason for that you cant know as your too busy driving & to not only disobey your team boss but think your more important with no sympathy was wrong

See with the Multi 21 issue, there are some drivers who will always follow the rules and some who won't. I haven't looked it all up or anything but my general impression is that those who always do as they're told don't often end up becoming world champions and those who don't always do as they're told, are more likely to. I could be wrong but that is how I see it.

Yes Vettel went against the team that time and it seemed like he felt he was justified in doing so for whatever reason. There have also been times when he's pulled over or whatever when the team have asked him to. I guess it depends on the situation and the driver's mood/feeling at the time. It's easy for us sat in our armchairs watching the race, it's a whole other thing being in those cars with the pressure on them to win and so on.

It's true they are part of a team but they're only human, their own emotions do take over sometimes I suppose.
 
Last edited:
I think that these discussions about the holes in the Mercedes' wheels or Ferrari's double battery are red herrings, IMHO there is one area which should be closely monitored by the FIA, fuel, both fuel consumption as well as the chemical composition of the fuels used by the various engine manufacturers
Well, I am not sure they are red herrings....as Mercedes was filling in the holes with silicon while Ferrari was warming up a formal complaint......but I have not heard about "fuel issues." They do use a standard monitoring device and do regularly test the fuel. Has there been something going on to bypass these?
 
If I remember correctly the FIA didn't rule those wheels legal instead they talked of "limited illegality" which is a new legal definition because either something is legal or it's not

I missed this before. :embarrassed:

They're making this up as they go along now. Surely it's either legal and allowed or illegal and not, they can't just sit on the fence like that, can they? I suppose what they really mean is there hasn't been a firm ruling either way and they're not going to make one unless someone else complains.
 
True Angel we do it see that world champion. Normally question orders but how would eat know that mark webber could go faster but been told to turn down his engine.

So to completely disregard. As he has no idea why they are asking & then to have no remorse. Something like i was faster whats your problem. In any team sport nobody is bigger than the team
 
Well, I am not sure they are red herrings....as Mercedes was filling in the holes with silicon while Ferrari was warming up a formal complaint......but I have not heard about "fuel issues." They do use a standard monitoring device and do regularly test the fuel. Has there been something going on to bypass these?

fuel issues have been debated for years, at the beginning it was the fact that apparently some teams (RBR?) were using more fuel per unit of time than was allowed, the latest rumour is that Mercedes uses some clever oil that helps them increase the octanes of their fuel. During the last race they disqualified 2 cars on fuel irregularities didn't they? Maybe they are trying to send a signal to the teams for next year.

Regarding Mercedes if that device wasn't legal they should have stopped them using it a few months back, now it doesn't make any sense, the championship is over, it just looks very bad to open old issues when the championship is over
 
Yes Vettel went against the team that time and it seemed like he felt he was justified in doing so for whatever reason. There have also been times when he's pulled over or whatever when the team have asked him to. I guess it depends on the situation and the driver's mood/feeling at the time. It's easy for us sat in our armchairs watching the race, it's a whole other thing being in those cars with the pressure on them to win and so on.

It's true they are part of a team but they're only human, their own emotions do take over sometimes I suppose.

I don't remember many people raising an eyebrow when Hamilton not only disregarded the instructions of the pit wall but he also repeatedly pushed Nico Rosberg off the track in Hungary in 2014, yet every time Vettel's name is mentioned multi 21 pops up, I wonder why such different reactions to very similar situations
 
How many times Horner has to repeat his public admission, that it was Vettel's payback for similar infraction Webber has committed in earlier races prior this incident, yet only Vettel is a subject of ridicule in public arena.

Media bear a lot of responsibility for one-sided narrative among fans. As Kimi recently commented: F1 WOULD BE MUCH BETTER WITHOUT MEDIA BULLSH!T. Right you are, brother. Some fans consequently simply spewing (deliberate?) and out of context propaganda.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top Bottom