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F1 2023

1%er said:

Eight drivers summoned to Mexico stewards​

Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen, Fernando Alonso and Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell are among those who will visit the Mexican Grand Prix stewards after qualifying. Verstappen, Alonso and Russell caused big queues at the end of the pitlane before joining the track for their final runs in Q1 in Mexico. Verstappen did not seem to quite come to a complete stop but was barely moving, even beyond the white line denoting the pit exit, as he looked to make a gap to the cars in front.

Alonso did a similar thing, although he seemed to stop entirely – doing so just before the white line. The next car in the queue that Alonso caused was Russell, who has also been summoned. He moved forward slightly, crossing the white line in doing so, before waiting several seconds then pulling away. When he did, the cars behind all left the pitlane normally.

How the stewards handle this will be an interesting test case given Verstappen escaped a three-place grid drop for impeding when he blocked cars in the pitlane in Singapore. At the time, the stewards said no obvious advantage was gained for waiting – as Verstappen was deemed to have been negated by catching cars going so slowly on their outlaps anyway – but “the potential for this to negatively impact other drivers warrants a penalty”. Verstappen was only given a reprimand, though, rather than a grid drop. And the onus is not on other drivers to overtake a car stopped at the pit entry like this because, according to the stewards “it is preferable that cars depart the pit exit in an orderly manner”.

A week later the FIA admitted that Verstappen had got away without a penalty in Singapore but this related to another impeding incident in the session, not stopping at the pitlane exit. So presumably any precedent, should the stewards decide to follow one, will be that making a gap in this way is permitted.

There are other investigations from this session too. Russell, Lando Norris and Zhou Guanyu will be investigated after the session for exceeding the maximum delta time while Lewis Hamilton and Logan Sargeant are being investigated for failing to slow under yellow flags and Sargeant and Yuki Tsunoda will be investigated after the session for overtaking under yellow flags.
Click to expand...

Eight drivers??? EIGHT?!?!

What a fiasco.

What next? Have the stewards summon them in during the race...
 

Stroll to take pit lane start in Mexico​

Lance Stroll endured another disappointing qualifying session in Mexico on Saturday as he was knocked out in Q1. Now, he will start the race from the pit lane after Aston Martin changed a number of parts on his car overnight. Lance Stroll will take the start of the Mexico City Grand Prix from the pit lane, the FIA has confirmed. It marks the second consecutive race that Stroll will line up in the pit lane for the commencement of the Grand Prix. Stroll ended Saturday's qualifying session in 18th, his sixth Q1 elimination in a row, but he was set to start one position higher due to a grid penalty for AlphaTauri's Yuki Tsunoda.

However, Aston Martin opted to change a number of components overnight which breached parc fermé conditions. The changed parts include the floor, sidepod, rear beam wing and rear anti-roll bar - all of which are a different specification to Saturday's version. As a result, Stroll will has been removed from the starting grid and placed in the pit lane, as he was one week ago at the Circuit of the Americas. Aston Martin's decision to start Stroll from the pit lane in the USA worked in its favour, as the set up changes helped the 25-year-old to rise to seventh place at the chequered flag.
 

Strategies and pit windows: Here's when F1 drivers could pit during the Mexican GP​

With the two Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz locking out the Mexican Grand Prix front row ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen, it is now a case of who will make their cars work over the next 71 laps. The Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez circuit is a unique challenge for Formula 1 drivers as they contend with the high altitudes. The thin air is the only element to contend with, but tyre wear could also come into play.

However, according to Mario Isola, Pirelli's motorsport head, tyre degradation will not be as much of an issue. "The aero settings on the cars are similar to those used on high-downforce circuits - only with a much-reduced effect on the tyres," he said. "The grip from the asphalt is also much less than average, as surface roughness is among the lowest of the entire calendar."

The possible strategies
For this race, Pirelli brought the three softest compounds in its 2023 F1 tyre allocation, with data collected across Friday and Saturday's running suggesting that the quickest strategy in Sunday's Grand Prix will be a one-stop race. As such, drivers who start on the yellow-walled Medium tyre could see the pit window open between Laps 27 and 34, switching to the white-walled Hard tyre for the rest of the race.

Alternatively, a two-stop race could see drivers switch the Mediums for the Hards, before another stop around Laps 45 and 51 to complete the final stint on the Medium tyre. An unlikely strategy will be to start the race on the Hard tyre and run deep into the race. The pit window will open between Laps 50 and 56 as the final stint could be completed on the Soft tyre.

"This year, we have decided to bring the three softest compounds to Mexico - C3, C4 and C5 - after careful reflection based on last year's information, as well as the simulations that the teams have as always supplied to us," Isola adds. "This should lead to a wider variety of strategy choices throughout the race, opening the door to a two-stop strategy as well. Last year, when the chosen compounds were C2, C3, and C4, nearly all the drivers stopped only once, mainly using soft and medium."
 
Hahaha all the millions they spend on aero and Leclerc with a broken front wings is faster on that lap than the Red Bull in clean air 😄😁
 
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