Hamilton’s pure magic
The world champion elect, Lewis Hamilton, will surely claim his sixth title at the next round in Austin. Were any further proof required that he has been almost untouchable this season, Mexico served up definitive evidence. With Mercedes at their bogey circuit, they required a perfect strategy and the perfect driver to pull it off. Having got through the hair-raising moments of the opening laps, Hamilton put his head down and set about making the most of his team’s superlative call. The data suggested the hard tyre could go for approximately 41 laps. Hamilton needed to make it work for 47 and stay in front of Sebastian Vettel on fresher rubber. He did so (and with a damaged car) by combining pace and precision control, easing his braking and smoothness of turns to minimise the wear. It was a masterclass from a driver at his peak.
No flaws in Mercedes gameplan
Hamilton owed much to his team’s gamble on the one-stop. They were informed on making the decision having seen Daniel Ricciardo putting in quick laps after he started on the hard tyres. He had moved form 13th to sixth by the time of Hamilton’s stop on lap 23. What was striking, however, was that for the first time in seven years Hamilton’s race was not being engineered by Peter Bonnington, absent for medical reasons, but by his No 2 Marcus Dudley, assisted by Dom Riefstahl, who had moved over from his role in team operations at Brackley. If there were debut nerves they did not show. Hamilton proved his crew had been spot-on. The team principal, Toto Wolff, described how it demonstrated that Mercedes have developed a remarkably robust structure. “A phenomenal job,” he said. “It shows that we have a strength, deep strength in the team. Marcus did a really good job together with Dom, his data engineer.”
Ferrari wrong-footed once again
Ferrari, who started with a one-two lockout but once more failed to exploit it, admitted they had made the wrong calls for both drivers. They had underestimated the resilience of the hard tyres – boosted by the higher temperatures on Sunday that reduced graining. Data had indicated a two-stop was probably the quickest strategy. They stuck to this with Charles Leclerc, which as the race unfolded swiftly proved to be the wrong decision. Then, when Mercedes took their chance pitting Hamilton early to gain track position on Vettel, Vettel insisted he would be better off going long believing Hamilton would struggle to make it to the end. But by the close it was clear the hard tyre was holding up and Vettel’s chance had gone. Ferrari might well have done better by absolutely insisting Vettel had pitted. The team principal, Mattia Binotto, admitted that they could have been more adventurous – which surely comes with the confidence of long, winning spells. “Certainly the gamble Mercedes did was the right gamble,” he said. “They took some risks to win. Maybe we should have taken more risks, it’s difficult to judge, but after the result it’s easy to say ‘yes’.”
Renault future under review
Daniel Ricciardo’s run from 13th to eighth was a fillip for driver and team, and the Aussie certainly seemed to have enjoyed himself. He made an audacious lunge at Sergio Pérez late on that failed but which he took with typical good humour. “I sent it into turn one, maybe a little late, and the postman wasn’t there,” he said. A shadow hung over the team, however, as the car manufacturer’s interim chief executive officer, Clotilde Delbos, announced there will be a complete review of the company’s activities, including F1. “Everything can be on the table at some point,” she said. The team has not been as competitive as it had hoped this year and consideration will be given to whether the direction F1 takes in 2021 fits with the company’s goals. In the short term, making progress is the least they need. The team director, Cyril Abiteboul, was typically blunt. “We must get rid of everything that undermines our potential or offers easy opportunities on-track or off-track to our fierce competitors,” he said.
Deadline day dissent
Mexico illustrated once more just how nigh-on impossible it can be for cars of a similar pace to pass one another. Thursday is still planned for the announcement of the new regulations for 2021, designed to address the issue. The big three, Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull, are still unhappy with the proposals. They believe the rules will create aerodynamic issues, are too prescriptive, and alongside a budget cap and a new concorde agreement that will address fairer distribution of revenue, are attempting too much in one fell swoop. Red Bull’s team principal, Christian Horner, has suggested the technical rules be held for a year to allow development and evolution, a proposal rejected by the FIA and F1. Horner noted in Mexico that not only Renault but also Honda are waiting to see the new structures before committing beyond 2020. Ferrari retain their right to veto the changes, which if employed would almost certainly end up in court and conclude with an eerily familiar deadline extension for a new deal.
