October 28, 2022
We have reached the final three races of the season, and we start with the Mexican Grand Prix. The race season isn’t over just because the Drivers and Constructors Champions were decided. There is still the fight between Leclerc and Perez for second in the Drivers, the fight for second in the Constructors, and the Alpine-McLaren battle for fourth. These next three races should be interesting. Here is everything you need to know for the 2022 Mexican Grand Prix:
Weekend Schedule (in EST):
Practice 1: ALREADY HAPPENED
Practice 2: CURRENTLY HAPPENING
Practice 3: Saturday 10/29, 1:00-2:00 PM
Qualifying: Saturday 10/29, 4:00-5:00 PM
Race: Sunday 10/30, 4:00 PM
The seventy-one lap race will take place in Mexico City, at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. With seventeen corners, two DRS zones, and one super long straight, the track looks like a right triangle. Mexico poses a new kind of challenge to the teams as it is the highest altitude race of the season. At 2,200 meters above sea level, the air is less dense and makes cooling the car much harder. The lack of density means the air is thinner and requires more downforce on the cars. Even with the highest setting, they only get the downforce of the lowest setting at other tracks. Teams will be working hard to find the perfect setup during practice sessions.
The Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez
During the United States Grand Prix, Max Verstappen tied Sebastian Vettel and Michael Schumacher for the record of most wins in a season. With three races left in the season, the Red Bull driver has three chances to beat that record and get at least fourteen wins. That would be a cool record to break in a season where he didn’t have the best start.
Charles Leclerc and Sergio Perez are separated in the Drivers Championship by three points. Perez was ahead as we went into the summer break, but Leclerc has gotten five podiums in a row and put himself in second. These next three races will be all to play for as they fight for the title of Vice Champion. Sergio Perez, however, has an advantage in Mexico as it is his home grand prix. With the electrifying energy and encouragement his home crowd provides, Perez will be itching to win this race.
Ferrari is fifty-three points ahead of Mercedes in the Constructors Championship as the two teams fight for second. Mercedes pushed its final upgrade package of the season in the US and they had real pace. Hopefully the Ferraris will keep themselves ahead of Mercedes, but it looks like Mercedes has a real shot at stealing second.
This weekend will see some different FP1 drivers. Haas will be running reserve driver Pietro Fittipaldi in place of Kevin Magnussen, and Nyck de Vries will be driving a Mercedes.
Fernando Alonso was hit with a thirty-second time penalty after the US Grand Prix when Haas launched a protest against him for racing with a car that was in an “unsafe condition”. Alpine disputed this penalty on the grounds that Haas issued their protest twenty-four minutes past the regulated deadline. They also argued that if the FIA thought Alonso had an “unsafe” car, the stewards could have informed the team instead of waiting until after the race to give him a penalty. The FIA reviewed this situation and in a hearing on Thursday, they deemed Haas’ protest inadmissible because it wasn’t submitted within the required time limit. This returned P7 to Alonso and awarded him six points. While it was good that Alonso got his penalty overturned, it’s bad for me because Alpine is now further ahead of McLaren in the Constructors Championship. Hopefully my McLarens can perform well this weekend.
A few weeks ago, the FIA found Red Bull guilty of violating the cost cap during the 2021 F1 season. After about a month of negotiations, Red Bull and the FIA have finally agreed to a $7 million fine that must be paid within thirty days of a date set by the two parties. Red Bull will also have their time in wind tunnel testing for the 2023 season reduced by 10%, significantly decreasing the amount of data they will be able to collect. I am glad to see that the team faced consequences for their actions and who knows, maybe this will help Ferrari get ahead of Red Bull next season!
Honorable Mentions:
The Mexican Grand Prix means that Papa Perez (Sergio Perez’s dad) will be in attendance. I love that man and he never fails to bring a smile to everyone’s faces! It will be very interesting to see how he reacts if Checo wins the race this weekend.
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Papa Perez was the happiest man alive after his son got a podium in the 2021 Mexican GP |
I’m excited for the Mexican Grand Prix! It should be a fun race as we wind down the season. With only three weekends left to watch Sebastian Vettel drive that F1 car, I will definitely be taking it all in.
I will be back after the race!
Happy Race Weekend!
- Divya
Where I got these
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