F1 Today – Mexico City Prixview – 04/11/2021
Red Bull face “complicated” team order call – Perez
Sergio Perez says he and Red Bull could face a ‘complicated’ team orders call in Mexico City Grand Prix in a bid to help Max Verstappen’s title challenge. The Mexican goes into his home race with the best chance in his career of taking victory.
However, despite him having a chance of going for what would be a hugely popular victory in front of home fans, Perez is well aware the teams focus is on maximising opportunities for Verstappen in his fight with Lewis Hamilton. The Dutchman leads Hamilton by twelve points and five races to go meaning Red Bull still cannot afford to concede any unnecessary ground.
That has opened up a scenario where Perez could find himself leading the race from Verstappen but is then ordered to sacrifice the win. Speaking in Mexico City ahead of the GP weekend, Perez accepted there could be a potentially tricky situation of having to give up a home win, but that was something that could only be evaluated once the race was underway.
He told reporters, “We should see what circumstances we have in the race. At the end of the day, we are drivers working as a team and the main focus is on the team. It’s the big picture. We will have to look at the circumstances.”
“That’s the beauty of racing: that decisions are made in the moment, in seconds, even though they are very complicated issues.” Perez described the possibility of team orders costing him victory as complicated.
He arrives in Mexico having taken podiums in the last two races, the team go into this weekends race is expected to be the pace setters. Perez says he believes the team has good rhythm in recent races to fight for podiums, adding “We are fighting for a lot in these last races, and every point will be important.”
Power struggle killed Andretti Sauber takeover
Michael Andretti has rebuffed reports that his plans to enter F1 by buying the Sauber owned Alfa Romeo hit a financial roadblock, instead, he said it was about control of the team.
Over the last months, rumours have circulated about a possible takeover deal, but Andretti said ‘control issues’ mean they had to walk away. He later clarify if he meant that Andretti Autosport was expected to “buy it and not control it”, Andretti nodded and said, “Basically.”
Speaking at the announcement that Devlin DeFrancesco will complete the team’s four-entry IndyCar line-up for 2022, the Andretti Autosport CEO said: “I’d just like to put an end to some of these rumours that the deal fell through because of financial reasons. That couldn’t be further from the truth. It had nothing to do with that.”
“It basically came down to control issues in the final hours of the negotiations. That’s what killed the deal. I’ve always said if the deal is not right, we’re not going to do it, and in the end it wasn’t right. So we continue to look for other opportunities.”
He did however agree there is plenty of enthusiasm for an American team to enter F1, but Liberty had not been actively involved in trying to make it happen. He said the sports rights holders weren’t doing anything to push them towards entering the sport, but they would always be open to entering the sport.
Adding “when we do expand, we have to make sure that it’s a proper deal that we know we can be competitive because that’s very important for our brand – to be competitive in anything that we do.”
Mexico City Track limits
The FIA will be enforcing track limits at Turn Eight and Eleven for this weekends Mexico City Grand Prix at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodrigues.
At Turn Eight any driver who goes completely behind the red and white kerb must re-join the track by keeping wholly to the right of the two bollards parallel to the track on the exit of the corner.
There are two areas the stewards will be watching at Turn Eleven like Eight at the apex any driver who goes completely behind the red and white kerb must re-join the track by keeping wholly to the left of the blocks.
While on the exit of the corner leaving the track will also see the lap deleted. On the third occasion, the driver will then be reported to the stewards. For the avoidance of doubt this means a total of three occasions combined not three at each corner.
However, as always this will not automatically apply to any driver who is judged to have been forced off the track.
Pirelli on target for more durable tyres
Pirelli says it is on target to deliver the more durable and raceable tyres which the sport has requested to go alongside next years regulation changes. In a bid to create closer racing, the sport has asked for tyres that allow drivers to push hard throughout races.
The Italian manufacturers head of F1 Mario Isola said the “should be very close to the targets”. He said drivers who had tested the 2022 tyres were “happy” with the result.
On the tyres Pirelli has supplied since it entered F1 in 2011, drivers have generally not been able to push hard for more than a very small number of laps without the tyres overheating and irretrievably losing performance.
The issue which has emerged in recent years is the narrow window cars need to be in to get temperature, meaning cars have been unable to follow closely for long periods.
Speaking to BBC News about the new tyres anonymously a leading driver said the tyres he has tested as part of the 2022 development programme were a significant step forward. Adding, “The new tyres are definitely better; you can push harder for longer.”
The new lower-profile tyres as part of the package to create closer racing have three main aims, reduced overheating so drivers can push hard throughout a race stint. A wider working temperature range, to reduce problems in both getting tyres to the right temperature and then reducing the ease with which they overheat and reduced thermal degradation
Isola says that he was “quite positive” about the results of extensive testing this year with several teams and most of the top drivers. Adding that the drivers were quite happy with the result.
F1 motorsport managing director Ross Brawn said: “One of the things Pirelli have been trying to do is to make the tyres less thermally sensitive, so if a driver pushes a tyre [too hard], it comes back. That’s a little difficult with the tyres we have now, and they seem to be making progress in that respect.”
Isola says the tyres are providing more satisfying car behaviour for the drivers in way beyond the statutory requirements on Pirelli.
Alpine considering shake-up of team
Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi is considering an organisational shake-up at the team for 2022 in a bid to ensure it makes the progress needed. The Anglo-French teams focus is on finishing fifth in the constructors’ championship, but he is clear that its long-term ambitions are much greater, and it needs to “grow muscles” if it is to move forward.
With an ultimate target of regularly winning races by the end of the next rules cycle in 2024/2025, Rossi is ready to change Alpine’s approach to ensure it can achieve its aims. Speaking to Motorsport.com, Rossi said that a third consecutive year of being fifth in the standings was not a level the team can be happy with long term.
He said, “It’s not in line with what we want. I clearly want the team to contend for podiums and win by the end of the next regulation, that is to say 2024/25, depending on where they decide to switch to the new regulation package.”
“But to do so, we’ll need to evolve the team a little bit. I think the team has moved from P9 to P5, before the plateau we’ve reached, pretty well in the past years. But now, to move to the next stage and become the best of the top teams rather than just the best of the rest, it’s another evolution that is needed.”
Rossi says that he wants to keep the momentum going, after learning a lot this year operationally building towards the ultimate goal of winning championships.
Rossi thinks Alpine needs to adapt to the fresh challenges and opportunities of the F1 cost cap, which will mean ensuring resources are better focused on the areas that makes the difference. This requires the team to operate differently to how it has been structured in more recent years when the budget was not so heavily limited.
He explained “We’re going to be under the cost cap with new regulations, so the recipe we’re going to apply next year is not necessarily the recipe that we have applied in the past years. We’ll need to adapt to that new context, and I think we have the strength in the assets to do so.”
F1 profits continue to recover from pandemic loses
Formula One’s profits continue to show recovery following the financial hit caused by the pandemic. Results for the third quarter shows a 12% rise in revenue in the three months to October with profits rising by $81m to $668, while a $104m loss was turned into an $80m profit, after the ten teams had been paid their $338m share.
The number is up despite a drop in the number of races in the quarter which normally results in a dip in profits, but compared to last year many races didn’t pay race hosting fees or had one-off deals due to the pandemic. In contrast, this season most events have been allowed to run at or close to full capacity.
Also income such as that from broadcast deals is allocated per quarter depending on how many races are held, so that was actually down in 2021, indicating just how much extra was earned from race promotion fees in order to create the higher overall revenue total.
In its results the sport noted that “increased in the third quarter, primarily due to growth in race promotion revenue compared to the prior year where limitations on fan attendance led to one-time changes in the contractual terms of races held.
“Media rights and sponsorship revenue decreased during the third quarter due to the impact of lower proportionate recognition of season-based income (7/22 races took place in the third quarter of 2021 compared to 10/17 in the third quarter of 2020), partially offset by growth in F1 TV subscription revenue and revenue from new sponsors.”
F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali remains confident about the prospects of the sport given the results on track, adding “We already know that the 2021 season will be one for the ages, with a fierce battle up and down the grid and among the constructors and among the constructors.
“We have seen the results with fans at the track and with engagement across all platforms.”
Chadwick’s F1 dream closer
Jamie Chadwick believes her goal of reaching Formula One “definitely feels closer than it’s ever felt” after winning a second successive W Series title. The Williams reserve driver secured her second title at the United States Grand Prix, after taking two wins in Austin,
W Series has staged its second season on the support bill for F1, where Chadwick has been a development driver with Williams since 2019. She also races in the inaugural season of Extreme E. Speaking to Sky Sports, Chadwick admitted it feels like a “weight’s been lifted off my shoulders. (F1) definitely feels closer than it’s ever felt, which is an amazing thing.”
“But it also feels like there’s a lot that I need to achieve yet. So, it feels closer but there’s a long way to go yet. We just need to focus on performance, doing the job I can do, and I feel like the opportunities really are coming out now and the doors are starting to open.”
Chadwick says she wants the next stage of her journey to take her into Formula Two or Three. However admitted up until Austin she hadn’t thought about the next steps, but realistically we want to look at getting into a feeder series to Formula One with her hope to be in F1 in the next three years.
Chadwick also collected valuable super licence points for the achievement, taking her up to the 25 required to be eligible for an F1 practice session. Drivers require 40 to be granted a super licence to race at the top level. A woman hasn’t raced in F1 since 1976 while Susie Wolff was the last female to take part in Friday practice sessions, appearing four times for Williams in 2014-15.
She still however admits there is still a long way to go and still needs fifteen more licence points to get into F1, but says “it’s a great step forward into that kind of position.”
The weekend ahead
This weekend marks the start of one of the most intense triple headers ever as we race across three contents in three weeks. I think this weekend the general feeling is that Red Bull and Max Verstappen have the edge and momentum seriously shifted in Austin towards Red Bull. This season we have seen almost the reverse of the historical form, Verstappen has won the last two races here.
Eyes will also be on his teammate Sergio Perez who goes into his home race for the first time with the realistic opportunity for a home win, however has already admitted he would play the team game. I’m surprised by that slightly as this maybe his only real opportunity to win at home with next years regulation changes.
Mexico City on paper reminds me of Monza in its layout and it is a faster lap, this high speed circuit is fast following with hard braking zones. McLaren, we know won that race partly helped by Hamilton and Verstappen crashing, but they had genuine pace all weekend.
McLaren I think will claw back some of the advantage Ferrari looked to have in Austin. But I think it’s a bit like Monza this weekend where we know McLaren were quick and won that race, this could be an important one in the fight for third in the constructors.
This could be the last true high speed circuit of the year, given we aren’t 100% sure what Jeddah is going to be like and while we have Interlagos next weekend its more twisty. We need to be cautious as this season there have been surprises in the midfield group.