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Lewis Hamilton produced a brilliant drive to finish second to Max Verstappen in Mexico City; George Russell was hampered by a brake issue as he came sixth; watch every session from the final Sprint event this year in Sao Paulo -starting this Friday live on Sky Sports F1,

Lewis Hamilton hailed taking an “amazing” second place in the Mexico City Grand Prix after coming from sixth on the grid to finish behind Max Verstappen.

Hamilton was left disappointed on Saturday as Mercedes struggled to get their tyres into the optimal working window in qualifying, but found a more satisfactory balance in the W14 in the race.

The result reignited Hamilton’s hopes of denying Red Bull a first ever one-two in the drivers’ championship, with his deficit to second placed Sergio Perez reduced to 20 points after the Mexican retired from his home race.

“Honestly, I just wasn’t expecting that. It’s just always a great feeling when you are just putting one foot in front of the other and progressing,” Hamilton told Sky Sports F1.

“The weekend had been really difficult compared to the last race where we had just hit the ground running. This weekend I was really digging deep to try and get the set-up right and I think we did a great job.

“Qualifying was a bit tricky and to be far behind the Ferraris, we need to finish ahead of them to keep the constructors’ [position] so that’s what I was pushing for today.

“To have progressed so well through the early phase of the race and be challenging for a podium and then a second place is amazing. I am really happy with the race.”

Hamilton gained a spot at the start when Perez was forced to retire after colliding with Charles Leclerc.

He overtook Daniel Ricciardo for fourth after 10 laps but got stuck behind Carlos Sainz, who had just enough pace to keep the Mercedes driver at bay.

Hamilton undercut Sainz, so was in third place when the race was stopped by a red flag after Kevin Magnussen’s big crash at Turn 8 at the halfway point of the Grand Prix.

Mercedes bravely put Hamilton on medium tyres for the restart, whereas the other leading runners were on hards. It paid off though as the seven-time world champion made a daring move on the inside of Leclerc, briefly putting two wheels off the track to get past the Ferrari driver and take second place.

Expanding on where the W14 had improved from Saturday, Hamilton added: “I think the car is just quite peaky in qualifying on light fuel, but when you put a load of fuel in the car, it just feels nicer to drive and I think we struck a really nice set-up this weekend and particularly today for the race.

“Other than that, just really good tyre management. I generally enjoyed it. It’s not the most physical of races, being that you can’t push all the way, you’re saving, you’re doing 200 or 300 metres of lifting and coast to keep the car cool and stop it from failing.”

Wolff: Brilliant drive from Hamilton

It was the second successive event where Hamilton has shown strong pace, after he pushed Verstappen close for the win in Austin, only to be disqualified for excessive plank wear.

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff was impressed by Hamilton’s performance, especially on the medium tyres in the second half of the race as the 38-year-old set the fastest lap of the race on his final circuit.

“The smile on our face is because the car was strong. Once Lewis was in free air, we had so much margin in the medium. The lap times were good and fastest lap at the end,” Wolff told Sky Sports F1.

“It’s been a few weekends now where we say we ‘could have’ but didn’t. I think we need to qualify better. Probably with the straight line speed we wouldn’t have been so competitive against Max, but who knows, the pace is there.

“It was a brilliant, brilliant drive from Lewis. We have these oscillations in performance and we don’t really know sometimes if the tyres stick. Just a few degrees of track temperature and you are out of the window.”

Russell explains ‘terrible’ end to race

George Russell, in the other Mercedes, had a frustrating race as he found himself on the back foot when stuck behind Oscar Piastri in the opening stages stint.

Russell wasn’t happy about the timing of his first pit stop as he came out in traffic and was seventh when the race resumed following the red flag.

He overtook Piastri and Ricciardo but couldn’t find a way past Sainz, who defended well to hold onto fourth place.

During this battle, Russell overheated his brakes and lost a position to a charging Lando Norris and only finished half a second ahead of Ricciardo at the chequered flag to take sixth.

“The last 20 laps were terrible,” Russell said.

“The pace was really strong after the red flag. I felt really good in the car, I was right behind Carlos and just couldn’t quite make the overtake, then my brakes overheated and we were concerned we wouldn’t make it at the end and I had to back of.

“As soon as I did that, I lost all the temperature in my tyres and I could never recover it and it was like driving on ice.

“I was lucky to finish in P6. Story of the weekend – another difficult one and it’s a shame because the car was performing well.”

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 to 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. Depend 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 last at the first corner.”

Asked about his confidence of 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

Max Verstappen topped both practice sessions for Red Bull on Friday; Lando Norris second as Lewis Hamilton off the pace in seventh; watch Practice Three live on Sky Sports F1 at 6.30pm on Saturday, followed by qualifying at 10pm

Max Verstappen completed a Friday practice double at the Mexico City Grand Prix as Lando Norris emerged as the world champion’s most likely pole challenger.

Verstappen, who is seeking a record 16th victory of the season, gave Red Bull a perfect start to the weekend by setting a 1:18.686 to top McLaren’s Lando Norris by just over a tenth of a second.

Charles Leclerc took third for Ferrari, while Verstappen’s Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez, urged on by the hugely supportive crowd at his home race, was fourth.

Either side of him there were surprise successes, with Valtteri Bottas fourth for Alfa Romeo and Daniel Ricciardo sixth for AlphaTauri.

Having finished 11th in first practice, Lewis Hamilton was once more unable to fulfil his hope of being able to challenge Red Bull as the seven-time world champion was seventh.

His Mercedes team-mate George Russell was only 10th, having earlier been one of five drivers to sit out first practice as teams took the opportunity to fulfil their obligated young driver sessions.

While Mercedes may be disappointed not to have shown more speed following their upgrades last weekend in Austin, the uniquely high altitude of Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez means there are likely to be significant overnight adjustments which could alter the pecking order.

Also out of position was Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, who was only 11th having also missed the opening session.

Further back, Aston Martin endured a torrid day as Lance Stroll finished 18th and Fernando Alonso 20th, with the Spaniard spinning off as he struggled in a car that has regressed since appearing to be Red Bull’s biggest rival during the first half of the season.

More to follow…

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

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

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 from Friday, with Sunday’s race at 8pm. Stream F1 on Sky Sports with NOW

Max Verstappen and Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez say there is no “rivalry” between them; watch the Mexico City GP live this weekend on Sky Sports F1, with practice up first from 7.30pm on Friday. Sunday’s race is at 8pm

Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez have dismissed suggestions of a rivalry between them as false, amid concerns over the world champion facing a hostile atmosphere at his Red Bull team-mate’s home race in Mexico this weekend.

Verstappen faced some booing after winning last year’s race in Mexico and was once more on the end of apparent hostility after triumphing in last weekend’s United States Grand Prix, with some suggesting Perez fans were responsible.

The organisers of the Mexico City Grand Prix earlier in October launched a ‘Racepect’ campaign promoting tolerance and respect for all drivers, which was accompanied by a statement saying that “insults and unpleasant behaviour cannot go unnoticed, nor be allowed to continue”.

Asked by Sky Sports F1 whether he feared unsavoury scenes this weekend, Perez said: “Not at all and I think it’s important that we give this message [of respect] because media likes to create these sort of rivalries outside the track.

“We are a great sport and we are a great example of a lot of young generations and we should just be focused on the sports side.

“Whatever happens on track should always stay there and that’s the best message we as a country want to give to the rest of the world.

“There is nothing else going on, the most important (thing) is everything stays on track.”

The relationship between the team-mates came under major scrutiny at last November’s Sao Paulo Grand Prix when furious messages were exchanged over radio after Verstappen refused an instruction to allow Perez past him on the final lap.

Since that flashpoint there has been little public friction between the pair, with Verstappen’s dominance while cruising to his third successive drivers’ title diffusing any potential tension.

Asked about a rivalry between the pair, Verstappen said: “That’s made up.

“Checo and I, we get on really well. For us, I don’t think there is any rivalry.

“Of course, as a driver on track you always try to be first or faster, but we have a lot of respect for each other and we appreciate each other’s performances.”

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