Mexico GP Takeaways: Ricciardo, Checo trend in opposite directions; Verstappen's sweet 16

Following each race weekend this year, theScore’s editors offer their takeaways. We continue the 2023 schedule with the Mexico GP.

Win No. 16 and counting for Verstappen

The biggest threat to Max Verstappen’s Formula 1 records is Max Verstappen.

At least that’s how it’s starting to appear after the three-time world champion smashed his own record of 15 wins in a season set last year by hitting 16 with Sunday’s utterly dominant win at the Mexico City Grand Prix.

It was another dominant performance for Verstappen, as his 16th first-place finish of 2023 only seemed to be in jeopardy on two occasions, with both of them involving standing starts.

But both times, he aced the challenge by emerging from Turn 1 in the lead.

Lap 1 was especially brave as the Dutch pilot launched from his third-place starting box to overtake both Ferraris ahead of him and get the inside line to the first corner. Verstappen, who’s no stranger to superb Lap 1 starts in Mexico, was able to come out of the carnage that saw teammate Sergio Perez and Charles Leclerc collide ahead of the pack.

He was tested again after a red flag forced another standing start at the midpoint of Sunday’s race. However, this time, he was forced to defend from first, a historically difficult position in Mexico due to the long straight. Still, it proved to be little issue for Verstappen as he once again showed off his quick launch and ended all hope of any more Turn 1 chaos.

That was enough to give the Dutch driver win No. 16 on the season and his 31st victory since 2022. To put this unprecedented era in perspective, Verstappen’s 31 wins over the last two seasons match the total of legendary figure Nigel Mansell and is just one short of matching Fernando Alonso’s career total (32 wins).

“I’m very proud of the achievement because I think after last year when I won 15, I was like, well, if I can ever try to replicate something like that, I would be very happy,” Verstappen said Sunday. “Now we are here with 16, so just very happy with everyone’s performance in the team for the whole year, basically not making a lot of mistakes.”

Sixteen wins may be the new benchmark, but Verstappen still has three more races to further put his mark out of reach for any future challengers. He would also only need to win one of the remaining three events to break Alberto Ascari’s single-season record 75% winning percentage. But, if you ask Verstappen what his next goals are, it’s clear he sees no reason to stop at just one more win.

“Seventeen, 18 (wins), I don’t know,” Verstappen said. – Daniel Valente

Honey Badger’s revenge

Entering Sunday, AlphaTauri was 10th in the constructors’ championship, with 34-year-old Daniel Ricciardo, who rejoined the grid halfway through the year, dead last in the drivers’ championship. Exiting Mexico City, AlphaTauri is now ahead of two teams, Ricciardo has displaced three full-time drivers in the standings, and the car is only slightly slower than George Russell’s Mercedes.

Ricciardo’s clawing his way back up the standings. Here’s how we got here.

Sure, Ricciardo benefited from a helpful tow from teammate Yuki Tsunoda in Q1 and Q2 that put the Aussie P4 on the grid, marking the first time since the 2021 Italian GP that Ricciardo qualified in the top five. While that assistance played a crucial role, the veteran insisted that Saturday’s performance wasn’t an anomaly.

“I certainly carried a little bit of a chip on my shoulder this week coming into this weekend,” Ricciardo said following qualifying, adding, “I don’t feel today was a fluke.”

By the end of the weekend, it was clear he was right.

In Sunday’s race, Ricciardo was able to fend off most of the field in two separate standing starts, only allowing Lewis Hamilton, Lando Norris, and Russell – in undeniably better cars – to pass. For the last three laps of the race, Ricciardo was in DRS striking distance from Russell, coming as close as a millisecond.

Ricciardo’s maturity and patience behind the wheel, helping him pilot a seventh-place finish, was at the forefront of the race. With rumors floating around the paddock about who’ll replace the blundering Perez after his 2024 contract is up, Ricciardo showed in Mexico why he’s one of the front-runners: his pace and ability to keep calm and get his elbows dirty.

“Fighting a Mercedes in an AlphaTauri for their best result of the year was a great performance,” Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said after the race. “That’s the Daniel we are used to seeing.”

Ricciardo is undoubtedly a PR machine for both Red Bull and F1, but this weekend proved again that with the right car, the man can drive.

If Ricciardo and AlphaTauri continue their upward streak, it’ll be Chec-over for Perez and his Red Bull seat. – Sarah Wallace

Checo’s disaster drive in front of home crowd

The Mexico City Grand Prix was supposed to be a homecoming party for Sergio Perez. By the end of the weekend, it felt more like a memorial for his Red Bull career.

Perez is no stranger to bad weekends; they’ve happened numerous times this year. But the Mexico City Grand Prix wasn’t just a letdown for Checo but a full-blown disaster or, as he describes it, the “saddest” race of his career.

The Mexican driver learned just how fast one can go from hero to zero in Formula 1. Starting on the third row, Perez had an excellent start, and by the end of the start-finish straight, he was in position to make a move for the lead into Turn 1.

Except that’s when everything went wrong.

In what was a highly optimistic move, Perez tried sending it around the outside of Leclerc and Verstappen, only for his car to be lifted off the ground in a climatic collision with the Ferrari driver instead. In just seconds, Perez’s hopeful vision of his fans jumping out of their seats for his Lap 1 lunge turned into the bitter reality of him sitting in the Red Bull garage as his mechanic crew retired his car.

Perez’s move reeked of desperation. But that’s a consequence of the position he’s put himself in. Following numerous disappointing weekends, Perez needed a defining moment, not only to put the clamps on second place in the drivers’ standings but also to protect his own standing with Red Bull. For Checo, there was no better place to cement himself than in front of the packed grandstands cheering him on. After all, he didn’t want to disappoint them, too.

“I felt, to be honest, I would have let them down more if I didn’t go for it … I saw the gap, and I went for it. I decided to take a risk. I knew it was going to be very risky, and I ended up paying the price,” Perez said Sunday.

The price of Checo’s first-lap retirement could come in at more than just zero points. It could cost him P2 in the drivers’ championship or perhaps even his seat.

Ricciardo – who’s itching to be in Perez’s Red Bull seat – sent shockwaves through the sport after outqualifying the Mexican driver in an AlphaTauri on Saturday. On Sunday, the Australian continued his good form, bringing home his side’s best result of the year with a seventh-place finish.

As for Hamilton, he cut the deficit to Perez in the championship to just 20 points with a P2 finish in Mexico. Perez is lucky he even has that much cushion. If not for Hamilton’s disqualification in Austin, they would be tied heading into the final three races of the season.

“I’m second in the championship. There are still three races to go, and I tried to go for the win at my home Grand Prix,” Perez said. “I mean, what else could I have done? I saw the gap; I went for it. I risked it too much, but I wanted the win today.”

The truth is there was no need for Perez to delude himself with thoughts of a race win. With Perez’s terrific start and the Red Bull pace, it was more than likely that a one-two finish alongside Verstappen or, at minimum, a podium position would’ve been in the cards. That could’ve cushioned his lead over Hamilton in the standings and cooled off speculation of Ricciardo taking his 2024 seat.

But Checo’s string of poor performances meant he felt desperate enough to chuck a Hail Mary in Mexico. Instead, it blew up in his face as what was supposed to be a hero’s welcome may now become the moment where he lost it all. – Valente

‘Shoulda, woulda, coulda’ for Lando

A podium was on the table for Lando Norris this weekend, and he knows it.

After an ill-fated yellow flag contributed to his shocking Q1 exit on Saturday and ultimately saw him start 17th, the McLaren star pulled off an outstanding recovery drive Sunday to cross the line in fifth place. His surge through the field, both during his first stint and then again following the red flag after he had dropped back down the order to 14th upon the restart, was indicative not only of the British pilot’s immense talents but also of the MCL60’s inarguable standing as the second-best machine on the grid.

He called his second stint, which included invigorating overtakes on Ricciardo and Russell, “one of the best” of his young career. “Pace was amazing, very enjoyable, good overtakes, hard racing. It was good fun,” the affable 23-year-old explained.

He, along with everyone watching, couldn’t help but feel he should’ve left Mexico City with 19 points in tow.

“I would have finished on the podium,” Norris said afterward. “I said it yesterday, shoulda, woulda, coulda. I accept it. I know I need to put things together, just those final few pieces of the jigsaw to put together, and then I’ll be very confident.”

Suggesting he would’ve claimed his first victory is a stretch – Verstappen remains on another planet driving the RB19, one of the most untouchable cars in Formula 1 history – but it really does feel like it’s simply a matter of when, not if, Norris finds himself on the top step of the podium.

He’s come close before.

Who can forget Russia in 2021, when he started on pole before his chance of victory literally slid away in the rain? This time, his raw pace was good enough to mount a challenge, but Saturday’s events scuppered those hopes. Once he puts absolutely everything together on a given weekend, Norris will celebrate his maiden victory. – Gianluca Nesci