Formula 1โs new champion was crowned amid an action-packed Mexican Grand Prix weekend that taught us plenty.
๐ The Core Development
It's now a pattern of behaviour, and this time it cost Ferrari a very likely win and a probable 1-2. Charles Leclerc's attack on Lewis Hamilton on lap one and Hamilton's response to it opened a door through which Max Verstappen happily walked. But it should never have been open at all had Ferrari had a robust team tactics plan in place - or, much more importantly given what unfolded, any hope of trusting its drivers to smoothly execute it.
That lack of trust was the main takeaway from just how the Ferrari situation kept unspooling as Sunday night progressed in Mexico. Every new interview Fred Vasseur did sounded more exasperated. Hamilton's condemnation of Leclerc's approach to intra-team racing in general got more blunt as the post-race press conference went on.
๐ Background & Sector Context
"I think it's a mentality thing. It's like 'do or die - either I win or none of us do', and it shouldn't be that. It should be us getting that 1-2," was Hamilton's most damning line.
But it had also been Hamilton calling for the stewards to penalise Leclerc in the race at a point where Red Bull would have been the direct beneficiary. And they'd both outbraked themselves while fixated on beating each other on lap one. Meanwhile, Leclerc just tried to redirect any angst towards the circuit layout (how careless of the organisers not to barrier-line the track so he couldn't corner cut to overtake his team-mate) and suggest the intra-team element didn't really seem much of a "talking point".
๐ Industry & Real-World Impact
This is a mess. It can be plastered over with some talks or new guidelines. But fundamentally these are two drivers who don't trust each other to have the team's best interests at heart, and who are giving their team little reason to trust them. - Matt Beer
Benchmark Telemetry & EV Fuel Savings
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๐ฎ Strategic Outlook & What Lies Ahead
F1 can feel quite fortunate that Leclerc didnโt win the race because he cut the track to gain the race lead.
Thankfully for F1, Verstappen was able to stay just within five seconds of Leclerc and Red Bull cleverly pitted him immediately when Leclerc served his penalty to ensure Verstappen got track position.
