For Max Verstappen and Red Bull, the Mexican Formula 1 Grand Prix prompts the classic question: is the glass half full or half empty? Considering the momentum from the previous races, the result represents a slight setback for the duo. The four-time world champion had been dominating after the summer break, gaining an impressive 64 points ahead of the twentieth race of the season. Finishing third, however, meant limiting the damage.
A challenging F1 weekend
Looking from a different perspective, Verstappen’s final result in Mexico City takes on a completely different value. Throughout the weekend, the RB21 never seemed capable of competing for victory. Saturday’s qualifying session confirmed this impression: Max found himself behind Lando Norris’ unbeatable McLaren, the pair of Ferrari drivers, and even George Russell’s Mercedes.
For Red Bull, it was an unexpected outcome given the team’s effort to support the four-time world champion’s title ambitions. The car struggled with tyre performance, lacking adequate grip. On top of that, the rear end was quite unstable, particularly noticeable through the snake section, limiting Max Verstappen’s performance.
The only car driven by Jos Verstappen’s son featured yet another new floor specification and track-specific adjustments for the Hermanos Rodriguez circuit. The fifth place in qualifying and the time gap to the MCL39 significantly reduced the blue team’s ambitions. As often happens, Max capitalized on every opportunity presented during the race.
The usual brilliant Verstappen performance
Following the philosophy of team principal Laurent Mekies, Red Bull attempted something different and riskier to change the course of the weekend. This involved starting the race on medium tyres, aiming to extend the first stint in hopes of taking advantage as other drivers on soft tyres began to lose performance.
Despite the potential initial disadvantage, the start of car number 1 was spectacular. Max arrived at turn 1 almost alongside the Ferrari duo. To avoid a likely collision, he moved completely to the left, braking on the curb. Unable to properly set the corner, he went onto the grass, miraculously controlling the RB21—a true feat.
The hectic opening phase allowed him to overtake George Russell. However, the subsequent battle with Lewis Hamilton gave an extraordinary Oliver Bearman the opportunity to take advantage. From that moment, Verstappen focused on tyre management, trying to preserve the medium tyres as long as possible. Once the soft tyres were fitted, the world champion dropped to eighth place.
In the final 30 laps, his pace was second only to Norris, bringing him into the DRS zone of Charles Leclerc’s SF-25. The fight for second place was denied by the incomprehensible Virtual Safety Car activated two laps from the finish, despite Carlos Sainz seemingly retiring his Williams safely. Still, the final third place was accepted without regrets.
Max closes the gap, but McLaren dominated
From a purely numerical standpoint, in one of the toughest weekends of the season, Max managed to further reduce the gap to the top. He is now “only” 36 points behind Lando Norris, the new leader in the drivers’ standings. It’s equally true that the Hasselt-born driver needs to recover significantly more points over the next four rounds—about nine per race.
Will Mexico be remembered as a negative performance weekend? Perhaps it can be seen as an important step in Max’s ongoing comeback. The weekend clearly demonstrated that the papaya-coloured cars have remained competitive. However, the over thirty-second gap to the winner at the finish represents the half-empty glass.
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