Round 20 is in the books for the 2024 F1 season. The race started off with a bang, as a major collision between Williams driver Alex Albon and Racing Bulls driver Yuki Tsnuoda caused a safety car on lap one. Mexico brought many different wheel-to-wheel battles, as there was a fight until the last lap.
Before we jump into the current standings for both Championships and analyze what happened at the Mexican Grand Prix, a couple of things to mention:
Authors Note 1: The Formula One Season has two main championship competitions. The first is the Drivers' Championship, which is a competition between the individual drivers. The drivers who finish in the top 10 each weekend will score points (the higher you place, the more points you get). These points are added up, and whichever driver finishes with the most points at the end of the season will win the Drivers' Championship. The next is the Constructors' Championship, a competition between the teams. The number of points the drivers within a team get each race is combined, creating the total points for the team (E.g., Lando Norris has scored 315 points, and Oscar Piastri has scored 251 points, giving the McLaren team 566 points in the Constructors' Championship). The team whose drivers accumulate the most points combined for their team will win the Constructors' Championship.
Author's Note 2: 23 drivers will be listed in the Drivers' Championship. Oliver Bearman was a replacement driver for Carlos Sainz for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix and Kevin Magnussen for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Also, Franco Calapinto has replaced Logan Sargeant at Williams, and Liam Lawson has replaced Daniel Ricciardo at RB for the remainder of the season.
Author's Note 3: If a driver is tied with another driver in the Drivers' Championship, the tiebreaker goes to whoever has had the highest place-finish throughout the season.
Here is a look at the current Drivers' and Constructors' standings before the race weekend:
Drivers' Championship Standings:
Max Verstappen 362 points
Lando Norris 315 points
Charles Leclerc 291 points
Oscar Piastri 251 points
Carlos Sainz 240 points
Lewis Hamilton 189 points
George Russell 177 points
Sergio Perez 150 points
Fernando Alonso 62 points
Nico Hulkenberg 31 points
Lance Stroll 24 points
Yuki Tsunoda 22 points
Kevin Magnussen 14 points
Alexander Albon 12 points
Daniel Ricciardo 12 points
Pierre Gasly 9 points
Oliver Bearman 7 points
Franco Colapinto 5 points
Esteban Ocon 5 points
Liam Lawson 2 points
Zhou Guanyu 0 points
Logan Sargeant 0 points
Valtteri Bottas 0 points Â
Constructor's Championship Standings:
McLaren 566 points
Ferrari             537 points
Red Bull 512 points
Mercedes 366 points
Aston Martin 86 points
Haas 46 points
Racing Bulls 36 points
Williams 17 points
Alpine 14 points
Kick Sauber 0 points
Standings were found at F1.com.Â
Alpine
Alpine produced a good result in Mexico, with both drivers improving from last weekend. Esteban Ocon qualified 19th and finished 13th, while Pierre Gasly qualified 8th and finished 10th.
Alpine's upgrades seemed to have given the car a decent pace boost, with Gasly qualifying and finishing in the top 10. Ocon was also able to salvage a decent result for the team after a poor qualifying session. There was nothing really of note that Alpine did really well or poorly. However, they have improved with the upgrades.
Of course, this is not the season fans expected them to have. They were a competitive team last year, always fighting for decent points. That expectation has been a thing in the past all season long, yet the team has had some bright moments. I would consider their performance in Mexico City one of those moments.
If Alpine can get some more decent points going into the rest of the season, they have a very good chance to move up to 7th in the Constructors' Championship (only 3 points behind Williams). With WIlliams showing major inconsistency, Alpine could end the season on a positive note if all goes well.
Aston Martin
Well, another race another disappointment for Aston Martin. Lance Stroll started 14th and finished 11th, while Fernando Alonso started 13th and did not finish the race due to a mechanical failure within his car.
In what was Alonso's 400th career race, Aston Martin failed to provide their drivers with a good enough car. Alonso's car failed him on lap 16, while Stroll's did not have enough pace to keep up with an Alpine.
Aston Martin seems like the 6th or 7th best car now, which is completely unexpected. They have regressed since last year, with their performance in Mexico City being the most recent example. If this isn't a sign that the team has thrown in the towel for this year and has started looking into next year, I'm not sure what is.
In the Drivers' Standings, Alonso seems pretty safe in the position he is in, but Stroll could lose some major places if he performs the way he has been since the end of the summer break. The Constructors' Championship also looks pretty safe in terms of Aston Martin's position within it, as Haas is still 40 points behind. With that being said, with the year of F1 we have seen this season, anything can happen.
Ferrari
Ferrari has done it, AGAIN! The team in red produced another spectacular weekend in Mexico, with their pace being the clear fastest throughout the weekend. Carlos Sainz started and finished in 1st, while Charles Leclerc qualified 4th and finished 3rd (He also drove the fastest lap of the race).
Ferrari has come alive at the perfect time, with both Leclerc and Sainz driving the best they have all season. Once Sainz made a brilliant move on Verstappen on lap 9, he never looked back. Leclerc also took advantage of Max Verstappen and Lando Norris' squabble, moving up two places (4th to 2nd) when Verstappen ran Norris wide on lap 10. Though Leclerc did give up a 2nd place finish to Lando Norris, the result was still as strong as Ferrari could've asked for.
With this result in Mexico City, Ferrari catapulted themselves in front of Red Bull, taking 2nd place in the Constructors' Championship. They are only 29 points behind McLaren for the lead now, which is nothing compared to where they were at the summer break. Leclerc is also only 24 points behind Lando Norris in the Drivers' standings as well. Ferrari has a chance to do the unthinkable if they keep this dominating run of form throughout the final four races.
Haas
Haas had an excellent performance in Mexico, dominating the midfield once again, but this time from both drivers. Kevin Magnussen qualified and finished 7th, while Nico Hulkenberg qualified 10th and finished 9th.
Both Haas drivers showed an extremely strong pace this weekend, providing the team with the first double-point finish since Austria back in June. Magnussen was absolutely rapid in what was one of his best races of the season. Had there been a few more laps in the race, he had a chance to even catch up with Verstappen. This is the kind of driving Haas was hoping Magnussen would execute this year. Hulkenberg also has a very good drive, finishing in the top 10 once again this season.
Haas is currently 40 points behind Aston Martin in the Constructors' Championship, which may be a little too steep of a hill to climb with only four races left. However, if both drivers put in a good string of performances to end the season, who knows what could happen. Aston Martin is nowhere near the points right now, making that chance a little bit more for Haas. Even if they can't pass Aston Martin, the turnaround and improvement from last year alone has been incredible for Haas, and something everyone within the team should be extremely proud of.
Kick Sauber
Sauber did not finish in the bottom two this weekend, which you can perceive as a positive weekend for the team. Valtteri Bottas qualified 15th and finished 14th, while Zhou Guanyu started 20th and finished 15th.
Bottas actually made Q2 this weekend, which was entirely unexpected. Though their pace was still the worst on the grid, the gap was not as massive as it normally is, which is a positive for Sauber. Granted, Zhou most likely would have finished in last among the drivers who finished the race if Liam Lawson and Sergio Perez did not have an extra pit stop, but overall, a solid race from Sauber.
McLaren
McLaren was able to salvage the most out of a disappointing weekend for the team as a whole. Lando Norris qualified 3rd and finished 2nd, while Oscar Piastri qualified 17th and finished 8th.
Piastri had a nightmare of a weekend, more specifically in qualifying. Qualifying in 17th caused him to have an uphill battle all race long. Though he was able to get some points by the end of the weekend, it isn't enough if McLaren wants to shut down any other team's hopes of winning the Constructors' championship. Norris had a decent weekend, though a win would have gone a long way, considering the circumstances the race brought. After Max Verstappen forced him wide off the track twice, it opened the door to drive without the threat of Verstappen. However, Sainz's pace was too much, as Norris could only get up to 2nd place. Still a good result, but McLaren needs to find more pace and win more races, maybe even the rest of the races, if Norris wants a chance at winning the Drivers' Championship.
In what was thought to be all but theirs a couple of races ago, McLaren suddenly has a fight on their hands for the Constructors' Championship. With Ferrari breathing down their necks and gaining on their lead, McLaren needs better results from both drivers, meaning at least a couple more race wins.
Mercedes
Mercedes had a much-needed weekend in Mexico City, providing solid points all around. George Russell qualified and finished in 5th, while Lewis Hamilton started 6th and finished 4th.
Mercedes seemed to be in a race of their own in Mexico City, as they were miles behind the top drivers, but also grew enough of a lead for the threat of another car overtaking non-existent. With not much to lose, the team let them race each other, as Russell and Hamilton fought for 4th place over multiple laps. Both Hamilton and Russell showed very good pace, but it is still miles off of McLaren and Ferrari.
With Mercedes in the middle of nowhere in both Championships, Mercedes does not have much to fight for other than pride. However, with Hamilton's departure coming soon, one can be sure that Mercedes will do everything they can to give him a car that'll end the season, and their legendary tenure together, on a positive note.
Racing Bulls
In what was a promising start to the weekend, the result was one RB will be hoping to forget. Yuki Tsnuoda qualified 11th but did not finish the race due to a crash on the first corner of lap 1, while Liam Lawson qualified 12th and finished 16th.
Tsnuoda was a victim of bad luck during the race, while Lawson suffered the consequences of an aggressive battle with Sergio Perez. Though this weekend was not an accurate representation of either driver's talent, it was a missed opportunity to take advantage of Perez's horrible race. Both drivers are in the middle of an intense competition for the second Red Bull seat, and it would have been nice if both Tsnuoda and Lawson were able to show what they could do this weekend. Tsnuoda and Lawson will have another chance to put the nail in Perez's coffin next week.
Even with this internal battle, RB cannot forget the battle they are facing externally. Both drivers have an opportunity to move up in the Drivers' Standings, while also being only 10 points behind Haas in the Constructors' Standings. There's a lot on the line for RB going into the final four races of the season, but time will tell whether or not they will seize the moment.
Red Bull
Red Bull had an extremely poor weekend in Mexico City. Max Verstappen qualified 2nd and finished 6th, while Sergio Perez qualified 18th and finished 17th.
Karma finally caught up to Verstappen. After two horrible attempts to fend off Lando Norris from overtaking him, he received two twenty-second penalties for forcing Norris off wide and gaining an advantage. This ruined Max's race, resulting in only a 6th place finish. Verstappen needs to keep a level head and drive much cleaner. His aggressiveness is going too far, costing him a potential podium finish in Mexico City. All eyes are on him and Norris going forward.
As for Perez....oh Sergio. If you thought it could not get any worse for Sergio, you were deeply mistaken. Perez looked incredibly slow this weekend, showing absolutely no pace or even getting close to the top 10. In what was his home race, Perez's nightmare continues. How many more chances he will get in unknown, but, as I've said a lot this season, it can't be many more. If the Sauber drivers are looking as fast as him, who is in a Red Bull, there's a major problem. Perez's performance is also costing the team more and more each race. Red Bull is now 3rd in the Constructors' Championship, which is unacceptable and firmly on Perez. Verstappen can only carry the team so much, so Perez absolutely has to excel in the final races if he wants any chance of keeping his seat and saving his career.
Williams
Williams did not have the week they were hoping for in Mexico City. Alex Albon qualified 9th but did not finish the race due to a collision with Yuki Tsnuda on lap 1, while Franco Colapinto qualified 16th and finished 12th.
Albon was also a victim of back luck this weekend. He crashed in FP1(AKA Free Practice One) on Friday, which put in in an instant disadvantage going into qualifying. However, he pushed through, and produced a great qualifying result, Albon finally gave himself a chance to out-perform his teammate, but on the first corner of the race, got hit by Tsnuoda, which ended his race. Colapinto, on the other hand produced another good result. Though it did not result in any points, the Argentinian driver is still exceeding all expectations and making a major case to retain a seat next season.
Williams should not take too much from Mexico, as Albon's unfortunate crash took away any opportunity to compare the drivers in the race. With that being said, Albon did have pace, which is a positive sign for the team. Williams needs to hope both drivers will perform at their best to end the season because unfortunately, their performance this past weekend did not show that.
Stay tuned for more F1 content, and be sure to check out fansonlysportz.com for more sports media content posted daily.
Catch you next time!
-Matt Hylen
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