Golden win for Max Verstappen who set a new record at the Mexican GP with most wins in a season (14). The taste is bittersweet for Mercedes, who showed a significant improvement but could have even won with a different strategy. As for Ferrari, the underperformance landed them in points problems.

These are the top 5 takeaways from the Mexican Grand Prix, the 20th Formula 1 race of the year.

01. Red Bull’s golden risk

It was a race from last year, with Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton battling for victory. Except for this year, the roles are reversed. It was Mercedes who had the advantage with the tires all last year as their car handled them much better and suffered a lot less.

Now this year, that ace is up Red Bull’s sleeve. In Mexico, the blue cars started on Pirelli softs, only to switch to mediums about 1/3 of the way into the race. Anyone who knows how to “read” the races recognized early on that Verstappen definitely – and probably Sergio Perez as well – relied on one and not two pit stops. At Mercedes, they may have “shredded” the job when the Dutchman changed softs so late, but also because he wasn’t chasing the best time.

Max got off to a fantastic start, controlling the race, managing his tires excellently and taking a gold win. Czeko, on the other hand, certainly wanted more than third place, but took back second place in the table from Charles Leclerc – as a consolation. The result therefore justified Red Bull’s strategy, which Mercedes paid for in the same currency as last year…

02. Mercedes fell into their trap

The German team believed that the two Red Bulls would make a second pit stop. So they start the race on the medium tires and then switch to the hard tires until the end because they think that’s how they’re going to win. Eventually they dropped out – or rather, they fell into the trap they’d laid for themselves… Finally, this time, Hamilton’s grumbling over the radio had some basis.

Something has changed in Mercedes’ once infallible strategy. On a positive note, the Silver Arrows in Mexico actually looked like arrows – although this particular track suits them. But note the following important thing: Perez on a new medium tire could not seriously threaten Hamilton, who had a hard tire.

If they had made the right tire choice at Mercedes, they would have celebrated their first win of the year right away! However, they left hope for the future to fans of Lewis and George.

By the way, has Russell been getting a little irritable lately, or is that just our idea? Obviously, the young Brit doesn’t like that Hamilton has ‘woken up’ in recent races and is putting him in his place, bringing better results. Look at how he passed him at the start but also how he then dealt with the onslaught from Perez who Russell could never catch.

03. Ferrari’s heavy defeat

The red cars were in a race all their own. They never threatened or were threatened by anyone. Russell was even able to make an extra pit stop without losing his position to Saints, who was a long way behind. The only good thing we have to say is that Leclerc managed to climb from 7th to 5th at the start, where he stayed until the finish.

It’s a pity for the hopes they gave us when they said that in Mexico they saw an improvement in the management of their tires… Of course, in qualifying it was clear that the high altitude affected the performance of the Italian engine quite a bit.

We have nothing more to say about the Scuderia. Indifferent struggle, absence of all struggles and fears. about how the rest of the year will develop. Let’s hope Binotto and his team have something better in store for us in 2023.

In the general standings, however, they lost significant ground, both Leclerc, who finished third, 5 points behind Perez, and Ferrari, whose gap to Mercedes was reduced to 40 points in the battle for second place. The fans are on fire…

04. Ricciardo’s revenge

The guide of the day! We won’t hide it: we have sympathy for Daniel Ricciardo and regret that he will not be on the starting line-up in 2023. The Australian in Mexico City reminded us of his good self. Starting 11th on Pirelli mediums which he later switched to softs, he drove amazingly well and put his McLaren in 7th place. Yes, you got it right, he executed the strategy that Mercedes should have followed.

Daniel even managed to outpace Ocon by more than 10′ to recoup the penalty for the Tsunoda incident and not lose his position in the end. Contact with Alpha Tauri was also Ricciardo’s only bad moment in the race. Obviously surprised by his amazing pace, he attempted to pass the Japanese at a totally invalid point and was rightly penalized.

But we wonder: what did he do differently compared to Russell, who in the previous race similarly passed Carlos Sainz at the start and also ruined his race but was penalized by 5 inches instead of 10? FIA, is he listening?

05. Albon: The unsung hero – of the village

What can you say about Alex Albon? He drives the worst car of the season and manages to surprise us with his performance in almost every race. In Mexico he started from 19th to 12th place, outpacing the two Aston Martins, the two Haas, Chow’s Alfa Romeo and of course Latifi’s other Williams – all showing that his days in Formula 1 count…

Would Albon deserve a better car? Definitely yes. And if he had it, why didn’t he use it is the logical question. Indeed, it’s one thing to be on a winning team but throwing all your weight on your teammate – who also happens to be named Verstappen (!) – and another to have the alibi of a bad car that almost shrugs everyone off Responsibility from you and you work freely and stress-free on the track.

In simple Greek it is one thing to be first in the village and another to be last in town. What does this show us? That it’s not enough to have talent, like Albon. You must also have the mental toughness and courage to unleash your talent on the track and seize the opportunity that presents itself. And sadly, Alex didn’t have that when he found himself at Red Bull.