Aussies in last-ditch battle after Piastri collision, two huge crashes in ...

29 Oct 2023

Fox Sports

The Mexico City Grand Prix is delivering plenty of drama, with two huge crashes including a first-corner wipe-out for home hope Sergio Perez.

Perez was forced to retire after his big shunt with the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc, creating a golden opportunity for the Australian duo of Daniel Ricciardo (who started fourth) and Oscar Piastri (seventh) to challenge for a shock podium.

Those hopes faded as the race wore on, but the pair are currently in sixth and eighth place respectively.

A second crash brought out a red flag when Kevin Magnussen’s Haas caught fire after slamming into the barriers on a 225km/h corner.

Following the restart, Max Verstappen leads Lewis Hamilton and the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc.

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RACE CENTRE: Mexico City Grand Prix live timing, updates and more

MASSIVE crash prompts Red Flag in Mexico | 01:20

Leclerc started on pole in a Ferrari front-row lockout ahead of Max Verstappen in his Red Bull.

Verstappen leapt past the two Ferrari cars on the run to the first corner, while his teammate Perez surged at the start after lining up in fifth.

Perez tried to get around the outside of Leclerc on the first corner to swoop into the top two, but the pair collided heavily, sending the Mexican flying through the air.

Perez limped back to the pits, while Leclerc – who had no opportunity to evade Perez given Verstappen was already tight up against his opposite side – managed to stay out in second position despite front wing damage.

The stricken Perez was distraught in the pits as his team tried in vain to repair the car and send him back out, only to retire a handful of laps later due to significant damage.

It came after expert Martin Brundle told Sky Sports about the struggling Perez before the race: “I think it’s one of the most important races of his career, not just his year. He needs to demonstrate to Red Bull that he’s the man to go forward with.”

FULL STORY

Perez on verge of tears amid costly call as Ricciardo’s ‘best performance’ casts large shadow

Sergio Perez had a disaster.Source: Getty Images

Daniel Ricciardo, who started an impressive fourth in his AlphaTauri, managed to retain that spot after the opening laps thanks to Perez’s disastrous start, lining up behind Verstappen and the two Ferrari drivers Leclerc and Carlos Sainz.

A virtual safety car was brought out after Leclerc’s carbon fibre front wing shed pieces all over the track.

But when the action restarted in earnest, Ricciardo was forced to defend desperately against the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton. He managed to hold off the multiple world champion for a handful of laps, but eventually lost fourth place on lap 11.

All drivers were struggling with the scorching temperatures in Mexico, battling with high tyre, brake, and engine temperatures – and forcing plenty of tactical management from the drivers.

“The tyres are giving up mate. There’s not much I can do,” Verstappen said on team radio on lap 19 before pitting, dropping to seventh before quickly getting past George Russell into sixth.

Despite the brutal conditions, Ferrari told Sainz on team radio that a one-stop strategy was still their best bet. Lewis Hamilton pitted after 25 laps in a bid to undercut Sainz. Ferrari did not respond immediately, instead extending Sainz’s first stint in a bid to have fresher tyres at the closing stages of the race.

Max Verstappen cruised past Daniel Ricciardo to claim third position, while Oscar Piastri pitted to drop to 10th and take on a set of the more durable hard compound tyres.

George Russell pitted shortly afterwards, but was disappointed to come back out on track in tenth – just behind Oscar Piastri.

Russell fumed: “Why have we pitted right behind Albon!? Surely we could have got past him!”

Piastri got past a pair of slower cars to get past Bottas and Alex Albon, while Ricciardo also pitted but returned to the fray in fifth – behind Carlos Sainz after the Ferrari star finally pitted after being overtaken by Verstappen on lap 29.

Charles Leclerc was the last of the contenders to pit, coming in after 32 laps, but managed to come out in second position, behind Verstappen but ahead of Lewis Hamilton.

Follow updates from the Mexico City Grand Prix in our live blog below!

Ricciardo qualifies in fourth spot | 01:04

Then in the 33rd lap, Kevin Magnussen had a massive crash, wiping out his Haas which also burst into flames, unsurprisingly bringing out a safety car.

Martin Brundle said in commentary: “Something broke there. Something broke on the car!”

It appeared to be a part of his right rear suspension, leaving Magnussen little more than a passenger at 225 km/h.

Verstappen pitted immediately but retained top spot, while Lando Norris also pitted – only for a red flag to come out and send all the drivers back to the pits.

“A standing start with a hard tyre, it’s going to be a huge mess,” Leclerc said after the restart was announced.

A host of drivers changed tyres – but ‘scrubbed’ or used tyres rather than fresh sets.

Verstappen and Leclerc went for hard tyres, while third-placed Hamilton opted mediums.

Ricciardo in fifth maintained his hard tyres while Piastri changed to mediums.

The restart saw the top four stay the same, but Ricciardo lost a place after contact with the Mercedes of George Russell, who had also got past Piastri in a rapid surge off the line to claim fifth.

The other McLaren of Lando Norris – who started the race 17th but rose to 10th before the restart – had a disastrous restart, losing four places in the run to the first corner.

Hamilton – with the faster mediums than Leclerc – desperately tried to get past him in the first laps after the resumption of action, and finally got it done into turn one on lap 40 with a sensational overtake to claim second spot.

Meanwhile Piastri was in a hot battle with Yuki Tsunoda behind him, as the Aussie traded seventh place back and forth with the second AlphaTauri.

Oscar Piastri was struggling on his medium tyres and on lap 48 Tsunoda tried another overtake, leading to contact between the two that left Piastri dancing across the grass and lucky not to spin.

The very next lap, they came together again, this time with Tsunoda spinning out and dropping all the way to 16th.

Piastri and Tsunoda came together in back-to-back laps.Source: FOX SPORTS

Tsunoda roared: “F*** man!”

That saw Lando Norris move up into eighth behind his Aussie teammate, with the Brit having had a wild race. Norris started in 17th, climbed to 10th before the restart, dropped to 14th after the restart, and then charged up the field once again!

His pace was clearly better than Piastri’s, and on lap 56 the team swapped the two drivers to allow Norris to hunt down Ricciardo in the closing stages.

Ricciardo fought desperately to hold on against Norris, the pair even making contact, but Norris pulled off a brilliant overtake in a sensational display of hard-but-fair racing.

Follow updates from the Mexico City Grand Prix in our live blog!

MEXICO GRAND PRIX STARTING GRID

1. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)

2. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)

3. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)

4. Daniel Ricciardo (AlphaTauri)

5. Sergio Perez (Red Bull)

6. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)

7. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)

8. George Russell (Mercedes)

9. Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo)

10. Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo)