General Motors Stays Committed to Andretti F1 Bid

According to a statement made by General motors to the Associated Press, General Motors will not seek entry into F1 without Andretti Global. The statement comes after rumors in the motorsport world arose claiming that Cadillac, a General motors brand could potentially gain F1 status with another team in the field; despite the outcome of the FIA’s final decision on Andretti Global joining the F1 grid.

GM president Mark Reuss told AP, “GM is committed to partnering with Andretti to race in F1. The collaboration between Andretti-Cadillac brings together two unique entities built for racing, both with long pedigrees of success in motorsport globally.” Andretti current has permission to begin technical development. The jury is still out on the commercial FOM agreement. The FOM is currently reviewing the financial impact adding an 11th team will have on Formula One. We have not heard anything as far as an official decision.

We anticipate the loyalty surrounding the Andretti-General motors partnership is a big positive for Andretti’s case. General Motors has the platform to reach millions and they also have the advantage of being one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world. GM plans to send senior executives to next week’s Las Vegas Grand Prix in the hope of improving their chances for the FOM to approve Andretti’s entry.

The Las Vegas Grand Prix weekend will take place starting November 16th with Free Practice 1 at 8:30pm PST.

Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team was the model motorsport titan from 2014 to 2020 in Formula 1. However in recent years the ferocity and competitive advantage they held for so long seems to have dwindled away. But how? Surely a team who could dominate the pinnacle of motorsport for six years knows how to adapt to shortcomings in development. In 2023 there were glimpses of brilliance but nothing compared to the former day. What has Mercedes done wrong in 2023?

Where the Downturn Happened

The demise of Mercedes came via the introduction of the “zero sidepod” a new design thought to push the envelope in sidepod developments. This coupled with some changes to the FIA technical regulations raising the minimum height of the floor for all cars eventually led to multiple problem. The changes came after multiple cars complained about instability in the car coined as porpoising in 2022. The worst victim was seemingly Mercedes. The changes in 2023 for Mercedes were thought to correct the issues that plagued them last year, but improvement did not come. By mid season Mercedes conceded that that they needed to redesign the entire car; setting them back substantially.

Fast forward to today and now the rumor mill is flying with whispers related to now ex-Technical Director Mike Elliott and his departure from the Mercedes F1 camp. Elliott was considered responsible for the zero sidepod design that hasn’t panned out. While unconfirmed, many speculate that his decisions may have led to the down turn of Mercedes costing him his job. However, Mercedes has chosen to take the unified front.

Toto Wolff Rubbishes Rumors Surrounding Elliott’s Departure

Team Principal Toto Wolff denies any merit to the idea that Elliott. Wolff stated the following to Sky Sports F1, “Mike was my number one employee for many, many years in terms of how he performed. We are going to miss one of the most clever people in the industry. It was just a hard toll on him over those many years and I find it very remarkable that somebody can say ‘you know what? I need to do something else rather than holding on to this’. Formula 1 anyway is an incestuous environment. If someone is strong and says ‘I’m done with it’ for the time being that’s good.

It’s no single person’s fault if a car doesn’t perform. It’s also not one single person that makes the car faster. I think we have such a strength in the organization that you can take one out and everybody else is going to cover that. I don’t think that’s going to change anything next year.”

Hamilton and Wolff Were Displeased in Brazil

Hamilton had the following words after the Sao Paulo Grand Prix last weekend, “It’s difficult to say why we struggled so much this weekend. There are moments with this car when it works and others when it doesn’t. It’s very inconsistent throughout the lap and we need to figure that out….we were slow on the straights but still sliding through the corners, so it was difficult. We will go away and look at things to find out what we should have done differently. It was a day to forget but hopefully there are lots of learnings from it too. I am also so proud of everyone in the team. They are still working as hard as they can and holding their heads up high. That’s what we have to continue to do and we will keep pushing to improve.”

Wolff had the following comments, “Lewis survived out there to take P8 whilst George was forced to retire. I can only feel for them having to drive something so difficult today. The car is clearly on a knife-edge the whole time and we need to ensure we develop that out of the car for next year. We also need to push hard for the final two races of the season and recover. That is the most important thing now heading to two very different tracks in Las Vegas and Abu Dhabi.”

Hamilton’s Second Place Possibly Decided in Vegas

With Hamilton’s second place hopes dwindling it seems that some of the Mercedes camp might have their sights set on 2024. The fight is not over, Hamilton is now 32 points behind Sergio Perez in the championship. With two races and potentially 52 points up for grabs the race is still on. However, if Perez leaves Las Vegas with more than a 26 point lead. Hamilton will be mathematically eliminated from second place. . There are no more sprint races so the only opportunity to score points will be the final two

Max Verstappen won the the Sao Paulo Grand Prix marking his 17th win of the year. The race got started with a dramatic incident on the formation lap by Charles Leclerc after he lost his hydraulics which sent his Ferrari into a spin into the wall. Leclerc was able to drive the car off of the track to prevent a delayed start. Upon the start Alex Albon and Kevin Magnussen came into contact before turn one. Both cars were not able to continue and a red flag came out to clear the cars. Daniel Ricciardo and Oscar Piastri also suffered damage in the incident but were able to continue the race.

On the restart all of the cars got away cleanly and held on track until the first pit stops started to come. Hamilton came in after being passed by Sergio Perez for a set of medium tires which triggered a pit stops down the pecking order. On between lap 23 and 24 Zhou Guan Yu suffered from a mechanical failure which marked the 4th car to retire from the race.

Sergio Perez Continued His Charge

Sergio Perez got away from the Mercedes which is exactly what the Red Bull driver needed to keep his drivers championship second place fight alive. After the first pits stops it didn’t take Perez long to catch Lewis Hamilton who had pitted before. He passed with ease and built a 2 second lead within the next 2 laps; eliminating any benefit from DRS that Hamilton might have gained to hang on. Hamilton’s teammate was verbally frustrated on the radio questioning the teams decision to no let him pass his teammate before the pit window opened which cost Russell the opportunity to get into clean air in the chase for 3 place. The fight between Hamilton and Russell allowed Perez to get past both cars with minimal tire degradation deeming Perez the winner in the three car scuffle at this point in the race.

Verstappen Holds After First Pit Stops

Verstappen checked out at the front of the pack from the beginning of the race extending his soft tire stent to 27 laps. Because Norris behind also pitted on the same lap it was a free pit stop for Verstappen as he came in for mediums and came back out in the lead having built up a 28+ second lead over third place sitter Fernando Alonso.

By Lap 40 the fifth retirement occurred. This time it was Valtteri Bottas who suffered a mechanical failure. The retirement meant a double DNF for Alpha Romeo. No one expected to be down to 15 cars at this point in the race. However the retirements did clear up some track real estate which only help Verstappen as he didn’t need to navigate as many back markers. On lap 58 George Russell also retired from the race. Mercedes cited an oil cooling issue that would’ve resulted in a catastrophic failure of the power unit.

Perez and Alonso Battle it out to the End

Fernando Alonso was able to hold off a 15 lap siege by Sergio Perez. Perez used DRS for the majority of the end of the race but couldn’t quite get below the 4 tenths differential he needed to be able to make the pass. Alonso put on a masterclass in defense leaving no opening for Perez to utilize. However the opportunity finally came with 1 lap to go in the race where Perez out braked Alonso into turn 1. Perez got by and held the drive out of turn 4 to stay ahead. However, Alonso wasn’t done and fought back on the final lap of the race passing Perez. Third place came down to a drag race to the finish line that Alonso edged out a 0.053 lead and took third in the race. Alonso finished behind Lando Norris who held P2 for the majority of the race.

Hamilton Loses out in Brazil

Lewis Hamilton couldn’t muster the pace to make a challenge for the podium in Brazil. Hamilton was verbally displeased with the decision to go on to the soft tire instead of the hard which may have given him an advantage to drive at full pace. He finished P8 which did not help his case in the race for second place in the championship. Hamilton finished behind Perez in the Grand Prix and the Sprint race so Perez will leave the weekend with a 32 point lead over Hamilton. With two races to go Perez can potentially clinch second place in the next race in Las Vegas depending on the events in two weeks. For now Hamilton will need to reassess as his second place hopes are dwindling.

Full Race Results Below

After starting from P2 Verstappen got the holeshot up the hill into turn 1 during the Sao Paulo Sprint to take the lead from Lando Norris off of the starting line. Verstappen wouldn’t look back and would continue to extend his lead for all 24 laps of the Sprint race. Norris fell behind early in the race to Sergio Perez but was able to retake second place shortly after. Norris and Verstappen pulled away from the rest of the pack but the battle for third behind saw a few position changes in the early stages of the race.

The majority of the teams chose to run the 24 lap stent on soft tires. Soft tires appeared to be the correct choice especially in the fight for third between Sergio Perez, George Russell and Lewis Hamilton. Sergio Perez finished the race in P3 ahead of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton in fourth and seventh. The finish improve his lead for second place in the championship to 24 points. Perez has his work cut out for him in tomorrow’s race. Starting from P9 he will have to create some magic to outscore Hamilton. We anticipate he will opt for a long stent on a set of hard tires to start the race to see if he can make up time in the pit window.

Yuki Tsunoda Scores First Sprint Points for Alpha Tauri

Yuiki Tsunoda finished the sprint in P6 scoring points in a Sprint race. Tsunoda got a late draft on Lewis Hamilton in the closing stages of the race. With the help of DRS Tusnoda was able to make the pass and finish ahead of Hamilton. The finish was the first point scoring finish for Alpha Tauri in a sprint race. Both Tsunoda and Ricciardo finished in the top 10 but points are only awarded for the top 8 in the sprint race. The finish bumped Alpha Tauri up in the constructors standing ahead of Alpha Romeo as they look to challenge Williams for P6.

Full Sprint Race Results are Below

Sao Paulo Grand Prix action kicks off at 12:00pm ET.

Lando Norris found redemption in the sprint shootout this morning claiming pol ahead of Max Verstappen and and Sergio Perez. Norris edged out Verstappen by 0.061s in a nail biter qualifying session. “A great day, but honestly it felt like one of the worst laps I’ve done so it’s a surprise,” said Norris. “My first pole in a long time so I’m happy. The pace has been good all weekend, the car has been strong. It’s a tough one, the Bulls are always quick, Max is very quick. I’ll give it my all.” Sergio Perez found some much needed damage control pace in the sprint shootout. He finish P9 in qualifying for the Grand Prix and will look to score maximum points in the Sprint race with the improved position.

The most important aspect of this finish is that Perez is ahead of Lewis Hamilton. If Perez can extend his lead over Hamilton in the Sprint it will help with damage control in the Grand Prix.

Ocon and Alonso Crash Out of SQ1

Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso made contact in SQ1 which brought out the red flag. Ocon was not able to get his car repaired. Aston Martin attempted to turn Fernando’s car around to get him back out on track but the efforts would prove futile. Alonso and Stroll were both below the cut off for SQ2.

Ricciardo Continues Good Form

Daniel Ricciardo secured P9 in the sprint shootout which puts him in good points scoring position. His teammate Yuki Tsunoda finished P6 to secure a double top 10 finish for Alpha Tauri. With both cars in points scoring position it could be a good start to the weekend for an Alpha Tauri team who desperately wants to return to mid pack contention.

Full Sprint Shootout Results

Max Verstappen secured pole position for Sunday’s race in a qualifying session staring bad weather in the eye. After running second fastest in Q1 and Q2 Verstappen found the pace to top the table but not without drama. The 2023 champion set his best time in dry conditions which was 0.3s faster than the second place before the rain came. Verstappen shared that he wasn’t happy with his fastest lap. After the session he had the following words, “Charles Leclerc and I were just discussing – our laps, they felt terrible!” said Verstappen. “But I don’t know, the wind started to change and started to be very strong, and we lost a lot of lap time because of it, but it was all quite hectic in the last lap.

We had to do a lot of laps because the gaps were very, very small and then of course in Q3, you could see the weather incoming and it looked really bad… But luckily we completed the lap in the best way possible, but there was no grip out there, because the wind was changing a lot. Of course, happy to be on pole.”

Verstappen Continue After the Session

“Although today was quite tough with the weather, it was great to end up on pole. In Q1 and Q2, the gaps were small in between cars and we ended up using quite a few of our tire sets. When we lined up to go out for Q3, you could see the sky was black. As we went out, the first sector was alright but the rain started coming in; the wind picked up and changed direction in the middle section which made it difficult to drive but the Team told me just to keep pushing.

I have never experienced something that has had such a big influence on car balance, but ultimately it was still a great result and sets us up well for Sunday. For the Sprint race tomorrow, we will try and do the best we can as I think it will be close in the Sprint Shootout.”

Aston Martin Turns Heads in Brazil

Lance Stroll finished qualifying in P3 ahead of teammate Fernando Alonso. It has be a long time since good fortune came the way of Aston Martin. The session marked the highest qualifying finish for Lance Stroll in 3 years. After a boomed start to the season Aston Martin has taken a backseat compared to the growth seen by McLaren and Mercedes over the course of the season. Aston Martin currently sits fifth in the championship. McLaren is the target who currently sits 20 points ahead of Aston Martin in the championship.

A jubilant Stroll had the following words, “It was a good result today – the car felt pretty good throughout the whole session so I’m very satisfied. With both cars starting from the second row, we will be aiming for a podium on Sunday but I think that the race will be tricky. All the teams are very close and it is difficult to know exactly where we stand. We were fortunate when the rain came but we also made the right calls – both Fernando and I were able to get our Q3 laps in early before the rain started to fall. The points are awarded on Sunday, so let’s see what we can do from a good starting position.”

Sergio Perez Doesn’t Do Himself any Favors

Sergio Perez who desperately needs to hold off Lewis Hamilton didn’t do himself any favors today in qualifying. Perez finished P9, 4 positions behind Lewis Hamilton. Hamilton currently sits 20 points behind Perez. With two point scoring opportunities this weekend the championship standings may see a shift by the end of the weekend. Perez has a lot of ground to cover in the Grand Prix on Sunday. He could find redemption in the sprint shootout tomorrow but given his pace in qualifying for the Sunday’s race there are a lot of question marks for the Mexican.

Perez had the following statement, “It was very unfortunate today, I think we had the pace to qualify in the first two rows at least. We were on for P3, P2 maybe, my lap was very close to Max’s until the last corner but we had Piastri spin at the end of the lap and I had to back off. I also think we went out a little too late, the rain picked us up and the track temperate was cooling quickly. There are so many ifs but it is just the start of the weekend and there is still a long way to go, the positive is we seem to have very strong pace. I am looking forward to tomorrow now to see what we can do on Sprint day, I think we have some good opportunities to race from here.”

Daniel Ricciardo appeared to be back to 100% form after his outing at the Mexico City Grand Prix. Ever since his departure from Red Bull in 2018 Ricciardo hasn’t quite found a home that was mutually beneficial for his growth and team success. After a few short stents with Renault and McLaren. He found himself back in the Red Bull camp as a reserve driver before opportunity came knocking.

Unfortunately, Ricciardo got off to a slow start as he reacquainted with the hustle and bustle of the F1 grid. Just when we saw him starting to build chemistry with his Alpha Tauri he injured wrist at the Dutch Grand Prix. Fast forward to present day and Ricciardo seems to be in a much better groove that last week. After qualifying P4 for the Mexico City Grand Prix Ricciardo was flying high heading into the grand prix. Ricciardo commented on the race weekend, “There’s a lot of emotions, and I’m definitely feeling better than good. Two starts on this track hold your breath because it’s such a long run until Turn 1, and anything can happen.

Ricciardo Discusses the Red Flag and Restart

The first start, we went into Turn 1 fourth and came out of it fourth as well, so I was happy. For the second start, I knew the Red Flag would hurt our race, but I’m happy to hear that Kevin (Magnussen) wasn’t injured after the big crash he had. Restarting on the hard compound, with others opting for the medium tire, and only losing one position, was close to the best scenario, and we did well. We tried to settle into our rhythm, where I had a little fight with Norris but then let him go.

We thought if he could catch George (Russell), he’d bring him closer to us, and he did. On the last lap, we got close but didn’t quite make it. Regardless, to be fighting with a Mercedes at the end is exciting. Overall, it was a good weekend during which we gained six important points. Now let’s keep the ball rolling.”

It is clear Ricciardo is hungry for more. He also added “It’s definitely more fun fighting at the front,” “It just feels better, feels right, so happy with the weekend and we’ll try to keep this thing rolling.” After the race Ricciardo felt like the red flag hindered his race. At just about half race distance Kevin Magnussen suffered from a suspension failure that resulted in the race being red flagged. The grid stacked up and it opened the door for everyone behind Ricciardo to have another shot at passing him. While Ricciardo couldn’t capitalize on his qualifying position. Capitalizing on grid position and scoring championship points in his second race back is a good achievement.

Next up is the Brazilian Grand Prix this weekend at Interlagos. Ricciardo will hope to extend this stroke of brilliant into the weekend.

Max Verstappen won the Mexico City Grand Prix today; again in dominant fashion. Despite the race being red flagged, Verstappen was able to maintain his lead on the restart and secured his record setting 16th win in 2023. He has the potential to further extend this record in the remaining races this year. Verstappen start from P3 in the race but got the hole shot into turn 1 drafting pole sitter Charles Leclerc perfectly to make the pass and assume P1 at the start of the race.

Verstappen would hold his position until the race was later red flagged after a mechanical suspension failure caused a high speed crash for Kevin Magnussen’s Haas. It took the track marshals quite a bit of time to clear the debris and fix the track barriers. On the restart Verstappen timed his get away perfect building a 2.5 second lead within 2 laps and would not look back.

Perez crashes out on Lap 1

Sergio Perez came into the weekend with a goal of extending his championship point lead ahead of Lewis Hamilton in the battle for second place. Unfortunately for Perez his race ended before it started. On the first lap of the race Perez made contact with Charles Leclerc in a pure racing incident. Perez was admittedly frustrated with the outcome in his home race. He stated, “I’ve had some really sad moments in my career, but certainly this is as a race is the saddest one, because of the end result. But at the end of the day, this is just racing. I go very sad home, but I also go very proud of my time or myself. We gave it all. I knew that today, a podium was not enough for me, and I really wanted to go for the win. I saw the gap and I went for it.”

Leclerc was booed by the local fans after the race but the incident was determined to be a racing incident. Perez was a bit ambitious trying to run 3 cars wide into turn 1. Contract was made and Perez went spinning. He was able to get the car back to the pits but there was substantial sidepod and floor damage to the car that ultimately ended his race.

Hamilton Seizes the Opportunity

After a disappoint United States Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton found redemption in Mexico. With Perez crashing out of the race Hamilton had one goal; score points. That is exactly what he did. Hamilton finished P2 securing 19 points for the weekend. He cut Perez’s lead to 20 points. With three race weekends to go this season. The race for second is set to heat up in the coming weeks.

Hamilton had the following words after the race, “It’s a great result considering we started from P6 and amazing day for the team. We pushed hard and I’m proud of the whole team for all their work. It’s been a difficult couple of weeks for us so it’s great to finally bounce back. The car felt much better today, and the pace was strong. Today was about the balance of the car and managing the tires and we managed to do that well. We dug really deep this weekend to improve the set-up and get it right and the result today shows the hard work everyone in the team has put in to achieve that. Now I can’t wait to get to Brazil and hopefully continue with the strong pace of the car.”

Leclerc Fails to Convert Yet Another Pole Position

After securing pole position it looked to be a good start for Charles Leclerc and his teammate Carlos Sainz. Ferrari locked out the front row but would soon find themselves falling behind after the scuffle into turn 1. Leclerc avoided major damage with his incident with Perez allowing him to continue. However, the scuffle and poor start resulted in Verstappen taking advantage. Leclerc’s advantage was gone almost instantly. Despite this, Leclerc was able to muster the pace for a P3 finish to salvage the weekend. Sainz finished P4 securing a double points finish for Ferrari. Lando Norris finished behind them to round out the top 5.

One other highlight of the weekend came in the form of an accomplishment by Alpha Tauri driver Daniel Ricciardo. Ricciardo finished P7 in a hard fought race securing him 6 championship points 2 weeks after his return to the grid.

Full Race Results Below

Charles Leclerc bounces back in qualifying by taking pole position ahead of teammate Carlos Sainz and 2023 champion Max Verstappen. The feat comes at a perfect time after Leclerc was disqualified from the last race in the United States. Ferrari locked out the front row in a bit surprising fashion. Leclerc edged out his teammate by 0.067 seconds in Q3. Verstappen dominated the three practice session all weekend and it would have been safe to infer he’d claim another pole this weekend. Ferrari had other plans. Verstappen finished P3 just under 1 tenth behind Carlos Sainz.

Charles Leclerc stated the following to F1.com, “To be honest I did not expect to be on pole position today, I thought we were lacking in FP3. We’ve had pretty good pace all weekend, but I’m not sure if it will be enough to challenge for the win. First place here I’m not sure is the best starting place.”

Norris Knocked out in Q1

In a very uncharacteristic situation, Lando Norris failed to make it out of Q1. There appeared to be an incident where Norris ran over the high curbing in the middle sector of the track and his McLaren may have suffered some floor damage. Norris was verbally unhappy on the team radio after he was brought in to the pits. He was forced to abort his flying lap and retire the car from the session. In a post session interview with ESPN Norris made it clear that he had no idea why he was called in. We are waiting for confirmation from McLaren on the issue.

Sergio Perez Beats Hamilton to Claim P5

As the heated battle for second place continues. Sergio Perez found the pace in his home country qualifying session to stay ahead of Hamilton for the start. Perez has one goal this weekend and that is to finished ahead of Hamilton. Every race that goes by with Perez finishing ahead of Hamilton will pad his cushion as we head into the final stretch to close out the F1 season. The margin between the two was nearly 3 one hundredths of a second. A margin that is too close for comfort for Perez. Tomorrow’s Grand Prix is the only points scoring opportunity this weekend without a sprint race. Championship points are on the line tomorrow.

There were a number of penalties handed out during the earlier practice sessions and during qualifying. The finalized starting grid will include the following driver order.

Starting Grid

Max Verstappen has shown no signs of slowing down coming off of last weekends win at the United States Grand Prix. Verstappen topped both practice sessions edging out Lando Norris in FP2 by 0.119s. In third was Charles Leclerc who will be looking for redemption this weekend after being disqualified alongside Lewis Hamilton at he US GP. Valtteri Bottas Finished 4th fastest ahead of Sergio Perez who is also looking to turn things around as the race for second place in the drivers championship is coming down to the wire.

Perez said, “It’s nice. It’s funny when you are in the car you forget where you are but as soon as you are out, there is a lot of attention. It’s good to have so much support from all the fans. We didn’t have a straightforward day; we get a good read of the softs over a single lap. I had a yellow flag on my lap, so I ended up doing it on the second time lap, and not very straightforward. Plenty of things to understand, we obviously went with different compounds also to understand them for Sunday. I think overall we are looking in a good position. I think we have a good direction that we need to take.”

Hamilton Moving in the Wrong Direction

Lewis Hamilton finished 7th fastest in FP2 raising questions as to where the pace from the US GP went for Mercedes. Hamilton is also looking for redemption after finishing 2nd in the US Grand Prix but then was disqualified from the race due to a breach in the technical regulations. Hamilton was clearly not happy with his pace on day 1. “I mean the car is night and day different compared to last week. And yeah, I don’t know what to say, you just never know what you’re going to get with this one,” he said. “Some days she’s great and some days she’s not. I think it’s hard to extract the lap, I think there is definitely performance there. It’s just hard to extract it and it’s quite peaky this weekend with the aero map or whatever it might be.”

Hamilton is currently 39 points behind Sergio Perez in the drivers championship. With 5 races remaining in 2023 every point and finish is crucial to bring home second. Perez will look to extend his lead this in the the 71 lap race on Sunday.

Full FP2 Results Below