F1 Features

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes – 9

Mexico has not been a happy hunting ground for Mercedes in recent years.

- Some things only happen in Mexico: Lewis Hamilton said he felt uncharacteristically engaged by the parade lap, and decided at that moment he needed to win this Sunday’s race.

Upon my first visit to Mexico City for the Mexican Grand Prix, one of the most immediate and impressive signs that Formula 1 was in town came courtesy of an enormous billboard in support of Sergio Perez close to the airport.

- It was one of those longer than needed Saturdays, with Max Verstappen’s penalty taking more than three hours to be confirmed.

Max Verstappen has a habit of losing pole position in Mexico by tiny, tiny margins. In 2017, it was 0.086 seconds. In 2018, it was 0.026 seconds. And this time around, it was the result of eight words.

- Very few races in the calendar have such buzzing Fridays as the Mexican Grand Prix.

Thursday’s FIA press conference in Mexico touched on topics that would have been more fitting for an edition of Question Time . Chat about tyres, team orders and updates was largely shelved for a discussion centred on environmentalism and, at one stage, politics.

- If people are wondering why a F1 driver like Lewis Hamilton is raising attention to the world’s environmental issues, the answer was given this Thursday in Mexico City.

Lewis Hamilton can move a step closer to Michael Schumacher’s all-time Formula 1 record at this weekend’s Mexican Grand Prix, though his celebrations may be put on hold.

Lewis Hamilton heads into this weekend's Mexican Grand Prix with his first opportunity to wrap up the 2019 Formula 1 world drivers’ championship, but it will not prove an easy task.

While Mercedes may have wrapped up the constructors’ championship with four races to spare this season, such a convincing victory does not tell the story of how close some of the races have been in 2019.

Formula 1 heads to the Americas for the first of a double header as we enter the final four races of the 2019 season at the Mexican Grand Prix.

There are just a handful of spots left up for grabs as the jigsaw puzzle of the 2020 Formula 1 grid continues to take shape.

A little over 12 months ago, Carlos Sainz’s future in Formula 1 looked unclear. Despite impressing through his first full season with Renault, he was only third-choice at best for the team as it pushed to sign Daniel Ricciardo or Esteban Ocon to partner Nico Hulkenberg for 2019.

Valtteri Bottas scored his first Formula 1 victory in over five months as Mercedes were crowned champions once again in the Japanese Grand Prix. 

The Saturday evening of any grand prix weekend is usually a late one at the track for journalists.

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes – 7

- Valtteri Bottas stormed to the sixth grand prix victory of his Formula 1 career on Sunday at Suzuka, seizing the lead at the start of the race before dominating proceedings as he crossed the line more than 10 seconds clear of the pack.

The typhoon-induced shake-up of the Formula 1 race weekend at Suzuka left teams and drivers largely in the dark as to the pecking order heading into Sunday’s running, creating the possibility for some surprises.

The disruption caused to the Japanese Grand Prix by Typhoon Hagibis has left Formula 1 drivers finding themselves in the unfamiliar territory of having a day off mid-race weekend. 

- News broke in the lead-up to FP1 on Friday morning that Saturday’s activities at Suzuka had been cancelled due to the approach of Typhoon Hagisi, which will make landfall tomorrow.

- Much of the talk on Thursday surrounded the incoming super typhoon that could disrupt Saturday’s running. Typhoon Hagibis is expected to make landfall in Japan on Thursday with wind speeds of 90 mph and heavy rain.

Mercedes can move a step closer to becoming the first team in Formula 1 history to win six successive world championship doubles at this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix.