Adam Cooper F1

Leclerc admits that Sainz did the better job in Mexico

Charles Leclerc says he was “on the back foot” throughout the Mexico City GP event, while acknowledging that team mate Carlos Sainz had “a perfect weekend.”

Pole man Sainz scored a superb victory after overcoming early leader Max Verstappen, while after running second for much of the race Leclerc lost second place to Lando Norris in the closing stages when he ran off the road exiting the final corner.

Leclerc, who made a late pit stop for new tyres in order to bag fastest lap, said he never recovered from having to hand his car to Oliver Bearman for FP1.

“All-in-all, it’s been a really positive weekend for Ferrari, a little bit less for me personally,” said Leclerc.

“I haven’t been on my top game this weekend, but having said that, I think Carlos has been doing just the perfect weekend from the first lap in FP1, to the last one of the race.

“On my side, I was a little bit on the back foot, missing FP1, and I never really recovered. During the race, I felt like I was relatively quick on the first stint. Unfortunately, I was requested to do quite a lot of management for temperatures, but at the end it was the way it is.

“I think I’m very happy for the team, very happy for Carlos. He deserves it more than anybody this weekend, because he’s been driving better than anyone. And yeah, a good result for the team.”

Asked what issues he had with the car Leclerc said: “Nothing really, sometimes you get into the car and the feeling is perfect, and sometimes you just have to work a lot harder for it, and that’s what happened this weekend.

“And obviously there was quite a limited amount of running for me, because the whole FP2 was on prototypes and Pirelli testing, and then FP3 was all about trying to get back into the rhythm, but I never really managed to do so. So yeah, I was just not fast enough.”

Leclerc downplayed the significance of his off-track excursion, insisting that he would have lost second place to Norris anyway.

“By then I had no chance to stay in front of Lando,” he said. “Lando was flying, and I think as a team, we’ve been pretty lucky that whatever happened with Max and Lando at the beginning of the race, that slowed him down massively, and his second stint was very, very impressive.

“So that was a good thing for us, and that probably helped us. On my side, there was no way that I could stay in front. I knew that it would be very difficult.

“I knew that I had to have an incredible exit out of the last corner, so I tried to put everything to have a really good exit, went over the limit, lost the car and lost the position. But I felt it was a question of laps or corners before I lost that position.”

Max Verstappen says he’s “not going to cry” about receiving two 10-second penalties in the Mexico City GP while also refusing to give an opinion on the decision made by the FIA stewards.

Just a week after their incident in Austin Verstappen became involved in another battle with title rival Lando Norris.

The Red Bull driver received his first penalty for forcing Norris off-track at Turn 4, and then received another for gaining an advantage by going off track at Turn 7 a few seconds later.

He dropped to 11^th when served the combined penalties at his pit stop, and eventually recovered to finish sixth.

“Honestly, 20 seconds is a lot, but I’m not going to cry about it, and I’m also not going to share my opinion,” said Verstappen.

“The biggest problem that I have is that today was a bad day in terms of race pace. That was quite clear again, on the mediums and on the hard tyres.”

Pushed on the incidents he said: “I just felt that the Turn 4 was bit more of like a question mark. Turn 7 is what it is. That’s it.

“Honestly, those two things are also not my problem. The problem is that we are too slow, and that’s why I’m being put in those kinds of positions. That is my problem.”

He added: “We didn’t touch, so we’re just racing hard.”

When I asked if he was satisfied with discussions about FIA driving guidelines over the Mexican weekend he downplayed their significance.

“At the end of the day, everyone speaks for themselves. Of course, can the rules be better? Maybe, yes, maybe not. It’s always the same thing.

“I mean, I just drive how I think I have to drive. Last week that was all right. This week, 20-second penalty. It is what it is. Life goes on.”

Expanding on his trouble race he made it clear he had several issues.

“I mean, to get back to sixth was alight, but then I couldn’t even find the Mercedes cars in front,” he said. “I just had no grip. I was just sliding a lot. I couldn’t brake so, yeah, it was very tough one.

“We’re trying. Austin was more promising, here again was a bit more tough, so it’s a bit odd. But a few things to look at, and hopefully of course in Brazil we can be more competitive.”

Regarding his trimmed championship lead he said: “It’s still 47 points. So hopefully we could just be a little bit more competitive.”

Sainz found a way past Verstappen to reclaim the lead

Mexico City GP winner Carlos Sainz says that drivers need to be “determined” and “decisive” when battling for position with Max Verstappen.

From pole Sainz lost the lead to the three-times World Champion on the first lap having run wide over the grass, but he repassed him at the start of the ninth lap.

From there the Ferrari driver put in a faultless performance to log his second win of the 2024 season, and the fourth of his career.

“I didn’t get a good start, but at the same time, I think Max tends to start very well,” said Sainz. “Here is very low grip, and whenever there’s low grip, the Red Bull tends to start really well.

“So I was kind of prepared also for a scenario where Max was going to go alongside me into Turn 1. I braked as late as I can brake, and he brakes as late as me, and I had no space to go into Turn 2.

“And from then on, I didn’t lose my head, and I knew that every half opportunity that I got to the lead back, I would try and do it. And yeah, with Max, you need to be determined, you need to be decisive.

“If you’re not, you’re never going to pass him. And in that case, I think I caught him a bit by surprise, and I could make it stick.

“High tension at that point, also because then that initiated a fight behind me that nearly got me involved also from what I heard. So, yeah, it was an exciting moment of the race.”

Asked to explain how he pulled off the pass Sainz said: “Before Turn 1 I got a really good tow on DRS, but I saw that I was probably going to be a bit too far back.

“But then right in the last 100 metres, I felt like I had a good momentum and I’ve been feeling very confident braking into Turn 1 this weekend. The car has been giving me good confidence to brake late there, and I just went for it, and it happened.

“Also this mentality of knowing I had a bit less to lose in that battle, and that I could be aggressive and send one. And yeah, I’m glad it happened, because I needed to get back to P1, to then set my pace from there.”

Sainz admitted that at one stage when he was running one-two ahead of Charles Leclerc he thought the pace was too fast and that his team mate was pushing him too hard.

“I felt like it,” he said. “And that’s why at the time in the heat of the battle and the moment, I obviously opened the radio to give my opinion about the situation.

“And I felt like potentially, especially after being one-two, which was a dream scenario, and exactly where we wanted to be after Turn 1, the ideal was to make it to the target lap and obviously keep our tyres alive.

“So I gave that opinion in the heat of the battle, but honestly, I also understand why Charles obviously was there behind and trying to speed me up, because that’s what you do when you’re P2 and when you also want to win.

“Racing situations, heat of the battles, heat of the moment, but nothing that has never happened before. Also from my side, so I completely get it.”

In the end it was a straightforward win for Sainz.

“Once I was in the lead, I was trusting my pace, my management,” he said.” And I knew this weekend I’ve been very quick and I knew I just had to do whatever I had planned and the win was possible.

“Towards the end, McLaren and Lando proved that they are still fast and they’re still very quick and very difficult to beat, but I’m glad that we got fastest lap with Charles, and a lot of points for the championship.”

Piastri has a lot of work to do in the race…

Oscar Piastri will start the Formula 1 Mexico City GP from 17^th GP after what he called “a very silly mistake” late in Q1.

The McLaren driver ran wide at Turn 12 and had his lap deleted, but he actually lost time going off, and ultimately it wouldn’t have got him into Q2 anyway.

He stayed out on track and did another quick lap, but his tyres were past their best. While he did go marginally faster than on the previous run, it was only good enough for 17^th.

“We didn’t have to, but it felt like a very sensible decision to do that,” he said when asked by this writer about the decision to continue on the same tyres.

“I think I just had very, very little grip on that second lap, which was a shame. But I shouldn’t have even needed it.

“Obviously frustrating, because the pace looks very strong, and I felt comfortable. Just tried a bit too much in Turn 12, and it bit me hard. I lost pretty much a second. So it would have been comfortably through.”

After a difficult start on Friday Piastri was adamant that he was in good shape come Saturday.

“FP3 was very strong, even FP2,” he said. “FP1, I struggled a bit. But FP2 I think we made some really good changes, and I was comfortable. FP3, very comfortable as well.

“And even in qualifying, it felt good, just a very silly mistake, trying a bit too hard in Q1. So that was it. At least I know where it all went wrong, but it still is painful stood here.”

Last year Lando Norris started 19^th and finished fifth, showing that it is possible to come through the field at this track.

“Try and get back into the points and strongly into the points, hopefully,” he said when asked about his target for Sunday.

“We’re trying to draw inspiration from Lando’s race last year and see what we can do. I think it’s going to be tough, because the field looks reasonably tight, I would say. But, yeah, I think we’ve got some pace on board this weekend to try and use it to get through.”

Piastri is a step behind Norris on spec, having stuck with the old wing in Austin and then the old floor in Mexico when his team mate upgraded both times.

The Australian didn’t want to use the wing difference as an excuse last week, and again he downplayed the impact of the floor.

Asked if it had generated performance he said: “A little bit yes. Obviously you hope your newer parts are quicker than your old ones!

“As far as I’m aware, they’re doing what they’re supposed to do, but it’s certainly not the same kind of upgrades that we’ve seen in the past, even for the floor.

“So yes, it’s a small time loss, but it doesn’t really matter when you make mistakes like that.”

Leclerc admits that he has to improve on low-grip tracks

Charles Leclerc says that qualifying on low-grip Formula 1 venues like Mexico City and Monza is “not one of my strengths” after he had to settle for fourth on the grid for Sunday’s race.

The Ferrari driver was P4 in all three qualifying sessions, while his team mate Carlos Sainz secured pole position. A mistake in Q3 spoiled any chance of improving his position.

Leclerc says he has issues over one lap at Monza, where cars are in low drag spec, and Mexico, where the high altitude saps downforce.

“Disappointed, but not surprised,” he said of P4. “I was struggling and not feeling well since FP2 with the car.

“In Q3 the lap was coming very, very nicely until Turn 10, where I lost the car. But I had to take those risks, just because I didn’t have the pace. I think P4 is not that bad. But of course, disappointed.”

Asked what he was missing he said: “Just grip, and the feeling. Sometimes you like the balance, today I don’t. Yesterday, I didn’t either.

“I think it’s probably not one of my strengths, the qualifying in very low grip tracks. I tend to push quite a lot in qualifying, and in Monza and here, I always struggle quite a lot with that.”

Leclerc suggested that he has to rein himself in at such venues, and not push too hard.

“I’ve got to think a lot more in order to finish a lap,” he said. “And try to contain a bit more my will to push extremely hard in those qualifyings, because it just doesn’t work out on those tracks.

“And, yeah, today I tried to do that. It was working pretty fine. In Q3 however, I lost the car in Turn 10, and from that moment onwards, it was very difficult to finish a lap.”

“You slide a lot, just because there’s very, very low grip. You’ve just got to be a little bit less on the limit on those tracks, and I struggle a bit more to do that.

“However, for the race pace, it doesn’t seem to be an issue. It wasn’t an issue in Monza. I don’t think it would b e an issue tomorrow. So on that, I’m a lot less worried, but in quali, it’s a bit tricky.”

Leclerc won the US GP from fourth on the grid, but while he is optimistic about Sunday’s race, he acknowledges that it won’t be as straightforward as last weekend.

“McLaren has gained a lot of pace compared to yesterday,” he said. “Max [Verstappen] obviously didn’t run a lot yesterday, so it’s difficult to compare with Max. Actually, we don’t know about Max’s race pace.

“We are quite confident that our car could have a good pace tomorrow. However, I think it’s a different scenario compared to Austin, where there it’s very easy to overtake.

“Here in Mexico, there’s a lot of overheating for the engines, for everything, and whenever you are P4, then you’ve got to manage all these things, and it makes it a lot more difficult to come back.

“But we’ll try our best, and if we do a good start like last week, then everything is possible.”