With both championships secured, Max Verstappen sets his sights on the single-season win record at the Mexico City Grand Prix.
It wasn’t exactly straightforward, but Max Verstappen once again took to the top step of the podium in Austin last weekend. The win not only secured the Constructors’ championship for Red Bull on an emotional weekend but it tied Verstappen with Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel for the most wins in a single season.
Verstappen got out to an early lead after overtaking polesitter Carlos Sainz at the first turn. From then, he held the lead through a couple of safety cars. Things took a turn during the green flag pit stops, however. Max had an extremely slow stop that not only cost him the lead but allowed Charles Leclerc to get ahead of him for P2.
Then Max showed why he’s the world champion. Over the final 20 laps, he fought through Charles Leclerc, then steadily crept up on Lewis Hamilton for the lead. With six laps to go, Verstappen got by Hamilton at Turn 12 and sailed off to claim the win. It was one of the few opportunities for a non-Red Bull driver to get a win, but even still Verstappen fought back and grabbed the victory.
The win streak for Red Bull is now up to eight. The last race they lost was back in July at the Austrian Grand Prix. They’ve continually improved this season and have remained consistent while their competitors ebb and flow in terms of performance. Just three races remain this season, and you can be sure that they’ll aim to run the table and carry historic momentum into 2023.
Imagine the celebrations if Checo wins this weekend! 🥳🇲🇽#MexicanGP @redbullracing pic.twitter.com/942ljnYpyA
— Formula 1 (@F1) October 27, 2022
The Circuit
The Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez was built in 1959 and hosted its first Formula One Grand Prix in 1963. It hosted F1 from 1963-1970, then again from 1986-1992, before finally returning to the calendar once more in 2015. The race got a slight tweak in its name last year, going from the Mexcian Grand Prix to the Mexico City Grand Prix. There was some good news ahead of this weekend as well. The race is here to stay, with the circuit re-upping its deal with F1 until 2025, much to the delight of the Mexican fans.
The circuit is 4.304 km (2.67 miles) long and is the highest on the F1 calendar at over 7,200 feet above sea level. The race lap record is held by Valtteri Bottas who set a 1:17:774 at last year’s race with Mercedes, while Verstappen won the race. Max has three wins at the circuit, which is the most all time. He also won in 2017 and 2018.
A Lap of the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez
The lap begins with a 1.2 km straight where the first DRS zone is located and where drivers reach some of the highest speeds of the season. Turns 1 through 3 slow the drivers down through a few winding turns before they head onto another straight. It’s then another hard braking zone into the left-handed Turn 4. Drivers quickly make a couple of slow right-handers in what is another slow section and eventually blast down a short straight after Turn 6.
Now it’s into the high-speed section. Turns 7 through 11 are an “esses” section similar to Silverstone or what we saw at the Circuit of The Americas last week. A series of quick lefts and rights that require precision to be able to carry speed and flow through the section. The drivers then barrel down another straight, where the second DRS zone is located, toward the hard braking zone at Turn 12.
The right-handed Turn 12 brings the drivers into the stadium section, and yes, it is a literal stadium. It hosted baseball games up until 2014 and now is incorporated into the F1 circuit. This section is predictably very slow to ensure safety. Turns 13 through 16 are all in the stadium and it is single-file for the drivers through here. The final turn is a fast right-hander quite similar to Monza’s Parabolica that launches the drivers back onto the main straight.
Sunday’s race will be 71 laps and cover 305.354 km (189.73 miles).
Championship Standings
Both championships are now secured, but let’s take a look at what’s happening down the order. There are some spots still to be decided, with some close battles in both championships.
Driver Standings
- Max Verstappen*, Red Bull Racing – 391 points
- Charles Leclerc, Ferrari -267 points
- Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing – 265 points
- George Russell, Mercedes – 218 points
- Carlos Sainz, Ferrari – 202 points
- Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes – 198 points
- Lando Norris, McLaren – 109 points
- Esteban Ocon, Alpine – 79 points
- Fernando Alonso, Alpine – 65 points
- Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo – 46 points
Constructor Standings
- Red Bull Racing* – 656 points
- Ferrari – 469 points
- Mercedes – 416 points
- Alpine – 144 points
- McLaren – 138 points
- Alfa Romeo – 52 points
- Aston Martin – 51 points
- Haas – 38 points
- AlphaTauri – 36 points
- Williams – 8 points
*Clinched championship
Race Predictions – Mexico City Grand Prix
The Red Bull/Honda engine always performs well at high altitudes. Combine that with Red Bull’s recent form, and this one is seemingly a no-brainer. The only question is which Red Bull driver gets it done? Checo winning his home Grand Prix would be a sight to behold, but I think the single-season win record is too tempting for Verstappen and Red Bull to pass on. Make it another Max victory this weekend.
- Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
- Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing
- Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
How To Watch – (United States TV Schedule, All Times EST)
- Practice 1: Friday, October 28 – 1:55 p.m. – ESPNews
- Practice 2: Friday, October 28 – 4:55 p.m. – ESPNews
- Practice 3: Saturday, October 29 – 12:55 – ESPNews
- Qualifying: Saturday, October 29 – 3:55 p.m. – ESPNews
- Mexico City Grand Prix: Sunday, October 30 – 3:55 p.m. – ESPN
