2023 Mexican Grand Prix Takeaways

Red Bull recorded contrasting results at the recently held Mexican Grand Prix in Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. Among the absorbing storylines of the weekend include a battle between Mercedes and Ferrari and an incredible performance from a familiar driver. With that, Nitrobetting goes over some of the best narratives of the 2023 Mexican GP below.

A Look Back at the 2023 Mexican Grand Prix

Lando
Checo

Mixed fortunes up and down the grid ⤵️#F1 #MexicoGP https://t.co/2cUTQswNyf

— Formula 1 (@F1) October 30, 2023

The tale of two Red Bulls

No other driver is anywhere near Max Verstappen’s pace right now. The three-time World Champion is almost a surefire win in every race he starts. He continues his incredible pace with another commanding performance in Mexico City to secure his 16th win this season, a new single-season record in the sport.

This is also the 26-year-old’s fifth victory in Mexico where his team enjoyed the most success. The win pushes him 251 points ahead of the second-best driver in the grid, teammate Sergio Perez. There’s a sizeable gap between the Red Bull pair and the other drivers in the 2023 standings.

However, the misfortune continues for Sergio Perez. It was a disappointing home race for the former Racing Point wheelman as he suffered race-ending damage seconds into the race. Checo fought for the lead into Turn 1, only to clip Charles Leclerc sending him airborne. It’s his second retirement in four races and was a bitter way to end his home Grand Prix weekend.

Furthermore, the DNF meant that the other drivers behind him in the standings could start closing the gap in the Drivers’ Championship. Lewis Hamilton already has P2 in sight and is a mere 20 points behind the Mexican before the next round in Brazil and a +740 favorite. All eyes are on Perez right now. Can he relieve some of the pressure next week or will he cave and force the constructor to consider other options soon?

Lewis magic

Lewis Hamilton showcased one of the stronger performances of the year. The seven-time World Champion fought through from P6 on the grid to find himself the second podium place of the day. It’s also his third consecutive podium finish around the track. Hamilton logged the fastest lap on the final lap of the race for that extra point. It’s also his 65th career fastest lap and brings him closer to Michael Schumacher’s 72 career fastest laps.

Taking third place in last weekend’s race was Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. The Italian constructor caused chaos in the grid following their front-row lockout since last year’s Monaco GP. Charles Leclerc led the charge despite a close call with the Red Bulls into Turn 1. Although he failed to convert pole into a win for the 11th time, he kept up with the frontrunners to take his fourth podium of the year for Ferrari.

Teammate Carlos Sainz closed his stint with another points finish since his P3 in Austin. The 29-year-old took P4 in Mexico to tie with fellow Spaniard Fernando Alonso in the fight for P4 in the 2023 Drivers’ Championship. The former Red Bull driver is also a +2,700 favorite to win the next race at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace.

He never left

Daniel Ricciardo makes his name relevant again after this weekend. Christian Horner sent him praise after saying “It looked like the Daniel of old this weekend,” following a gripping performance in his second race since making progress from a hand injury.

The Aussie showed pace in all practice sessions, and ended his qualifying session in fourth place, finishing things with AlphaTauri’s best finish of the season at P4. His result would have been better if not for the red flag, which allowed the rest of the drivers to catch him.

The former McLaren driver held a top-five position longer than the team managed in all other races this year. Danny Ric’s points haul also means they move from the bottom of the Constructors’ Championship standings and tied with Alfa Romeo at eighth place. He remains a +10,000 winner next weekend, but should be a solid sleeper pick considering his current form.

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