F1 | GP MEXICO, GIAN CARLO MINARDI “VERY INTERESTI NG DISTRIBUTION OF PERFORMANCES. UNCERTAIN RESULT”

From Texas to Mexico. We are witnessing a truly exciting end to the championship, as it should be  as we approach the end of an intense cycle. We have an upward compaction, especially amongst  the four top teams with a highly interesting distribution of performances.

Luckily, for some months it has become very hard to guess the poleman, let alone the possible  winner of the race. The gaps are  narrowing, a sign of high competitiveness.

I surely do not feel like taking for granted the win by Max Verstappen who remains one of the  points of reference. Right now, he is racing with great cunning and j ust as much skill, as he  showed only a week ago in Austin.

Norris has an excellent car, the McLaren, but he does not always manage to  make the most of  this potential, as the 57-point gap to the Dutchman demonstrates.

Leclerc, who just won in COTA, took  himself to 22 points from the McLaren driver, reopening the  challenge for second place.  It is an open battle also on the constructors’ front, with Ferrari only  eight points behind  Red Bull.

Keep an eye on the challenge for sixth place between Haas and Racing Bulls, currently in the hands of the American team, with a lead of two points. Just a week ago, the Faenza based team  showed signs of recovery, thanks in part to the addition of Lian Lawson.

The world championship arrives in Hermanos Rodriguez, a track  located 2,000 metres above sea  level with the drivers having 30 minutes more for free practice 2, validating the softer compounds  of the 2025 range (C4, C5, and C6). For the weekend Pirelli has confirmed the switch to a softer selection, with C3 as Hard, C4 as Medium, and C5 as Soft, to broaden  race strategies. Despite high downforce, very high speeds are reached, due to both the straights and the rarified air dictated by the altitude. On the strategy front, it is a track with only one stop, but they must watch out for possible safety-cars. The track is little used during the year; therefore, the asphalt will have more rubber from session to session leading to improved performances…

It promises to be a weekend to follow with great interest starting from free practice 1, which will on the track Andrea Kimi Antonelli at the when of Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes.

Gian Carlo Minardi