Andale Ariba! F1 moves 1,000 miles south for the next race, down to Mexico City and the emasculated Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez.
At an altitude of 2,200 metres it was a real challenge for the motors in the days of naturally aspirated engines. In this era of turbocharged, hybrid driven machines the impact on engine performance in less pronounced. However, the thin air does have the potential to impact the drivers with less oxygen compared to less elevated circuits, but it does mean the cars fly along the main straight with the cars getting up to nearly 217 mph (349 kph for the non-Brits). There is also a nearly 900 metre run from the grid to the first corner so plenty of opportunity for silliness at the start.
Both Lewis and Max have the chance to match the record of three wins in Mexico currently held by Jim Clark, although Clark's win in '62 was a non-Championship event. After the race in Austin there was an interesting interview (I use the word interesting in it's widest possible sense) with Toto Wolff who commented that Mexico was "not a circuit which suits there car". Having won three of the five races there since F1 returned in 2015 one wonders how they would have performed if the car actually went well there!
Max will be on a high after the race in the US. Mercedes lost out when Red Bull opted to pit Verstappen for new tyres earlier than Hamilton and the pace Max was able to carry took him to the win. What a shame we are back to the days of tyre stops being the deciding factor in who wins a race rather than actually seeing racing cars racing one another for position on the track. We did have a little entertainment in Austin, as Lewis attempted to catch Max but, inevitably, as soon as he was within a couple of seconds of his rivals car the handling went to pieces and he couldn't get close enough to attempt to overtake.
We are promised the rule changes next year will reduce the impact of turbulent air when cars follow one another. Let's see shall we, there have been many false dawns in the promise of close, competitive racing at the "pinnacle" of motor sport and I've watched it for long enough now to be very sceptical.
There was, of course, some racing further down the field which, shockingly, the TV director actually managed to show us and behind the title protagonist will be their rather lack lustre team mates. Anyone who says F1 is just about the car should look at the relative performance of Perez and Bottas in the same car to see just how much the driver contributes.
McLaren and Ferrari will be scrapping for the minor places behind the two top teams, and then there will be the cluttered mid-field. Apparently Haas will also be taking part, although Nikita Mazepin in particular appears to be out on track mainly to get in the way of every other driver as often as possible. Worst F1 driver since Yuji Ide.
The race is on 7th November and will be over 71 laps of the 2.67 mile circuit. Enjoy!
At an altitude of 2,200 metres it was a real challenge for the motors in the days of naturally aspirated engines. In this era of turbocharged, hybrid driven machines the impact on engine performance in less pronounced. However, the thin air does have the potential to impact the drivers with less oxygen compared to less elevated circuits, but it does mean the cars fly along the main straight with the cars getting up to nearly 217 mph (349 kph for the non-Brits). There is also a nearly 900 metre run from the grid to the first corner so plenty of opportunity for silliness at the start.
Both Lewis and Max have the chance to match the record of three wins in Mexico currently held by Jim Clark, although Clark's win in '62 was a non-Championship event. After the race in Austin there was an interesting interview (I use the word interesting in it's widest possible sense) with Toto Wolff who commented that Mexico was "not a circuit which suits there car". Having won three of the five races there since F1 returned in 2015 one wonders how they would have performed if the car actually went well there!
Max will be on a high after the race in the US. Mercedes lost out when Red Bull opted to pit Verstappen for new tyres earlier than Hamilton and the pace Max was able to carry took him to the win. What a shame we are back to the days of tyre stops being the deciding factor in who wins a race rather than actually seeing racing cars racing one another for position on the track. We did have a little entertainment in Austin, as Lewis attempted to catch Max but, inevitably, as soon as he was within a couple of seconds of his rivals car the handling went to pieces and he couldn't get close enough to attempt to overtake.
We are promised the rule changes next year will reduce the impact of turbulent air when cars follow one another. Let's see shall we, there have been many false dawns in the promise of close, competitive racing at the "pinnacle" of motor sport and I've watched it for long enough now to be very sceptical.
There was, of course, some racing further down the field which, shockingly, the TV director actually managed to show us and behind the title protagonist will be their rather lack lustre team mates. Anyone who says F1 is just about the car should look at the relative performance of Perez and Bottas in the same car to see just how much the driver contributes.
McLaren and Ferrari will be scrapping for the minor places behind the two top teams, and then there will be the cluttered mid-field. Apparently Haas will also be taking part, although Nikita Mazepin in particular appears to be out on track mainly to get in the way of every other driver as often as possible. Worst F1 driver since Yuji Ide.
The race is on 7th November and will be over 71 laps of the 2.67 mile circuit. Enjoy!
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