F1 information: A 3-way championship battle tops F1 Mexico Metropolis Grand Prix storylines

When the System 1 grid landed in Austin for final week’s United States Grand Prix, the script for the season’s closing act appeared somewhat easy. A two-way battle between McLaren and Pink Bull for the Constructors’ Championship. A duel between Lando Norris and Max Verstappen for the Drivers’ Championship. Easy and simple.

Charles Leclerc and Ferrari determined to make some edits on the Circuit of the Americas.

Leclerc’s emphatic victory in Austin, with teammate Carlos Sainz Jr. ending behind him, thrust each Leclerc again into the combination within the Drivers’ Championship, and Ferrari again into rivalry for the Constructors’ Championship. McLaren nonetheless leads Pink Bull by 40 factors within the Constructors’ standings, however Ferrari is simply eight factors behind Pink Bull now, having closed the hole in Austin.

As for the Drivers’ Championship, whereas Verstappen prolonged his lead over Norris for the primary time for the reason that Belgian Grand Prix, Leclerc now sits 79 factors behind Verstappen.

And solely 22 factors behind Norris.

As Leclerc mentioned Sunday through the FIA Press Convention, till he and Ferrari are eradicated, he’s going to imagine.

“I imply, by no means say by no means. Let’s say that for the Constrictors, if we do every little thing excellent till the tip of the season, it doesn’t matter what McLaren does, if we do higher than them, I feel we are able to nonetheless clinch that title. With the drivers, I see it a bit another way. Even when we do every little thing excellent, I really feel like it is going to require a little bit little bit of luck inside that to try to get that title, and we can’t actually depend on luck,” mentioned Leclerc on Sunday. “So the Drivers’ appears to be fairly unlikely, however once more, I’ll imagine in it till it’s mathematically unimaginable. However trickier.”

Trickier.

However not unimaginable.

This sudden three-way battle leads the storylines heading into this week’s Mexico Metropolis Grand Prix.

Franco Colapinto is getting nearer to dwelling

Photograph by Kym Illman/Getty Photos

Certainly one of my favourite moments from final week in Austin got here simply moments earlier than the lights went out for the US Grand Prix.

I used to be strolling by the paddock, making the trek again to the media heart from being on pit lane throughout pre-race festivities. That’s once I noticed an older gentleman posing for {a photograph} behind the Williams storage, holding up an Argentine, on which he had written “Franco.”

The gentleman additionally had a smile on his face brighter than the searing Texas solar.

Franco Colapinto has captivated the whole sport, along with his meteoric rise from F2 driver to F1 star, whereas respiratory new life into the workforce at Williams. Colapinto, on his first F1 Dash Race weekend, delivered a powerful restoration driving, ending within the factors regardless of beginning fifteenth on the grid. That provides him a pair of factors finishes in his 4 races in F1, and he has caught the eye of rival workforce principals as he fights for a spot of his personal on the grid for subsequent season.

Nonetheless, this week he’ll get to race nearer to dwelling, a incontrovertible fact that was not misplaced on the younger driver when he met with the media Thursday in Austin.

“I do know many followers are gonna be in Mexico, and extra in Brazil,” mentioned Colapinto final week.

“So it’s gonna really feel virtually like dwelling, I feel no less than Brazil, and I’m very enthusiastic about it,” continued Colapinto. “I’ve quite a lot of assist from the followers from Argentina to race near the place my house is, and it’s one thing I’ve been ready for and one thing I’ve been dreaming of.

“And it’s occurring now. Very thrilling occasions.”

Very thrilling occasions, certainly.

Sergio Pérez beneath strain at his dwelling race

Dying, taxes, and Sergio Pérez beneath strain.

Talking with the media in Austin shortly after the checkered flag flew at the US Grand Prix, Pink Bull workforce boss Christian Horner famous how each Ferrari and McLaren have driver pairings preventing persistently on the entrance, whereas the scenario is completely different at Pink Bull.

“Congratulations to [Ferrari] this weekend, they’ve been very robust, they usually’ve obtained two drivers which can be competing on the entrance,” mentioned Horner to the media, together with SB Nation, Sunday evening in Austin. “McLaren likewise, their drivers, there’s not an enormous deficit between them. That’s the place we actually want, for the Constructors’, to have Checo come into play.”

Now Pérez heads to this weekend’s Mexico Metropolis Grand Prix, his dwelling race, beneath elevated strain to ship a efficiency given Pink Bull’s standing within the Constructors’ Championship battle. Rumors earlier this fall held that Pérez would announce a stunning retirement at this race, rumors the driving force shot down in unimaginable vogue on social media.

Nonetheless, the mix of his dwelling race, and the strain he’s beneath, shall be an amazing quantity of weight on his shoulders as he climbs into the RB20 later this week. Bear in mind final season’s race, when Pérez crashed out on the first nook whereas trying a daring overtake of Verstappen and Leclerc? Hopefully, for Pérez and Pink Bull, we don’t see one thing related this week.

Later in his media session Sunday evening, Horner talked in regards to the assist Pérez will obtain in Mexico Metropolis, and the way that may give the driving force a lift.

“Hopefully with the assist that he’ll obtain in Mexico, it is going to give him that increase,” mentioned Horner. “Clearly while you qualify out of place you lose a lot time coming by the tail finish of the automobiles within the prime ten that you simply’ve misplaced contact with the remainder of the race.”

Each the workforce, and the driving force, want that increase to return by this week.

The battle for sixth between VCARB and Haas

The three-way battle between McLaren, Pink Bull, and Ferrari will dominate the dialog down the closing stretch of the 2024 F1 season.

However in a sport the place each place issues — when it comes to prize cash and sponsorship {dollars} — there are crucial fights everywhere in the grid.

One is the scrap between Visa Money App RB F1 Crew and Haas for sixth within the Constructors’ Championship. When the grid arrived in Austin for final week’s United States Grand Prix, VCARB held a three-point benefit in that battle.

However because of double factors within the F1 Dash Race in Austin, and an eighth-place end from Nico Hülkenberg within the Grand Prix, Haas has pulled forward on this battle, main VCARB by two factors in the intervening time:

On the FIA Press Convention Friday in Austin workforce boss Laurent Mekies mentioned each Haas and Williams are sooner than them in the intervening time, which might make holding on to sixth a tough proposition.

“You already know, it’s important to give credit score to Haas and Williams. I feel they’re sooner than us proper now, each of them. I feel it’s a product of the difficulties in our automobile improvement that we hit in the midst of the season. So it took us a while to digest that, to grasp, ultimately to begin fixing it,” mentioned Mekies to the media, together with SB Nation, in Austin. “So I feel in the intervening time, going into Austin, we’re slower than these guys, so we’re defending our positions.

“Now, it’s fairly spectacular the variety of updates that just about the entire grid dropped at Austin, so it’s a bit like a brand new six-races shootout for all of us. So, , we don’t suppose we are able to defend the P6 if we stick with a automobile that’s slower than them for the six races, so hopefully with the upgrades we’ve right here and a few extra tweaks coming, we hope it is going to give us sufficient uncooked tempo to provide it an excellent battle.”

That battle continues this week in Mexico.

The battle for eighth between Williams and Alpine

Then there’s the rising battle for eighth within the F1 Constructors’ Championship between Williams and Alpine.

Williams has rocketed forward of Alpine in that battle in current weeks, thanks largely to a double-points end in Azerbaijan:

However Alpine appeared to take a step ahead, no less than when it comes to one-lap tempo, in Austin. Pierre Gasly delivered the workforce’s greatest qualifying efficiency of the season at the US Grand Prix, storming into Q3 and qualifying seventh. However past the mere truth he superior to the third phase of qualifying, is how he did it, as Gasly was topping the timing sheets at varied moments in each Q1 and Q2.

Williams might need the momentum, however Alpine might need discovered a solution with their current set of upgrades. This battle shall be fascinating to observe.