‘Emphatic’ Lando leads, Oscar limits damage + Bearman’s best – 2025 Mexico City GP Review with James Hinchcliffe + Esteban Gutiérrez

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3:51We've seen, I think, the most emphatic weekend of his Formula One career. Lando Norris takes the lead at the Formula One World Championship. A magnificent win in Mexico. Yeah, beautiful weekend. He put a statement, an important statement, with those 30 seconds.

4:09James Hinchcliffe:This could kick Lando into an entire other gear. or now the eyes are on him. Now Oscar's like, I'm not protecting a lead anymore. The only way I get this back is by being aggressive and we see him come back. It would be fascinating how Lando reacts to being the hunted. It's like starting from zero from now onwards. It's going to be a four race micro championship. Everything is going to be exposed. Oliver Bearman will get his personal best result in Formula One of P4. He's not used to racing those cars and when he was put in that position, he made no mistakes. An incredible day for him. Even after all this experience that Lewis has in racing, do you think he was taught a few lessons today by Max?

4:53Welcome everyone to F1 Nation's review of the Mexico City Grand Prix and what a race it was. I'm Tom Clarkson and joining me in the paddock is James Hinchcliffe, F1 TV expert and six-time IndyCar race winner and Esteban Gutierrez, a former F1 driver and now Mercedes Ambassador. Guys, great to have you on the show. It was chaotic. It was exciting. What was the key moment for you, Hinch?

5:21James Hinchcliffe:I mean, I think the key moment was Lando making it through turn one in one piece and in the lead because from there it was, you know, no need to look back and cruising to an easy victory. Behind him it was complete chaos, but I think for him that was kind of the key moment. And from a Merc point of view, Esteban, what's the feeling in the camp here? We're in the Merck hospitality right now. Well, we obviously were expecting to take some opportunities into turn one. That didn't work out. And I think it was pretty exciting to see how Max, and obviously with all the scramble there in the first couple of corners, how he was fighting.

5:57I mean, with those tyres dirty, and then eventually fighting back and achieving that podium. And then, I mean, yeah, I mean, you know, as a team, we couldn't get that advantage you wanted to have at the start. Well, we'll come on to that in more detail. But I think we should focus on, to be honest, something that looked like a champion's drive today. I mean, in fact, all weekend, Lando Norris has been on it. He said after taking pole yesterday, I'll see how much I can win by. And the answer was 30 seconds. It was a lifetime and he now leads the championship for the first time since after round four in Bahrain.

6:36Leapfrogging Oscar Piastri to move one point clear at the top. What was it about the car this weekend, Hinch, that allowed Lando to perform as he did, do you think?

6:47James Hinchcliffe:I'd say it's tough to know. You know, I mean, I've heard some people talk about how the McLaren have that different front suspension setup that Lando prefers, giving it a feel that he likes. Oscar kind of stayed on the development one. Maybe that's something to do with it. You also hear that Oscar just in general doesn't perform quite as well in the lower grip situations. High grip places, high grip tracks, he's stunning. But maybe still figuring out these cars a bit in lower grip situations, which obviously is what you have here. Andre Estella sort of said it, right? He sort of said there's some ways you have to drive the car in these conditions that he's still sort of figuring out.

7:24James Hinchcliffe:So I think that's probably the biggest thing. But I think it's easy to forget that Oscar is still only in his third season of Formula One. We're not even three years down yet into this kid's career. And until two hours ago, he was leading the world championship with a handful of races to go. So I think he had a good comeback drive today. I think he was very racy at the end of the day and it was good damage limitation. And maybe some tracks that are suiting him coming up. Esteban, tell us more about what it is like to drive a Formula One car here at the Autodromer. Hermanos Rodriguez, just how low grip is it just to pick up on Hinches point?

7:59It is quite a difficult track to drive and not only for the driver but also for the team to set up because there's so many different things on the car that you need to adjust. For example, the cooling is a lot less efficient so you need to open up a lot the car and that compromises the aerodynamics of the car. The density of the air doesn't give you as much downforce as other tracks and that's why you see a lot of the drivers complaining quite a lot of practice sessions oh i have low grip uh the car is not good and and so on but it's actually the same for everyone and therefore in my opinion that's why we get sometimes a couple of surprises like today we had with with has uh where they probably nailed it and and they had you know that extra bit that gave them a little bit of an advantage in the race um due to the differences compared to other tracks so um so So yeah, it's pretty challenging from that point of view.

8:54Guys, from a racing driver's point of view, one thing I was fascinated by yesterday in qualifying was that Lando doesn't have his Delta in his cockpit. He doesn't like to know whether he's up or down from sector to sector, whereas others do. I found that interesting that he just likes to focus. I think he's scared that he'll react to what the Delta is telling him. Did you guys race with something like that? Were you surprised to hear that he doesn't have a delta? Yeah, I mean, I also did it in some times of the year. And I think Lando, what he's trying to do right now is obviously get the extra or trying to do his best to get the maximum focus.

9:37And he's probably trying these little things that give him or make him feel more comfortable in those kind of high-pressure situations. And earlier on when you were discussing about Oscar, tell me if you don't agree but I think there's also a lot on the mental approach obviously Oscar leading the championship up to today he has a lot more to lose than Lando and there is a pattern on the last couple of races where probably Oscar has not handled the pressure like he did in the past and perhaps going forward it's going to change back to his advantage and that probably will make him come back and focus a lot better for the last couple of races.

10:22It would be fascinating how Lando reacts to being the hunted. He's been the hunter since Saudi Arabia, hasn't he?

10:29James Hinchcliffe:Well, it's funny because it was actually Toto that said he thinks that the chasing driver has the psychological advantage. So to your point, and I do think there's some truth to that. You know, every driver will tell you, oh, I don't look at it any different. I take every weekend the same and blah, blah, blah. And yes, that's what you try to do. but everyone's a human being at the end of the day and it is so hard to fight some of those natural sort of instincts that drivers have and so I think this race could prove I think we could look back on this one in Abu Dhabi, at the end of Abu Dhabi and look at this one as a pretty pivotal one because I think it goes one of two ways Lano's been chipping away at Oscar's lead for the last four weekends but it's with seconds and thirds and even seventh and Baku was the best he could do when Oscar was out of the race this was an absolutely dominant lights to flag from pole massive margin and qualifying victory by 30 seconds that's the kind of confidence that a driver really wants it's not oh we took four points out of him and you know it's we decimated not just him the entire field so this could kick lando into an entire another gear or to the point we're just making now the eyes are on him now oscar's like i'm not protecting a lead anymore the only way i get this back is by being aggressive and we see him see him come back.

11:40James Hinchcliffe:We're not going to know until Abu Dhabi, but I think we'll be able to look back at this race and see it as a bit of a pivotal moment. Yeah, such a good point. And I've been observing Lando quite a lot this weekend. And, you know, every time he walks into the paddock in the morning, you know, all the cameras are on him, the film crews are following him. And I would say in the past, he's sometimes reacted to them and had a bit of fun with the cameras every single time. All four days of this weekend, he's been eyes forward, not saying hello to anyone i i've sensed a more focused lando norris here maybe right from the start of the weekend i always had that actually um curiosity uh how when the driver reacts like that from your perspective what do you think about the driver do you think that's something positive or do you think that's something um that's detrimental to his personality or approach i'm old i'm old school I think that is positive.

12:40He's here. He's only here to win motor races. I think the moment you start playing around with social media and reacting to the cameras, I would say you're being just unnecessarily distracted, but I may be wrong. It may just be my slightly old school approach.

12:54James Hinchcliffe:I think it's driver dependent. So I think it's a really good point, Espan, because I think some people need that focus and that's how they get the best out of themselves, cut all distractions out. you're almost a different version of yourself at the racetrack. Some drivers perform best when they're light and free and feel just comfortable being there. And I've always kind of found, not always, to me it seems like Lando has identified himself as the latter. And we sort of talked about this a little bit in Austin. He's found what works for him. And even when he's had bad days this year, he still comes in the pen.

13:32James Hinchcliffe:He can still crack a joke. He can still crack a smile. it's polar opposite to Lewis. Lewis has a bad day. You're lucky you get three words out of him. Lando will still crack a smile. Yeah, hey, that one sucked, you know? And I think that's been a conscious thing of his to be light because I think he performs well when he's light. I didn't see him coming in this weekend. So if you say he was a little more focused, maybe I'm completely wrong on this. He wasn't being distracted is my point. And I think in the past he has. And we've seen, I think, the most emphatic weekend of his Formula One career here in Mexico.

14:06But look, while we're talking all things McLaren, can we bring it on to Oscar now? If Lando has had an extraordinary good weekend, what is Oscar going to be thinking on this Sunday evening? He's lost the World Championship lead. Okay, he's only one point back from Lando, but I would say he'll be feeling pretty positive after that race. He's shown greater speed in the race than I think he has at either of his previous two races here in Mexico. It was a great damage limitation exercise. Would you guys agree with me on that? Yes, I would tend to agree that. At the end of the day, did you say it's one point difference?

14:48So it's like starting from zero from now onwards. It's going to be a four race micro championship, very high intense. and this is why the sport is fascinating because the level of detail and level of experiment on what every driver is probably going through right now from the emotional perspective, from the physical perspective, their preparation and so on, everything is going to be exposed in these last four races and I think it's great to see that from the driver's personalities and understand in the end who will be the winner and we'll get to know a lot of those things.

15:26James Hinchcliffe:Yeah, I think the second half of this race was really good. I think the start, he was a little hesitant because, again, at the start, he still had a 14-point lead. He's still in that mindset a little bit. We know how chaotic turn one can be here. He lost a few places. But I think the second half, he had a really good comeback. It's tough to pass here. He pulled off a great move on George, sorry, late in the race there. Again, very decisive, very aggressive, but right on the line, right what he needed to do. So the good news is I think he can see, maybe even from lap one to lap 71 a good improvement a good understanding of maybe how to get more pace out of the car in these conditions the bad news is it was still a minute behind Lando you know that it was still wasn't this it might be better than all the guys that were around him but he wasn't around the guy he needs to beat so it's it's a kind of a mixed bag but as a driver you have to try to take the positives out of it you can't look back on this weekend if you're Oscar and think of what went wrong you've got to try to focus on what went right and bring that momentum into Brazil.

16:24James Hinchcliffe:And Hinch, it could have been so much worse is the point. So much worse. It's so much worse. Even if he doesn't pull off, it's little things like not pulling off that pass on George. If he was just cruising around and finished sixth behind George, I think he'd have been really annoyed with himself. But he got that pass done. He closed up to Behrman. Without that VSC, maybe he would have done a last lap pass for fourth. So the momentum in the second half of the race was much better. He had some inertia behind him. It felt like old Oscar. I mean, that pass on George was similar, I thought, to the one he pulled on Charles Leclerc in Baku last year for the lead.

16:56Last man on the brakes, very clean, didn't lock up. And to your point, that shows strength of him. Because even, and what you were saying, the damage limitation, in this kind of situation when you're fighting for the championship, from the driver's perspective, you have to do everything. And even if it's not going your way, the race, you have to get the most out of it. and it seems like Oscar did it today. Let's talk about the last of the three championship contenders now. Max Verstappen, okay, he kind of gained on the championship lead by four points, but actually he lost 10 to Lando as well.

17:35Red Bull, for the first time in a number of races, seemed a little bit all over the place with that car. And Max said coming into this weekend, we have to be perfect if we're going to win this championship, and they were not perfect. So is he going to be the least satisfied of the three?

17:52James Hinchcliffe:I think if you ask, you know, Max on Thursday, hey, you're going to be third. Lando's going to win. Oscar's going to be fifth. He would be dissatisfied with that result. If you talk to Max on Friday, hey, this is how it's going to be. Or even Max this morning, he'd be like, you know what? I'll take it. I'll take that. Because ultimately, it is still a smaller gap to first place in the championship. So they did still make ground. He didn't beat both McLarens today for the first time since Monza, but he still beat one. And for them, it was a good comeback. Again, without that VSC, it probably was going to be a second place.

18:26James Hinchcliffe:Let's call a spade a spade. I think he had a much better shot at getting Leclerc than Piastro did at getting Behrman. And the way he did it, went off track twice, but never copped a penalty. He knows the rules so well. And that's why I think there was so much frustration from Lewis's standpoint. He's like, I watched him do this twice and he got nothing. I do it once and I get a 10-second penalty. But there are differences to how those two situations played out. And Max has always been so good at knowing those differences and making sure that he comes out on the right side of it. So credit to him.

19:01Guys, helmets back on. Give me your perspective of turn one today and what Max did there. You know, he was right on the left on the curb, somehow managed to keep it out of the barrier. I mean, sensational reactions. I thought he was going to go into the wall. Over the grass you could see the car just sliding towards the wall and he somehow managed to escape that. I think in the braking zone he had no choice. There were three cars on the inside and it was not like he was pushed out. There was simply no space. I'm always very impressed how regardless of what's going on in the team or if the team principle changed or whatever or if the car is competitive or not, Max is always able to get the maximum and I'm always surprised by that actually.

19:53He seemed very relaxed about the VSC after the race and Hinch do you think Leclerc was a sitting duck by that point?

20:00James Hinchcliffe:I do just the rate at which he caught him he was really struggling to get the power down out of the last corner the mediums were not the preferred tire he'd been on them for a long time and it's Max so you know all those things combined, I think Leclerc had it. I think it was a done deal.

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21:22And listeners of this show will get a$75 sponsored job credit to help get your job the premium status it deserves at indeed.com slash podcast. Just go to indeed.com slash podcast right now and support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Indeed.com slash podcast. Terms and conditions apply. Need to hire? This is a job for Indeed Sponsored Jobs. Back to school starts now. Get long-lasting battery life on the Dell XPS laptop powered by Series 3 Intel Core so you can work from anywhere. Now starting at$699 with exclusive student pricing starting at$599. And it's lightweight, portable and packed with enough processing power to make multitasking a breeze.

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22:47guys let's talk a little bit more about leclerc and ferrari and hamilton now it was ferrari's second podium in a row and their seventh of the season do you think they're going to be disappointed that they didn't win this one um surely i think um they were very competitive last year here right probably they expected to to come here and and be that competitive i mean And it looks like the engine was performing pretty well because that explains also why the Haas was also fighting in those positions. So, yeah, I mean, the fight at the moment with us, Mercedes, is very tight. There's now one point between you.

23:28Yeah, exactly. Tell us a little bit more about the job that Leclerc has done this weekend, Hinch. Brilliant in qualifying once again. And I thought Hamilton said something interesting after qualifying, which Leclerc agreed with in the press conference, was our processes have been better this weekend. Can you just elaborate on what he means by that?

23:51James Hinchcliffe:Well, I mean, throughout a weekend, I mean, Leclerc even said, I think it was after FP2 maybe, that we're on the back foot or something like that. It didn't really seem that way. The pace was there right from the get-go. But the process of analyzing the data over Friday night into Saturday, how you decide what changes to make, executing those changes, procedurally and qualifying, making sure that you're timing things correctly, you're not hitting traffic, things like that, I imagine is the type of thing that they're speaking about. And ultimately, I think, you know, Charles should be very proud of that race.