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Sergio Perez insisted he had “just wanted to give it all” and so “totally went for it” when sensing a chance to seize the lead of his home Mexico City GP, after he made a dramatic exit from the race in a first-corner collision with Charles Leclerc.

Ferrari’s Leclerc, meanwhile, directly addressed the boos he received from the Perez-supporting crowd as he was interviewed after the race on the track by saying he “had nowhere to go” in the incident.

In a rapid getaway from fifth on the grid on the long run down to the circuit’s first corner, Perez placed himself on the outside of pole-sitter Leclerc, who had Verstappen attacking for the lead on his inside, but as he turned into the right-hander, tagged the Ferrari’s front-left wheel.

The impact sent Perez’s car briefly up onto three wheels and flying off the circuit. Although he was able to drive back to the pit lane, the damage sustained was such that Red Bull had to immediately retire his car.

Perez appeared crestfallen in the cockpit as Red Bull wheeled his car back into the garage but, speaking to Sky Sports F1 a short while later, the Mexican struck a defiant tone when discussing why he felt he was right to launch a challenge for the lead.

He said he would have regretted not trying the bold around-the-outside move at his home race and was “proud” of how he had driven this weekend, even if he was “sad” about how it had ultimately ended. He also said that although he had expected Leclerc to brake earlier he felt the accident was a “racing incident”.

“I had a tremendous start. The gap was there and if I’m fully honest, since I was starting the race, I would be really disappointed to be on the podium today knowing I had a chance to go for the lead and I didn’t take it,” Perez said.

“I just went for it. To be honest, I didn’t expect Charles – he was in the middle, he had less room to manoeuvre – to brake as late as Max and I did.

“I think simply there was no room for three cars. It was a total racing incident and with hindsight…I shouldn’t say that…but in hindsight, I should back off and go home. Especially at your home Grand Prix and two times in a row on the podium. I just wanted to give it all and totally went for it.”

Perez, who has never won his home race in eight attempts and has found himself coming under increasing pressure and scrutiny over his performances in recent months next to Verstappen, insisted: “I’m very sad with the end result because on the first lap, to end the race at your home Grand Prix it’s definitely really sad.

“On the other side, I am extremely proud of myself because I gave it all. I’m very proud of my team. We gave it all for the whole weekend and probably the best start of the year, so we just went for it.”

Horner defends Perez: ‘You can’t blame him’ for trying for lead

Red Bull have continued to back Perez, who has a contract at the team until the end of next season, amid a run of form which has not only seen him drop a long way away from runway champion Verstappen in the points standings but fall into the clutches of Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton in a battle for second place.

By finishing runner-up to Verstappen in Sunday’s race, Hamilton is now just 20 points behind Perez with three Grands Prix and one Sprint to come over the season’s final four weeks. Indeed, had the Briton not been disqualified from the runner-up finish in Austin last week on technical grounds, the pair would now be level on points.

Perez’s latest setback came on a weekend that Daniel Ricciardo, who has made clear his desire to return to the seat next to Verstappen in future, produced a brilliant drive to take seventh place for his first points since returning to AlphaTauri in the summer.

Perez’s Red Bull team boss, Christian Horner, defended the Mexican’s right to attempt the overtake.

“For Checo, just absolutely gutting. [His] home race,” Horner told Sky F1. “He had a rocket-ship launch and had so much momentum going into that first corner, you can’t blame him for going for it to try and take the lead at his home race.

“He’s got 13 years of experience in Formula 1 and when you’re going through a difficult moment it’s important to support him. He was having a great weekend up until that point and he was going for the lead at his home race, in Mexico City. It’s insane the amount of support behind him. Three into one doesn’t go and unfortunately, he was just on the wrong side of it.”

The verdict of the Sky F1 pundits on the Perez-Leclerc collision

Martin Brundle:

“Sergio rolled the dice a little bit. He instinctively thought he was on the racing line, he would brake later, had a lot of momentum, those on the inside, the dirtier part of the track and more acute angle into the first corner might brake a little bit earlier.

“But Charles Leclerc didn’t. He braked every bit as late, as he’s entitled to do. Leclerc had a few centimetres to his right but nowhere near enough to avoid that contact with Perez.

“Perez said he ‘went for it and was proud of myself. I would have hated myself if I hadn’t had gone for it’. I feel very sad for him and sad for the crowd.”

Danica Patrick:

“Sergio had a run and I understand you’re trying to do what you can with that run. Maybe he thought that Charles was going to lift [off the throttle] because he had momentum but, at the end of the day, the last one in, first one out, and three wide is not going to work.

“He’s got to just trust that he has an incredible car. He has a Red Bull car – just be patient and let the race play out a little bit and get a solid finish and get on the podium.”

Jenson Button:

“Three into one through here does not work. Charles had nowhere to go.

“I think Checo thought he had enough room for Charles on the inside, else he wouldn’t have turned in. He didn’t want to crash, but he just didn’t judge the situation of two cars inside him.

“This is the issue when you have cars that start really well and cars that don’t start so well, and the drag is so long to Turn One. What is Checo supposed to do? He couldn’t just lift off before the corner and pull in behind because looking at that [replay] there were cars there. So they would have had the opportunity to drive down the outside of him and cause mayhem,

“So it’s tricky but it’s when you get to that point of deciding ‘I’m going to turn in now but I need to give them room. Maybe I’ll just run off track a bit and come back on.'”

Leclerc: ‘I couldn’t do anything’ to avoid crash

Leclerc, who sustained front-wing damage in the collision but was able to continue and finished third, said he felt sympathy for Perez but stressed the incident was out of his hands.

“I tried my best to stay on the right as close as possible to Max but I think Checo didn’t know that, started to turn in and we collided,” said the Ferrari driver.

“It’s a bit of a shame that it happens to Checo at his home race. I could hear that many fans were disappointed, and I can understand that, but on the other hand, I couldn’t do anything better, unfortunately.”

Podium finishers react to the crash | Hamilton: ‘He did me in Qatar!’

Watch in the video above as Verstappen, Hamilton and Leclerc react to the sight of Perez’s flying Red Bull in replays of the start collision, in the cool-down room at the end of the race.

Hamilton can be heard likening the incident to the one he took fault for at the Qatar GP on October 8, when he crashed out at that race’s first corner after clipping team-mate George Russell’s wheel as the Mercedes drivers went three abreast into the first corner with Verstappen.

F1 heads straight to Brazil for the final leg of the Americas triple header and the last Sprint weekend of the 2023 season. Watch every session from the Sao Paulo Grand Prix live on Sky Sports F1 from Friday, with Sunday’s race at 5pm. Stream F1 on Sky Sports with NOW

Very few people expected Ferrari to lock out the front row for the Mexico City Grand Prix but Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz performed when it mattered most at the business end of qualifying.

The Ferrari duo got their tyres into the optimal working range as Max Verstappen admitted his Red Bull car got away from him as he pushed a little too hard.

But, given Red Bull have only been beaten once on a Sunday all season, world champion Verstappen inevitably remains favourite for the 71-lap race – which starts at 8pm live on Sky Sports F1 – when he will aim to beat his own record of 15 wins in a single campaign

Much of Ferrari’s hopes will likely rest on the race’s opening seconds and holding one-two formation on the long run down to the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez’s first corner.

In 2019, Leclerc started from pole alongside then-Ferrari team-mate Sebastian Vettel and they kept the field at bay after the 811m charge to the opening right-hander. But, it can get very feisty there as Lewis Hamilton and Verstappen showed in that same race when they made contact just behind the leaders.

In 2021, Verstappen made a stunning move late on the brakes to overtake the Mercedes of Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas, so don’t be surprised if we see a three-wide moment going into the first corner.

“It’s a very difficult race. Everything can happen, especially with the cooling. Whichever car is behind can do a bit more management, so it can play in our favour but for that, we need a good start,” said Leclerc.

“Starting first here is always tricky to keep that position into the first corner but we have had pretty good starts here, so I’m confident we can keep that place.

“This year Max has been extremely strong on the race pace so at the moment we still have a lot of work to do to match them with our race pace.

“It’s a very special track for strategy, especially with high altitude, tyre management will be a huge thing. We will have to be on top of this. For the strategy, we will adapt on the go to try and keep that first place.”

How might Ferrari play the start to keep Verstappen behind?

If all goes to plan for Ferrari, Leclerc should immediately move over to the right-hand side from pole to tow team-mate Sainz down to Turn One and leave Verstappen with no slipstream, potentially leaving the Dutchman vulnerable to Daniel Ricciardo – who qualified a superb fourth for AlphaTauri – or the Mercedes’ of Hamilton, sixth, and George Russell, eighth.

Then, Sainz should go to the outside of Leclerc in the braking zone and not race his team-mate too hard so the Ferrari pair can retain their one-two positions.

Asked by Sky Sports F1 if the team-mates can work together at the start, Sainz said: “If we can of course. But it’s impossible to predict whether we will be able to do so. A few metres better start than Max or Charles and suddenly we cannot play with slipstreams anymore.

“I will just try and do the best possible start because I am starting on the dirty side so my start will be weaker than Max and Charles, then we can see where we are at.”

Will Ferrari be able to manage their tyres?

On paper, strategy shouldn’t be too difficult for the Mexico City Grand Prix because it’s a low-degradation track, so a one-stopper should be the way forward.

The only big threat Ferrari will face if they are one-two is from an undercut or overcut. It’s likely that Verstappen will have to overtake one, or both, of Leclerc and Sainz on the track – perhaps in a similar fashion to Monza back in September when he overcame both to win.

It’s tyre management where Ferrari could be vulnerable compared to the usually exceptional wear Red Bull have had this year. Keeping the tyres in the right window will be just as important as the wear though given the altitude of the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, which is 2.2km above sea level.

Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur suggested that there could be other factors that come into play due to the nature of the track.

“On the long stints, we mainly focused on cooling (on Friday), like Mercedes, McLaren and Red Bull. Everyone will be more focused on the brakes and engine,” said Vasseur.

As for Sainz, he may have to play rear-gunner behind Leclerc in order to keep Verstappen behind and he is not too optimistic about his chances.

“It will be very difficult because of the race pace they have. Normally one way or the other, or by simply offsetting their pace with a tyre advantage, they can finish ahead,” admitted the Spaniard.

“Given their race pace, at one point or another, he will have a chance to overtake us and it will be up to us to manage the strategy and situation to keep him behind.”

As for Verstappen, he didn’t have much to say post-qualifying and appeared to be quietly confident about his chances of winning as long as he can get through the opening corners unscathed.

“I always learned that you can never repeat the same start,” said Verstappen in response to a question about whether he could repeat that surging Mercedes-beating getaway from the same position on the grid two years ago.

“Of course you can look at it. Depends on how good your start is, the line into the first corner, track conditions.

“It’s more just an instinct and once you do your start you make your mind up on what you want to do. It’s a long race. It’s not won or lost at the first corner.”

Asked about his confidence in winning he said: “Good. Yep. I also have two hard tyres. Nobody else has them around me, so that could be an advantage.”

Ferrari certainly caused a surprise on Saturday and victory for them on Sunday would be a shock going by Verstappen’s calm manner.

When to watch the Mexico City GP live only on Sky Sports F1

Sunday
6.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday Mexico City GP build-up (also on Sky Sports Main Event)
8pm: The MEXICO CITY GRAND PRIX (also on Sky Sports Main Event)
10pm: Chequered Flag: Mexico City GP

F1 is in Mexico for the middle leg of the Americas triple header. Watch the Mexico City Grand Prix live on Sky Sports F1, with Sunday’s race at 8pm. Stream F1 on Sky Sports with NOW

Lewis Hamilton says Mercedes’ car feels “night and day” different at the Mexico City Grand Prix compared to last weekend in Austin, yet is hopeful of being close to the front row in qualifying.

Hamilton was seventh in second practice, the most representative session of the day, while Mercedes team-mate George Russell was 10th after missing first practice as Formula 2 driver Frederik Vesti took over his car as part of F1’s mandatory rookie regulations.

Toto Wolff told Sky Sports F1 after the first session that the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez looked as though it would be “a good track” for Mercedes, with the team predicting that Hamilton would have been in the top three in that opening practice with a clean lap.

Several hours on, and reflecting on the opening day as a whole, Hamilton highlighted how different the W14 felt on track compared to last week, when he came close to a first victory in almost two years before being disqualified for excessive plank wear at the United States GP.

“Not that great. Not dodgy, just not the greatest. A bit of a struggle in the car,” said Hamilton.

“The car is night and day different compared to last week. I don’t really know what to say. You just never know what you’re going to get with this one. Some days she’s great and some days she’s not.

“It’s hard to extract the lap. I think there definitely is performance there, it’s just trying to extract it and it’s quite peaky this weekend maybe just with the aero map or whatever it may be.

“So we’re going to work on it overnight but it definitely wasn’t a fun day compared to P1 in Austin. We were a bit off but hopefully overnight we can find something and tomorrow maybe the car will be nicer to drive.”

Asked how much Mercedes can improve going into Saturday, he added: “Not sure. Again, you just never know what to expect with this car. Maybe we’ll make the changes and we’ll pick that pace up.

“I think there was definitely some performance in there to be closer to maybe [being] in the top three but we’ve got to figure out [how] to make it easier for us to extract that performance. So that’s what we’ll work on.”

The Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez has been one of Mercedes’ less successful tracks since the event returned to the F1 calendar in 2015, although amid a difficult season last year they did run Max Verstappen close in qualifying before Hamilton finished second in the race.

Russell admitted he had “no idea” where Mercedes would be in qualifying this time around but is targeting a top-four spot for Sunday’s grid ahead of the long run down to Turn One.

“There is potential but we have a lot of work to do overnight. It’s very tight, especially with some very unexpected cars,” said Russell.

“We saw some cars in the top 10 that we weren’t expecting to be there. But we feel like we have got a lot to prove and have got the opportunity to do it as well.

“It’s all about the tyres then on the long run you are managing the engine, the brakes and that has an impact on the tyres. It’s going to be a very tricky race on Sunday and I think that’s why qualifying will be key.”

The British driver was also asked what the team need to work on and stated: “Faster race car. We were probably in the wrong window. Lewis and I were on two different setups and we probably both weren’t in the right window, so that has given us an indication that probably halfway between both is the right place to be.

“It’s frustrating in the moment to have a negative car and not the best of days but through those difficult moments you probably learn more than when the car is in a better place.”

Red Bull expect close qualifying

The top eight cars were split by less than four tenths of a second in the second session, with Red Bull, McLaren, Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, AlphaTauri, Mercedes and Alpine all represented.

Verstappen has been imperious in Mexico City in the past, with dominant victories in 2017, 2018, 2021 and 2022. If he stands on the top step of the podium this Sunday, he will break his own record of 15 wins in a single campaign.

Over one lap, Verstappen has been beatable this year but Sundays have generally been all about the three-time world champion, a trend he thinks will continue this weekend.

“Of course we look competitive, so that’s good. There are always a few things to still improve but overall, a positive start to the weekend – probably a little better than I expected, so that’s always good,” said Verstappen.

“The track is very slippery, like always, tyres are very difficult to manage as well on the long run, so there are still a few things we can work on.

“McLaren have been close for a few races now, so for me there’s no surprise there. It’s going to be incredibly competitive over one lap and the race pace, again, that’s a different story.”

Verstappen’s Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez enjoyed the roars of the crowds at every corner of the track as he looks for his first podium since Monza in September.

Perez, who was fifth in second practice, says he forgot he was driving on home soil when in the car and reckons he has more potential in the RB19 after a mistake on his best lap at the last corner.

“We didn’t have a straightforward day. We didn’t get a good read on the soft over a single lap. I had a yellow flag on my lap, so I ended up doing it on the second timed lap and it was not very straightforward,” explained Perez.

“So plenty of things to understand. We also went with different compounds to understand them for Sunday. Overall, we are looking in a good position. We have a good direction that we need to take.”

Norris: Things could swing very quickly either way

Lando Norris is looking for a fifth consecutive podium this weekend and was Verstappen’s closest challenger, finishing 0.119s behind the Dutchman.

But Norris is not expecting to be able to catch Verstappen, stating “things could swing very quickly either way”.

Asked if there were many changes McLaren could make to close up to the lead Red Bull, Norris answered: “Not a lot. I think we started the weekend off well. We generally do and always have a good idea of where to put the car to begin with and it’s not far off where we end the weekend.

“There’s not a lot to gain through the weekend. There’s always little things and little things add up. So still stuff to improve and also my driving, little things here and there, but to challenge Red Bull will be tough around here.”

Charles Leclerc was third quickest in the second session on Friday and Ferrari have been very fast over one lap at times this season. The car has good mechanical grip and rides kerbs well, which should suit the characteristics of the Mexico City track.

However, Leclerc feels Ferrari will not be in the fight for pole position on Saturday despite knowing the areas they need to work on.

“It would be a huge surprise if we are on pole position but never say never. It’s a difficult track to put a lap together but I feel like this weekend we are a bit too far away,” said the Ferrari driver.

“We still have a lot of work to do because McLaren, Red Bull and Max seem to be strong. Mercedes is a bit more difficult to read into for now.”

When to watch the Mexico City GP live only on Sky Sports F1

Saturday
6.15pm: Mexico City GP Practice Three
9pm: Mexico City GP Qualifying build-up (also on Sky Sports Main Event)
10pm: Mexico City GP Qualifying (also on Sky Sports Main Event)

Sunday
6.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday Mexico City GP build-up (also on Sky Sports Main Event)
8pm: The MEXICO CITY GRAND PRIX (also on Sky Sports Main Event)
10pm: Chequered Flag: Mexico City GP

F1 is in Mexico for the middle leg of the Americas triple header. Watch the whole Mexico City Grand Prix weekend live on Sky Sports F1, with Sunday’s race at 8pm. Stream F1 on Sky Sports with NOW

Lewis Hamilton believes more cars other than just his and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc would have been disqualified from the United States GP due to excessive plank wear had post-race scrutineering checks been widened beyond just four cars.

Hamilton lost his second-place finish in Austin last Sunday after the skid blocks on his Mercedes were found to have worn too thin. Leclerc’s Ferrari, which had finished sixth, fell foul of the same regulation.

Due to the nature of the FIA’s long-standing random spot-check policy on certain areas of cars for rules compliance, only four cars were checked for their plank wear after the race – with half of them failing.

“Basically that was the first time we’d had a Sprint race there [in Austin] and they had only tested a few cars and 50 per cent of them got disqualified,” said Hamilton to Sky Sports F1 ahead of this weekend’s Mexico City GP.

“There are far more driver’s cars that were illegal [but weren’t checked].

“The skid is not a performance element. Of course, if you have a flat surface everyone is going to be pushing their car to be as low as possible. But it’s mostly some cars handle the bumps better than others and you know we have had a very stiff and bumpy car for the last two years.

“But ultimately it failed the regulation and that needs to change.”

Speaking to the written press later on Thursday, Hamilton continued: “Firstly, I’ve heard from several different sources that there was a lot of other cars that were also illegal, but they weren’t tested so they got away with it.

“I’ve been racing here 16 years. There’s been many other scenarios like this where some people have gotten away with certain things and some people have just been unlucky that they’ve got tested.

“So I think ultimately there probably needs to be some sort of better structure in terms of making sure it’s fair and even across the board.”

Other drivers agreed that had more cars been checked after the race in parc ferme then similar issues with plank wear would have been discovered.

Williams’ Alex Albon said: “I do think maybe you don’t need to check every car every race all the time.

“But if there’s one driver in one team illegal there’s a very, very high chance that the other car, the team-mate of that driver, is going to be illegal as well.”

Lando Norris’ McLaren was of the two cars tested which was found to be within accepted limits for plank wear – Max Verstappen’s race-winning Red Bull was the other – and it was the Briton who inherited second place from the excluded Hamilton.

“Always I guess a little bit surprised [to see the disqualifications],” Norris told Sky F1.

“I would have loved if they checked more cars.”

Asked if this should therefore have been the case, Norris replied: “They should have done.”

And Alpine’s Esteban Ocon said: “I’m sure it’s not the first time that there were cars illegal like that on such Sprint weekends.

“I think on the normal format it’s a lot less likely to happen but I’m sure on the other races there was as well.”

So why were only four cars checked for plank wear? The FIA explains…

While all cars are weighed during parc-ferme scrutineering after a Grand Prix, and other compulsory checks are carried out too, different areas of the car are tested at every race on a random basis in order to test for compliance.

In an explainer piece published on the governing body’s website on Thursday, the FIA outlined why it was impractical to test every single aspect of every car against the regulations each race weekend.

“In conducting these tests, a huge amount of work goes on in the limited time available after a Grand Prix finishes and before the cars need to be returned to their teams for disassembly and transportation to the next race,” said the governing body.

“However, even though a wide array of checks are made, it is impossible to cover every parameter of every car in the short time available – and this is especially true of back-to-back race weekends when freight deadlines must also be considered.

“This is why the process of randomly selecting a number of cars for post-race scrutineering across various aspects of the regulations is so valuable. Each team is aware that selection is possible and understand that the chance of any lack of compliance being uncovered is strong.”

All cars checked? Just team-mates of those in breach? Drivers weigh in on DSQs debate

World champion Verstappen sees the complications for the FIA in the scrutineering process, but nonetheless thinks that at least a team’s second car should be checked too if the first falls foul of a technical rule.

“But then you only get the race result on Tuesday I guess, when you have to check every car,” said Verstappen. “The problem is that it’s just impossible to check everything.

“The thought process from every team is that no one wants to be illegal, so no one sets up their car to be illegal. But then of course you have these random checks that get carried out. Sometimes it’s the top four, sometimes it’s in the middle of the field, the back – that’s just how it goes.

“You can’t check every car for every single part, otherwise need 100 more people to do these kind of things.

“I think the only thing is that when you check one car of a team and it’s illegal, then I think you should check the other one as well. That’s for me the only thing. Because then you DQ one, and then the other one position moves up “a position where normally you always run quite similar setups.”

Albon suggested: “I don’t know how much it would take to check a couple more cars, but I don’t think that would be such an issue. But I don’t know, I’m not a scrutineer.”

Mercedes and Ferrari accepted they made mistakes and were caught out in the setting up of their cars, on a Sprint weekend teams have to lock in their set-ups after just a single practice session. Normally, teams have three one-hour sessions to hone their cars for qualifying onwards and time to simulate more race-like conditions.

While accepting Mercedes got it wrong with their W14’s ride height, Hamilton believes what he termed “ridiculous” post-race situations like the one last Sunday with cars being excluded could be more easily avoided.

“I think the sport really had such an amazing weekend, there was such a great turnout and a great race, and then every time we take steps forward within the sport something like that really taints it,” he said.

“So we’ve got to do something. Hopefully they will learn a little bit for the future.

“Rather than checking everybody and over 50 per cent of the cars failing, which I would put all my money on it that they would have, instead maybe for example if we’re having a Sprint race maybe we should just be able to change the skid [block] or the floor on Saturday night so on Sunday you don’t have this ridiculous kind of event afterwards.”

When to watch the Mexico City GP live only on Sky Sports F1

Friday 27 October
7pm: Mexico City GP Practice One
8:45pm: The F1 Show
10:45pm: Mexico City GP Practice Two (also on Sky Sports Main Event)

Saturday 28 October
6.15pm: Mexico City GP Practice Three
9pm: Mexico City GP Qualifying build-up (also on Sky Sports Main Event)
10pm: Mexico City GP Qualifying (also on Sky Sports Main Event)

Sunday 29 October
6.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday Mexico City GP build-up (also on Sky Sports Main Event)
8pm: The MEXICO CITY GRAND PRIX (also on Sky Sports Main Event)
10pm: Chequered Flag: Mexico City GP

F1 is in Mexico for the middle leg of the Americas triple header. Watch the whole Mexico City Grand Prix weekend live on Sky Sports F1 from Friday, with Sunday’s race at 8pm. Stream F1 on Sky Sports with NOW

Sergio Perez’s home race in Mexico is always a special event for the Red Bull driver, but there is likely to be a different feel to the occasion this time around as his future with the team hangs in the balance.

Perez has endured a hugely disappointing 2023 campaign, failing to provide effective backup for his dominant team-mate Max Verstappen.

The Dutchman has been so brilliant that he sealed a third successive drivers’ title with six races still to go, with that form also ensuring Red Bull wrapped up the constructors’ title a round earlier.

Perez started the season impressively, sharing two victories apiece with Verstappen over the first four races and sparking talk – that he perhaps misguidedly got caught up in – of a title battle between the pair, before failing to convert pole position in the next race in Miami as his team-mate came from ninth on the grid to comfortably win.

In the 13 races since, Perez has managed just four podiums, has qualified in the top four on only one occasion, and has been knocked out before Q3 seven times.

Being beaten by Verstappen is no disgrace, but in a car that is very clearly the fastest on the grid, Perez has repeatedly been outperformed by Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren drivers, and often several of them at the same time.

As his torrid second half of the campaign has continued, speculation has mounted that Red Bull might feel the need to cut ties with Perez at the end of the season, despite another year remaining on the 33-year-old’s contract. There was even a rumour that Perez was planning to announce his retirement in Mexico, which he laughed off.

Whether or not he was alluding to the ever-growing pressure he is facing when describing the Mexico City Grand Prix as “my most important weekend”, it might just turn out to be exactly that, with how he performs under the spotlight potentially having a big sway on how he is viewed by the Red Bull hierarchy.

Perez defiant ahead of homecoming

Perez has repeatedly explained that his struggles have been caused by the in-season development of the RB19 going in a direction which doesn’t suit his driving style, but one that enables Verstappen to produce magical speed.

There is undoubtedly some truth to this, with Verstappen’s former team-mate Alex Albon, who is now driving very impressively at Williams, having explained suffering similarly in his brief time with Red Bull.

However, for a driver of Perez’s experience to be so far off his team-mate is quite simply unacceptable.

There had been talk of a ‘reset’ for Perez at the United States Grand Prix after particularly poor races in Japan and Qatar, with several days spent on the simulator at Red Bull’s base, but it was ultimately another underwhelming weekend.

He only qualified ninth for the race, and despite finishing fourth after being promoted a place thanks to Lewis Hamilton’s disqualification, was a long way off the pace of the leading trio, while in the Sprint he qualified seventh and finished fifth.

Perez, in a post-race interview with Sky Sports F1 that sounded like many others he has done this season, explained how it had gone wrong for him on this occasion.

“I wanted more,” he said. “At times I had very good pace. We’re still lacking that consistency.

“I think we know what we did wrong at the weekend, so we are really optimistic going onto the future races, so hopefully we can improve that.

“I think we did very good steps. Unfortunately we didn’t get to show it because we took the wrong direction on the setup given that it was a Sprint race.

“But I’m still very optimistic for Mexico. We know what direction we need to take, so hopefully we get to show that.”

Horner: Mentality a ‘huge element’ of Verstappen advantage

While remaining publicly supportive of Perez, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has repeatedly rejected the suggestion that the RB19 has been developed in a favourable direction for Verstappen.

Speaking in Austin, Horner suggested that Perez’s mentality may have been just as significant as any technical elements in the Mexican’s struggles.

“I think it’s a huge element and with any sportsman that, mental strength always plays a key role,” Horner said.

“And I think there was a decisive moment this year, which was probably in Miami, where Checo had, if you like, an open goal. He’d won two races in Azerbaijan and Saudi, and you could see his confidence was high.

“I think that Max, winning that race, having been caught out by a red flag in qualy – starting down in ninth, and whatever lap it was that he took the lead, within a very short period of time – I think mentally that was that was quite a brutal one for Checo to deal with.

“And on top of that, then came Monaco, I think pretty much the next race. And then things compound. And Max is just relentless, he’s then just hitting aces every race from there onwards.”

One thing on Perez’s side is that Hamilton’s disqualification in Austin means he is in an extremely strong position to seal Red Bull’s first ever one-two in the drivers’ standings.

Perez’s advantage over the seven-time world champion was going to be cut to 19 points, but instead sits at 39 with four races (and one Sprint) remaining.

Speaking before Hamilton’s disqualification had been announced, Horner insisted that there was “no pre-mandate” on Perez having to finish second to keep his seat for 2024.

“With this car, it would be fantastic in such a season that we’ve had if we could finish first and second,” Horner said. “But there’s no pre mandate on Checo that you have to finish second or you won’t be driving the car next year. That’s never been discussed.”

Red Bull set to face hostile atmosphere?

Since last year’s race in Mexico, there have been a couple of incidents that could result in a few other key members of the Red Bull team facing a particularly hostile reception.

It is likely that Perez’s fiercely loyal fans have not forgotten Verstappen’s refusal to help his team-mate’s quest for second in last year’s drivers’ standings in the closing stages of the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, which also follows the Mexico race this year.

Verstappen was booed on the podium in Austin, where a significant contingent of Perez fans were present, and can expect more of the same next weekend.

While there is an element of pantomime to the hostility Verstappen is likely to face, the same cannot be said for Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko.

He was officially warned by the FIA after making comments about Perez where he attributed the driver’s inconsistent form this season to his ethnicity

Asked about the reception he expects his team to receive, Horner said: “I’m not worried about that.

“The team is fully behind Checo and both of our drivers. We love racing in Mexico, we love the Mexican fans. The passion, that stadium and everything, it’s unique. We’re really looking forward to it.”

When to watch the Mexico City GP live only on Sky Sports F1

Thursday 26 October
9pm: Drivers’ Press Conference

Friday 27 October
7pm: Mexico City GP Practice One
8:45pm: The F1 Show
10:45pm: Mexico City GP Practice Two (also on Sky Sports Main Event)

Saturday 28 October
6.15pm: Mexico City GP Practice Three
9pm: Mexico City GP Qualifying build-up (also on Sky Sports Main Event)
10pm: Mexico City GP Qualifying (also on Sky Sports Main Event)

Sunday 29 October
6.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday Mexico City GP build-up (also on Sky Sports Main Event)
8pm: The MEXICO CITY GRAND PRIX (also on Sky Sports Main Event)
10pm: Chequered Flag: Mexico City GP

F1 heads straight to Mexico for the middle leg of the Americas triple header. Watch the whole Mexico City Grand Prix weekend live on Sky Sports F1 from Friday, with Sunday’s race at 8pm. Stream F1 on Sky Sports with NOW

Lando Norris became the first McLaren driver since Jenson Button in 2011 to record four consecutive podiums with second place on Sunday at the United States Grand Prix.

Norris has become one of the most highly-rated drivers on the grid in recent years and has largely maximised his car’s potential this season.

The 23-year-old is closing in on an unwanted record though – the most podiums without a win – as he finished in the top three for the 12th time in his career to go just one behind Nick Heidfeld, who holds the unfortunate record.

McLaren’s development has been very impressive in 2023 as they leapfrogged from the back of the midfield at the start of the season, to Norris leading the United States Grand Prix on merit until the halfway point of the race when Max Verstappen overtook him.

The car is particularly strong on tracks which feature high-speed corners such as Silverstone, Suzuka and the Losail International Circuit in Qatar.

But, with four events remaining, Norris feels none of the tracks in Mexico, Brazil, Las Vegas or Abu Dhabi will play to McLaren’s strengths.

Asked by Sky Sports F1 if he can win a race this season, Norris answered: “Unlikely. Not the answer I want to tell myself or anyone but it’s unlikely. Qatar was our best opportunity. I guess that’s why I was so tough on myself back then because I knew it was kind of our only opportunity.

“We have good tracks and bad tracks, it’s just we have our very, very strong tracks. We still have some good ones I think but not ones where we think we can compete with the others.

“Some fun ones. Vegas is still a big question mark but there are no high-speed circuits which is where we are very strong. It’s where we have always been strong and we are almost on par with Red Bull in the high-speed corners, it’s just the slow speed is letting us down at the minute.

“We understand it and know it’s our area to focus on and improve on. When it comes together, probably not this year but next year, I think we can do some good things.”

Half of the 2023 F1 field have won a Grand Prix in their career and the next new F1 race winner will be the 114th in the championship’s history.

Given the pace of the McLaren, Norris or team-mate Oscar Piastri are favourites to be the next driver to land a maiden win.

In the press conference on Sunday, Verstappen asked Norris why he doesn’t rate his chances more highly for Abu Dhabi, alluding to the Yas Marina Circuit’s fast final sectors since changes were made to the track in 2021.

Norris replied: “Maybe Abu Dhabi, you never know. We’ll see. I don’t think there are any good ones for us coming up. I think our best have gone.

“I just want to be hopeful that we can do good results and I think we can still fight for podiums but these guys (Red Bull and Mercedes) are too quick for me.

“I would say they have been quicker all weekend on average. We just about keep it up in qualifying when we have that new rubber and super low fuel and things like that. We can look decent, but I think realistically we’re not at that level as a general package with these guys. So, not great ones coming up, but Vegas, Abu Dhabi are probably the better ones.”

Could Norris have won the United States GP?

Norris got the perfect start from second place as he overtook Charles Leclerc off the line and pushed hard in an attempt to open up a buffer over Hamilton and Verstappen, who were stuck behind the Ferraris.

The McLaren driver responded to an undercut threat from Verstappen in the first round of pit stops but was caught by the three-time world champion and lost the lead on Lap 28.

He fought hard to keep Hamilton at bay in the final stint by defending aggressively, including a hard jink left into Turn 1, but lost the position. However, Hamilton was disqualified for failing the FIA plank wear test, so Norris inherited second place.

“I’m very pleased. If before the weekend you said we had the result we have had…I wouldn’t have not believed it, but we didn’t expect it in a way,” said Norris.

“I’m very happy. From leading a race to Lap 25 or 30 almost, you are always like, ‘could I have done a little bit more’. But when you see how much I struggled compared to Lewis, how many let’s say setbacks Lewis had – two very bad pit stops, I had two very good pit stops, I didn’t have to go through the field.

“I could control it and execute a perfect race and we still didn’t have the pace, so not a surprise. I think we have known it all weekend that we had not quite what we wanted to compete against them.

“We expected it. We are still very happy with the progress we have made from where we were at the beginning of the season. Even for the team, they are happy but there is still something inside like ‘oh we have missed out’.

“I think you have got to remind yourself of where we were and the progress we have made in a short amount of time. I’m still excited because we know we have a lot more to come, the team are doing an excellent job in every area and we are getting closer and closer.”

When to watch the Mexico City GP live only on Sky Sports F1

Thursday 26 October
9pm: Drivers’ Press Conference

Friday 27 October
7pm: Mexico City GP Practice One
8:45pm: The F1 Show
10:45pm: Mexico City GP Practice Two (also on Sky Sports Main Event)

Saturday 28 October
6.15pm: Mexico City GP Practice Three
9pm: Mexico City GP Qualifying build-up (also on Sky Sports Main Event)
10pm: Mexico City GP Qualifying (also on Sky Sports Main Event)

Sunday 29 October
6.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday Mexico City GP build-up (also on Sky Sports Main Event)
8pm: The MEXICO CITY GRAND PRIX (also on Sky Sports Main Event)
10pm: Chequered Flag: Mexico City GP

F1 heads straight to Mexico for the middle leg of the Americas triple header. Watch the whole Mexico City Grand Prix weekend live on Sky Sports F1 from Friday, with Sunday’s race at 8pm. Stream F1 on Sky Sports with NOW

Mercedes say they will “go away and learn from this” after Lewis Hamilton’s disqualification due to a technical infringement on his car lost him what had been a stirring second-place finish in the United States Grand Prix.

Hamilton and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc were excluded from second and sixth places respectively four hours after the end of Sunday’s dramatic race after wear levels on the planks underneath their cars were found to have exceeded limits set out in F1’s regulations.

“We are of course naturally very disappointed to lose our podium finish,” said Mercedes’ trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin.

“Unfortunately, it is one of the pitfalls of the sprint format where we have a solitary hour of running before parc ferme.

“Without running at a race fuel load in FP1, combined with a circuit as bumpy as this and the parts of the track where the drivers have to put the car during the Grand Prix, have contributed to the higher than expected wear levels.

“We will go away and learn from this but also take the positives from our experience as a whole.”

Disqualifications Q&A: Answering some of the key questions

So F1 cars have a plank of wood underneath them?

Among perhaps the most-Googled questions about F1 cars, yes, they do have a strip of so-called ‘wood’ on the underside of the chassis.

It is a safety measure to regulate ride height and ensure cars do not run too close to the ground.

Of course, being F1, it’s not exactly any old plank of wood – the material that teams use is actually a rather more complex densified wood laminate.

The plank was first mandated on cars in 1994 as part of a number of safety measures introduced mid-way through that season after the tragic events of Imola, when Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger died in accidents, and has remained in the technical regulations since.

The regulations state that “the thickness of the plank assembly measured normal to the lower surface must be 10mm ± 0.2mm and must be uniform when new” and that “a minimum thickness of 9mm will be accepted due to wear”. It is the latter rule which Mercedes and Ferrari fell foul of.

When were Hamilton and Leclerc’s cars checked?

The issues with Hamilton and Leclerc’s cars came to light during the regular post-race scrutineering of cars in the pit lane in Austin, which is carried out after every race.

Conducted by the FIA technical delegate Jo Bauer, the list of checks carried out in conformity with the sport’s rulebook ran to four pages in a document issued by the governing body on Sunday night.

Some of the array of checks are carried out on all classified finishing cars – such as weight, fuel-flow meters, tyres, and various hybrid power unit limits – while other inspections are carried out on some cars on a random basis from race to race.

For instance, on Sunday, three cars (Perez, Norris and Tsunoda) were selected for checks on their respective aerodynamics and bodywork, which all passed.

Four cars were inspected for physical floor and plank wear, which is where Mercedes and Ferrari ran into their problems. While two cars, Max Verstappen’s Red Bull and Lando Norris’ McLaren, were found to be within the accepted limits, the Mercedes and Ferrari were not.

The matter was then referred to the stewards and, from there, things were only going one way.

But while the post-race parc ferme checks are long-established practice, questions have been raised since the disqualifications in some quarters as to why all cars aren’t checked for their plank wear and why the testing isn’t widened to include more cars if some – in this case half of those tested – are found to be non-compliant.

Sky F1’s Bernie Collins posted on X:

The reality is that the time and logistics which would be required to test every single aspect of every single car on every single race weekend makes such a scenario prohibitive, hence the threat of random checks on certain areas instead.

Would the plank wear have given any performance advantage?

Any lap-time advantage or disadvantage cannot be quantified and, in any case, any such debate is fairly irrelevant in this matter.

Whatever potential mitigating circumstances there may be at play in situations such as this where the technical regulations have been breached on a car, there is a zero-tolerance approach from the FIA and so a slam-dunk disqualification from the results is almost always the outcome.

So, knowing this to be the case, running any risk of falling foul of the plank-wear regulations is clearly something neither Mercedes nor Ferrari would have wanted. Indeed, there was also no suggestion from the stewards that either team meant to break the rules.

Rather, as the teams admitted, the variances of a Sprint weekend when set-up time is severely limited, and the fact the CoTA track was especially bumpy, meant they simply got caught out, hence why neither are appealing the decision.

“As a matter of fact it turned out we were too marginal and also because of the wind that turned direction and had a stronger intensity than forecast, this brought our car to not be legal in the end,” said Ferrari sporting director Diego Ioverno.

“With hindsight, rewinding the weekend, we may have lifted even more the car, but would have lost performance and we are here to optimise our own performance.”

What’s the wider consequence of the double DSQs in the championships?

1. Hamilton’s lost points give Perez unexpected breathing room

For a few hours in the immediate aftermath of Sunday’s race, Hamilton was sitting just 19 points behind Sergio Perez in the standings and his hopes of overhauling the under-pressure Red Bull driver over the season’s final four races appeared eminently achievable.

But the Mercedes driver’s exclusion suddenly produced a 20-point swing back in Perez’s favour, with his rival losing 18 points for second and the Mexican himself also gaining an additional two points by moving up a place in the revised classification from fifth to fourth.

Thirty-nine points with four races left looks a more formidable lead for Perez now as champions Red Bull aim to close out their first-ever Drivers’ Championship one-two.

2. Ferrari peg back Mercedes for second in constructors’

Although Mercedes and Ferrari each lost one car from the final results, the fact that Carlos Sainz finished two places ahead of George Russell in the other cars meant that in the end, it was the Scuderia who scored more points across the Austin weekend despite their rivals’ superior race pace and victory near-miss.

Ferrari took six points back on Mercedes, reducing their deficit to 22 points.

3. Norris gains further ground to move into Ferrari, Alonso territory

The disqualifications had two-fold significance for Lando Norris.

In terms of the race, he inherited the runner-up finish from Hamilton to match his career-best result for the fifth time this year.

In terms of his fast-improving championship position, the three extra points picked up for second combined with Leclerc’s total loss of points meant Norris moved ahead of his Ferrari rival and into the top six of the standings for the first time in 2023.

Furthermore, he is now only 24 points behind fourth-placed Fernando Alonso, who retired from the race and didn’t score all Sprint weekend in Austin. Sainz is 12 points away in fifth.

4. Crucial points boosts for Williams and AlphaTauri

The big winners of the day though were Williams who saw the double disqualification turn what had been zero points into three. Although that haul might not seem much in the grand scheme of things, it is still 12 per cent of their whole season total and consolidates the team’s grip on seventh place in the standings ahead of Alfa Romeo.

Scoring a first F1 point in 10th – and at his home race, no less – is also likely to be a timely morale boost for Logan Sargeant, who is the only driver on the current grid without a contract for 2024.

AlphaTauri, meanwhile, saw their points in the race go from two (10th and fastest lap) to five (eighth and fastest lap) and double their total for the whole season. It now gives them renewed hope of getting off the bottom of the table over the final four races of the season given they are now just two points behind Haas.

F1 heads straight to Mexico for the middle leg of the Americas triple header. Watch the whole Mexico City Grand Prix weekend live on Sky Sports F1 from Friday, with Sunday’s race at 8pm. Stream F1 on Sky Sports with NOW

Max Verstappen held off Lewis Hamilton’s late charge to win the United States Grand Prix, equalling his own record of 15 race victories in a Formula 1 season.

Verstappen, who has already sealed his third successive drivers’ title with five rounds to spare, appeared to be cruising towards victory after coming from sixth on the grid to take the lead midway through the race.

However, apparent braking issues on his Red Bull left Verstappen agitated and vulnerable as Mercedes’ Hamilton closed to within two seconds in the latter stages, but the Dutchman clung on for the 50th F1 victory of his career.

Hamilton had already passed the McLaren of Lando Norris, who faded in the second half of the contest, having taken the lead on the opening lap to boost his hopes of a earning a maiden F1 victory in his 100th race.

“The whole race, I was struggling a lot with the brakes,” Verstappen said. “It was very close at the end and also with the backmarkers, the tyres are already going so it makes it more difficult.

“It’s incredible to win my 50th Grand Prix here. Very proud of course and we will keep on trying to push for more.”

Carlos Sainz took fourth for Ferrari after he and Red Bull’s Sergio Perez made late passes on pole-sitter Charles Leclerc, who dropped back after the Italian team attempted an ill-advised one-stop strategy.

George Russell could only manage seventh as he failed to match team-mate Hamilton’s pace after dropping back from fifth on the grid at the start.

Pierre Gasly rounded off an improved display from Alpine to take eighth, although team-mate Esteban Ocon was an early retiree along with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri after a first-lap collision took them both out of the race.

Lance Stroll claimed his first Grand Prix points finish since July by taking ninth after his Aston Martin team-mate Fernando Alonso was forced to retire with floor damage, while Yuki Tsunoda took the final point for AlphaTauri, and doubled his tally for the day with the fastest lap of the race.

Verstappen’s victory takes him to 466 points for the season and beyond the record haul he set last year, with the Dutchman set to rewrite the sport’s history books over the four rounds of the campaign that remain.

His lead over team-mate Perez extends to 228 points, while Hamilton has closed to within 21 points of the Mexican as the Brit attempts to deny Red Bull a first-ever one-two in the drivers’ standings.

United States GP result
1) Max Verstappen, Red Bull
2) Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
3) Lando Norris, McLaren
4) Carlos Sainz, Ferrari
5) Sergio Perez, Red Bull
6) Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
7) George Russell, Mercedes
8) Pierre Gasly, Alpine
9) Lance Stroll, Aston Martin
10) Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri

Strategic battle sets up thrilling finish

With Verstappen having dominated from pole in Saturday’s Sprint contest, Norris and Hamilton were the only two drivers given any chance of holding him off in the full-length race.

To have any chance of doing that, they needed a strong start, and Norris got just that as he passed Leclerc into the first corner, before opening up an early advantage.

Hamilton, perhaps decisively in the end, was less successful. He lost a place to Sainz at the start, and although he had passed both Ferraris to move into second by lap six, lost crucial time and tyre life.

Verstappen gained a place at the start despite cautiously navigating the opening lap, and surprisingly took significantly longer than Hamilton to clear the Ferraris.

When he did on lap 12, he was seven seconds back from leader Norris, with Hamilton about midway between them.

Any thoughts that Verstappen may have been nursing his tyres to set up a one-stop race were dispelled when the Red Bull was the first of the leaders to pit at the end of lap 16.

The fact Red Bull chose to fit him with another set of the medium tyres he had started the race on meant he would definitely need to stop again to use a different compound before the end.

McLaren reacted by bringing in Norris a lap later, but put him on the hard tyre, keeping open the option of one-stopping.

Mercedes decided to keep Hamilton out as they looked to be considering the one-stop option, but ultimately appeared to be caught somewhat between the two strategies.

Hamilton’s tyres appeared to fall off a metaphorical cliff in his final couple of circuits before stopping on lap 20, with a crucial loss of time occurring as he ran wide and off track.

A slow stop compounded the situation, leaving Hamilton to come out with the several-second advantage he had previously held over Verstappen having switched the other way, while Norris led.

Verstappen ominously cruised up behind Norris and eased past the McLaren on lap 28, but he appeared uncomfortable as he described his struggles with braking in the class-leading RB19.

Norris triggered the second round of pit stops when he came in on lap 34, and closed back to within just over a second of Verstappen when Red Bull responded by stopping a lap later.

That played into Hamilton’s hands, as he was able to keep running at a reasonably competitive pace for three further laps, and had a fresh set of the better-performing medium tyres for his final stint, with the leading duo on hards.

It quickly became clear that it would be a matter of time until Hamilton would pass Norris, with the big question being whether he could track down Verstappen in the closing stages.

Despite having little hope of holding off Hamilton, Norris put up a stern defence over a series of corners that cost Hamilton a crucial couple of seconds and potentially a shot at victory.

The five-second gap that remained with seven laps left initially looked out of reach, but the gap suddenly began to close, with the backdrop of Verstappen repeatedly scolding his race engineer over the radio for talking to him in braking zones.

The gap was under two seconds going into the final lap, but ultimately Mercedes’ failure to optimise their strategy, sub-par pit stops and just about the only error Hamilton made throughout a stellar weekend for the Brit left him agonisingly short of a first win since December 2021.

“I think we probably should have stopped before Lando because I was within undercut position,” Hamilton said. “I don’t know why we didn’t.

“Then after that I came out another eight seconds behind and I had to catch up. It was really difficult to catch up and then I came out again another eight or 10 seconds behind [after the second stop].”

Despite having claimed a third successive win a row at Circuit of The Americas, Verstappen was given a frosty reception by some fans as he appeared to be booed during the podium ceremony by a group of fans.

F1 heads straight to Mexico for the middle leg of the Americas triple header. Watch the whole Mexico City Grand Prix weekend live on Sky Sports F1 from Friday, with Sunday’s race at 8pm. Stream F1 on Sky Sports with NOW

Max Verstappen’s pace in Saturday’s Sprint at the United States Grand Prix knocked a bit of hope out of his rivals, but Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton maintain hope of victory in Sunday’s race.

Verstappen was closely followed by Hamilton initially but slowly pulled away as the Sprint went on and was nearly one second quicker per lap during the closing stages.

However, he starts from sixth on the grid on Sunday, after having his best lap deleted for track limits in qualifying on Friday, and the top three of pole-sitter Charles Leclerc, Norris and Hamilton all know how important it is to lead after Turn 1.

In particular for Norris and Hamilton, getting ahead of Leclerc will be key because their pace is quicker than Ferrari over the long runs. The Sprint also showed that the Ferraris are very quick on the straights, so will be tricky to overtake but do not have the outright pace over the 2.3 miles (3.792 km) Circuit of The Americas.

Sky Sports F1‘s Jenson Button told Norris he has to get past Leclerc then he could be gone, to which the McLaren driver responded: “For a while, until Max comes along!

“I think the last five laps of the Sprint, I caught nearly five seconds on the Ferrari. The pace is very good. I think Hamilton’s going to be our competition and Max coming through.

“If I can get into the lead early on at Turn 1, control my pace… I used a lot of tyres to try and get past Carlos (Sainz) at the beginning [of the Sprint] – it’s never a nice thing when you see the tyre temperatures going through the roof, laying 11 seconds on the track, it’s not a perfect situation.

“If I can control the race from the beginning, we can give ourselves a lot of opportunities to finish high up. But I expect some competition.”

History is on Norris’ side because four of the last five United States Grand Prix has seen the driver in second place lead after the hairpin left at Turn 1.

The grip is equal on both sides of the grid and the width at corner entry invites the driver behind to throw it up the inside, which Leclerc tried on Saturday, and it often pays off.

Norris, who is looking for a maiden win in F1, had similar pace to Hamilton once he got past the Ferraris but thinks the slow-speed corners in the final sector could be an issue.

“A lot of weaknesses. We are very, very bad in the slow speed corners and to improve that for [Sunday] is not really easy, or possible. We will see what we can do, the pace is good and I think we can better Mercedes at least,” he added to Sky Sports F1.

United States GP starting grid – Top 10

1. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
2. Lando Norris, McLaren
3. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
4. Carlos Sainz, Ferrari
5. George Russell, Mercedes
6. Max Verstappen, Red Bull
7. Pierre Gasly, Alpine
8. Esteban Ocon, Alpine
9. Sergio Perez, Red Bull
10. Oscar Piastri, McLaren

What are Hamilton’s chances?

No one from outside of the front row has won at the Circuit of the Americas since the track joined the F1 calendar in 2012, so that stat does not bode well for Hamilton, or Verstappen for that matter.

Hamilton has arguably looked more confident than at any other stage of the 2023 season with Mercedes’ latest upgrades in Austin, and will look to repeat his first-lap move on Leclerc from the Sprint in Sunday’s Grand Prix.

But, he is playing down his chances of a first win since the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in December 2021.

“This is the first weekend where I’ve really felt the car take a step in the right direction, which I’m really grateful for, but it’s not enough ultimately,” Hamilton told Sky Sports F1.

“Saturday was a real good test. Obviously in qualifying we were relatively close but today [Saturday] I really tried to lean on the car and see what it was capable of, and it dropped off big time towards the end and they were half a second a lap ahead of us.

“I’ll make some alterations [on Sunday] to see if I can squeeze a bit more juice out of it but there’s lots of great learnings from.”

He added in the press conference: “Anything is possible. He [Verstappen] has got at least half a second on all the cars ahead of him per lap. That should be enough to get by but there is degradation.

“We will have a job on our hands to hold him back but it’s a track where you can overtake, so it’s likely he will finish high up.”

Verstappen to blitz through the field or find it tough?

Verstappen has produced some memorable drives through the pack in his 49 career F1 wins including Austria 2019, Belgium 2022 and Miami this year.

It would be rather fitting that his 50th victory requires a big push and bold moves, although he knows the pace of his car is strong, so does not need to take too much risk.

“It’s not ideal to start P6 but the pace of the car is still quite strong and hopefully with high fuel we can do something similar. It’s one thing to be fast but another to get by a few cars,” said Verstappen.

“With the degradation around here, it’s not going to be straightforward and trying to follow through the high-speed. We have a race on our hands.”

Speaking of degradation, it should be a two-stop race on Sunday which could give a slight advantage to McLaren as they are the only top team to have two new sets of hard tyres.

If the hard tyre proves to be the best racing tyre, this is another factor which could give Norris a chance to beat Verstappen on merit.

As Sky Sports F1‘s Button alludes to, if one of Norris or Hamilton lead after Lap 1 and Verstappen is not in the top five, it will be game on for the win, and the United States Grand Prix generally delivers entertainment.

“The only thing that saves us for [Sunday] is that Max starts sixth. And we can say, ‘woah, he’s that much quicker than everyone, it’s going to be easy’. It’s not going to be easy,” said Button.

“Overtaking here isn’t easy and they proved that in the Sprint. It wasn’t very exciting because it was difficult to overtake. It’s still going to be a challenge for him. I wouldn’t want to come up behind Lewis. Would you?”

When to watch the US GP and F1 Academy finale live only on Sky Sports F1

Sunday October 22

• 3.30pm: F1 Academy Race Three
• 6.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday: US GP build-up
• 8pm: THE UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX (also on Sky Sports Main Event)
• 10pm: Chequered Flag: US GP reaction
• 11pm: Ted’s Notebook

Watch Formula 1 return to Texas for the United States Grand Prix on Sky Sports F1 this Sunday. Stream F1 on Sky Sports with NOW

As Lando Norris and George Russell head to their 100th Grand Prix weekend, Sky Sports F1 look back at what has been a hugely entertaining start to the careers of the young Brits.

The pair came onto the grid as the next generation of British talent for when the great Lewis Hamilton retires, but now all three are competing at the front.

While they have been on their own journeys, following in the steps of and filling Hamilton’s boots are a recurring theme in both of their careers.

Norris the shining light McLaren needed

Norris arrived at McLaren to help turn the ‘GP2 engine’ frowns into papaya-soaked serotonin hits, and his injection of youth, speed and star power was precisely what McLaren needed to lead their climb towards the front of the F1 pack, where they belong.

McLaren were in a dark place in the late 2010s as they publicly fell out with their engine supplier Honda, with world champions Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso losing patience and leaving the sport entirely.

While they were not struggling quite so much when it came to car competitiveness, a fresh-faced Lewis Hamilton walked into a political storm as McLaren imploded with Alonso and then team boss Ron Dennis grating and ‘spy gate’ scandals – like Norris, Hamilton was the young shining light that gave the team and the fans a reason to cheer and believe.

This experience for both Hamilton and Norris forced them to mature quickly – they have been the team leader despite the arrival of more experienced big names such as Alonso and Daniel Ricciardo, and they are better drivers for it.

The other similarity to Hamilton that Norris has is his natural, quirky but genuine persona, engaging a global audience – he is a superstar by being himself.

Hamilton was a superstar in the early stages of his career because of the barriers he broke and the people he spent time with, however, he didn’t have the surroundings and confidence to be himself until he moved to Mercedes.

Norris, meanwhile, has entered F1 at a time where expressing your individuality is celebrated – thanks in a large part to Hamilton – which means that he can be his unreserved self, making him so appealing.

While the car helped, Hamilton’s ability to express himself arguably allowed him to unlock a new level of performance.

The fact that Norris has done this earlier in his career than Hamilton may allow him to grow more quickly as an individual and as a racing driver in the next 100 races.

Russell waiting in the wings for ‘too long’

Russell is impatient, he says he wants things “yesterday”, and that is because he knows he has the ability to mix it with the very best and he has had to be patient for most of his career.

Like Norris, he was quickly forced into a leadership position as the then Formula 2 champion joined struggling Williams alongside drivers that could not match his level – as much as he appreciated Williams, Russell quickly outgrew the team.

Russell maintains that he drove for Williams for “too long” – an assessment that Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has since admitted.

The reality is that Russell would normally have been in the car after one season, like Max Verstappen at Red Bull and Charles Leclerc at Ferrari – but Mercedes were going through a far from average period.

As the Silver Arrows and Lewis Hamilton dominated F1, one of the winning formulas was the partnership between Hamilton and the reliable, diplomatic and likeable Valtteri Bottas.

Hamilton has continued to maintain that Bottas was his favourite team-mate. So, as long as the championships came, the champion’s calls to keep Bottas were heeded.

In 2021, though, Russell’s talent was too glaring to ignore for Wolff, welcoming the King’s Lynn man to Brackley for 2022.

Russell will have understandably expected to at least have been picking up wins as he supported Hamilton in the fight for the eighth title, but things didn’t exactly go to plan.

Team-mate tensions on the horizon for both Brits?

Instead, Mercedes have had two years trying to find their way, taking away winning opportunities but allowing Russell to grow in experience and confidence – he is just as ready to fight for titles as Hamilton.

Arguably, Russell had his greatest season in 2022, outscoring Hamilton and winning whilst the seven-time world champion failed to do so for the first time in his career.

Only one team-mate can win the driver’s title, and that’s why Christian Horner says he wants to avoid having two alpha drivers – they take points away from one another.

If they can get into the position to fight for race wins, Mercedes need a clear driver to back, as shown in Qatar.

McLaren have a similar issue in the form of the superstar Norris and the raw but exciting Oscar Piastri.

Does Zak Brown back Norris, with whom he seems to have a very special relationship, or Piastri, for whom he fought so hard to sign?

Piastri and Russell will only get better as they look to assert themselves on their team-mates.

Norris obviously has youth on his side and will continue to blossom himself, but how he reacts to being challenged by his team-mate, something he hasn’t had since Carlos Sainz in 2020, will be fascinating to see, especially as McLaren appear to be the team closest to the almighty Red Bull machine.

Russell will be disappointed with this season’s results after such a positive 2022 in Mercedes.

However, on qualifying pace, he is matching Hamilton and heads into Austin 9-8 up – Russell also arguably came the closest to winning in Singapore.

The youngster is taking risks while he has nothing to lose, learning his limits for when a title is on the line – that is a dangerous challenge for Hamilton who is undoubtedly in the latter stages of his career.

There have been a few moments this season when the Mercedes pair clashed, but Qatar’s first corner shenanigans were by far the most explosive.

Mercedes will hope to keep a lid on it and McLaren will hope their drivers don’t get any ideas.

Both Norris and Russell have made impressive starts, but they have challenges to overcome if they want to become champion in their next hundred races – not least, on the other side of the garage.

How do Norris and Russell match up?

Let’s be clear – Russell’s three years in a Williams which rarely scored points will impact the head-to-head data.

Nevertheless, the numbers do point to the respective strengths of the drivers.

Norris nor Russell have had as much success in F1 as they would have liked, with Russell the only one to have tasted victory after his win in Brazil and those painful final laps for Norris in Sochi.

But sometimes winning is not everything, and this is very much the case in an era of F1 that has been dominated by Hamilton and now three-time world champion Max Verstappen.

The data points to Norris’ consistency being his greatest strength.

Norris has only failed to finish a race 10 times in 99 Grand Prix, scoring points an impressive 74 times.

For context, Russell has retired 16 times, Hamilton, one of the most consistent finishers in F1 history, retired 12 times in his first 99 races and Verstappen more than double with 21 times.

Of course, mechanical failures are not in the driver’s control, but Norris is rarely caught up in a crash, keeps his nose clean and generally delivers the best result possible in the car – that is invaluable for a team.

He also has one more podium than Russell, with 11 – five P2s and six P3s compared to Russell’s one win, two P2s and seven P3s.

Norris has yet to get his first win, but if he continues to maximise results, he will take the top step when the opportunity arises.

While Russell can be slightly less consistent, his ability to grab an opportunity shines through.

Whenever things are up in the air, who is the driver first to risk it on slicks on a drying track or call on his team to try an aggressive strategy?

Russell loves to go for it, and that has been the nature of his career in the uncompetitive Williams or Mercedes, desperate to overcome the might of Red Bull.

No wonder Russell snatched the opportunity to secure pole position and win in Brazil last year. Were it not for a puncture, he would have also clinched victory when parachuted into a Mercedes in Sakhir 2020.

This ability to snatch a chance with both hands is why Russell is beating Norris in the critical statistics of Grand Prix wins, pole positions.

Norris and Russell head into their hundredth race in Austin, having established themselves as two of the best on the F1 grid.

They are ready to take the baton from Hamilton as the top British driver, but they may have to wrestle it from the seven-time champion for longer than expected.

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