Formula One returns this weekend once again for the third round of this first of two triple headers to complete the 2024 championship as the World Championship heads to the iconic and legendary Interlagos circuit in Sao Paulo for the Brazilian Grand Prix,

The championship has just four rounds remaining of the championship season and this will be the penultimate sprint weekend of the year as Interlagos continues to be a staple to the sprint calendar.

With the reigning champions of the Constructors Championship Red Bull now down to third and with them having championship leader of the Drivers' Championship Max Verstappen, this will make the remaining races of the season extremely competitive. 

It has been the Ferrari show in the previous rounds of this triple header with Charles Leclerc winning the United States Grand Prix and last weekend, Carlos Sainz took his potential last win for Ferrari in the Mexican Grand Prix.

The drivers championship has two main contenders for the title with four rounds to go and they are Verstappen and Lando Norris, with Verstappen in the lead of the championship by 47 points over Norris. Charles Leclerc is still mathematically in the championship but it would take an awful lot of circumstances for that to unfold. 

In the constructors championship, McLaren have the championship lead by 29 points over Ferrari who have moved up into second as Red Bull have moved down to third and are 54 points away from McLaren. Their season is going from bad to worse considering expectations of them at the start of the year.

Brazil is known for producing critical moments in championships and with how entertaining and trilling this season has been, the Interlagos circuit is sure to make more memories in the 2024 championship.

Formula 1 heads to Interlagos this weekend for round 21 of the 2024 FIA Formula One World Championship and to arguably the most iconic race track in South America for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

It is an iconic race track that has its fair share of elevation change and banked turns, especially in sector 3 on the run to the start/finish line. It is a circuit with many overtaking opportunities and is one where moves can be made.

Many iconic moments in Formula 1 have happened at Interlagos including specifically for one of the grid's current drivers in Lewis Hamilton. The current Mercedes drivers has won seven Drivers' world championships but it was his first that came at Interlagos in 2008 when he was racing for McLaren.

On the final lap, Hamilton passed Toyota's Timo Glock for fifth place which was all that he needed to take the world championship away from home hopeful Felipe Massa. This was when one of the most iconic Formula 1 commentary lines of all time was made by Martin Brundle shouting "Is that Glock?!"

Interlagos is very much an iconic circuit and first held a Formula 1 Grand Prix all the way back in 1973. However, the first Grand Prix race was held a year prior in 1972 but was not formally part of the Formula 1 World Championship that year but Brazil would see their first ever Formula 1 world champion in Emerson Fittipaldi. 

The track itself is made up of 15 corners and has a lap distance of 4.309km. Overtaking opportunities are plenty around the Interlagos circuit with two DRS zones into turns 1 and 4. 

71 racing laps are to come in Sunday's Grand Prix with the 100km sprint race on Saturday being of 24 racing laps which promises to make many exciting moments across the weekend's two races.

This weekend it will be a sprint weekend at Interlagos, which will be the fifth sprint weekend of the 2024 season, following on from the fourth sprint weekend of the season two weeks prior in Austin, Texas. This means that more points will be on over for the drivers and all points scored could be crucial in the context of both championships for many teams at both ends of the championship in the Constructors'.

Also, in terms of the drivers' Lando Norris and Max Verstappen will be going at each other fighting for the championship, so points will be crucial for Lando catching or Max getting closer to securing his fourth championship.

The lap record around the circuit was set by the Mrcedes of Valtteri Bottas back in 2018 in what was an eventful race all round and is remembered for Esteban Ocon trying to unlap himself but instead colliding with Max Verstappen. Bottas' lap was a 1:10.540 as he finished fifth with teammate Lewis Hamilton taking victory that day.

Last year in Brazil was also a sprint weekend, as has every year that sprint races have been running and it was a weekend that was filled to the brim with drama and brilliant action.

In the 2023 format, it was the Grand Prix qualifying that would take place on the Friday unlike the sprint shootout that will be the session to take place on this year's Friday running, following on from the sole practice session.

Taking pole position for Sunday's Grand Prix would be Max verstappen as the Dutchman would set a 1:10.727 with a great lap in the evening at Interlagos. He would beat Charles Leclerc to pole, who would qualify second and Lance Stroll would make the top three after he out-qualified teammate Fernando Alonso.

It would be time for another qualifying session to begin Saturday's track action, as it was the sprint qualifying that would take place ahead of that day's later sprint race. On pole would be a surprise in the form of McLaren's Lando Norris. This would be McLaren's second successive sprint shootout in three sprint weekend events as Oscar Piastri had done so in Qatar earlier that season.

Norris narrowly beat Verstappen by less than a tenth and they would share the front row on the grid with Sergio Perez in third place staring just behind them.

The day's later sprint race would be not a total surprise as Verstappen would take victory for the first time that weekend as he would beat Lando Norris by just over four seconds to take the flag first as he completed the 24 laps in just over half an hour.

Sergio Perez would make it two Red Bulls inside the top three as he would finish in third place.

For the Grand Prix itself, it would be no surprise to see the man who took pole position, Max Verstappen, come home to win the Sao Paulo Grand Prix for the year 2023 with a brilliant drive from that year's world champion.

Verstappen would take the flag first and would bring home the victory ahead of Lando Norris who would make it a repeat of the sprint race's first and second placed finishers. In a remarkable drive that displayed his talent and it showed he had not lost it, Fernando Alonso would complete the podium after a stunning battle with the mighty Red Bull power being driven by Sergio Perez.

It would be a race of so much drama and it would be filled with DNF's. One driver, being Charles Leclerc, would not make the starting grid as he spun on the formation lap and would find the barrier at turn six. This would therefore delay the start. 

The racing in the Grand Prix would then be delayed further as Alex Albon and Kevin Magnussen came together in a heavy crash which brought out the red flags. Joining them in retiring the car would be both Alfa Romeo Sauber drivers Zhou Guanyu and Bottas. Completing the retirements would be George Russell of Mercedes - a year on from his maiden Grand Prix victory.

Great racing is usually produced at Interlagos and fans will be in anticipation of more fantastic racing as this season has delivered so many entertaining action as well as championship twists.

Less than one week ago in Mexico, action happened that could have significant implications in both championships as events unfolded around the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez circuit in Mexico City.

Passionate fans filled the grandstands and the stadium section which created a great atmosphere as people were hoping for great action while the home faithful were hoping for a change in fortune for their home hero Sergio Perez.

Red Bull were needing a good weekend as was Sergio Perez with the [pressure evergrowing on whether Red Bull would sack him and replace him with Liam Lawson in 2025, despite the Mexican driver having signed a new contract in June of 2024.

It would be far from ideal for Red Bull either as by the end  of the weekend they would fall to third in the Constructors' Championship as Ferrari would jump above them and into second place. 

On track, Perez would get knocked out in Q1 on Saturday to eliminate himself from qualifying and to make him start 18th on the grid for Sunday's Grand Prix with only Zhou Guanyu and Esteban Ocon behind him in the qualifying order.

It would be a hugely surprising Q1 as in a Grand Prix qualifying session, Oscar Piastri would be eliminated for the first time in 2024. The pair would be 17th and 18th on the grid for the race.

Towards the front it would be the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz who took pole position for the Grand Prix with a fantastic Q3 performance with both of his laps being better than the time of Max Verstappen who would qualify in second place. Lando Norris would be in third place ahead of Charles Leclerc in fourth on the second row.

As for the Grand Prix, it would be a dramatic one from the very offset as we would see the second safety car in as many Grand Prix. Yuki Tsunoda and Alex Albon would collide in a racing incident at turn 1 as Max Verstappen would take the lead in the first sequence of corners as Carlos Sainz ran across the grass. 

​ The safety car would come back into the pit lane once the two cars were removed from the circuit and immediately there was fantastic action, Sainz would re-claim the lead from Verstappn and would begin to try and pull away from the reigning world champion, who was the winner of the last three Mexican Grand Prix in Formula 1 (2021, 2022 and 2023).

Soon enough, the race's main talking points were about to unfold as Lando Norris had closed up to second placed Max Verstappen. The two would go side-by-side into turn 4 on lap 10 with Norris being forced off the track and coming back on ahead of Verstappen. Verstappen would then send a massive divebomb, which was a huge risk, down the inside on Norris which sent them both off the track.

The Stewards were not fans of Max's driving whatsoever and gave him two separate 10-second time penalties, which would be one for each incident and that would mean Verstappen would have to undertake 20-seconds worth of a time penalty at his mandatory pit stop.

​It would be an eventful race with Liam Lawson having many battles including ones with Franco Colapinto and Sergio Perez, who occupies the Red Bull seat that Lawson will be eager to win in 2025.

Sir Lewis Hamilton. One of the all time greats. A driver with seven driver's world championships, 105 Formula 1 Grand Prix victories, 105 pole positions and over 350 Formula 1 Grand Prix.The boy from Stevenage is the statistically most successful driver Formula 1 has ever seen, only being tied for World Championships by Michael Schumacher.

The seven-time world champion is a driver who when growing up had racing driver idols but his main racing idol that stood out amongst the rest for him was Brazil's most adored motor racing son, Ayrton Senna. 

Like Lewis, Senna is considered as one of the all-time greats with three Formula 1 World Championships and his sheer skill and passion for racing could not be disputed. This year is an emotional year for the Senna fan base as it is the 30th year anniversary since his tragic passing at Imola in 1994.

Tributes were carried out at Imola earlier on this season but in Brazil, Senna's nation, they will be remembering with their own tributes at Interlagos in Sao Paulo, where Senna adored and shone - by winning Grand Prix around the circuit twice - in 1991 and 1993.

Being Senna's idol and now a Brazilian citizen as from November 2022, Hamilton will get to do something that will be an "emotional experience" for him personally.

Hamilton will get the chance following the qualifying session on Saturday afternoon, to drive Ayrton Senna's championship winning McLaren MP4/5B. The year that infamously saw Senna and championship rival Alain Prost come together at the first corner at Suzuka to take the title which was a reverse outcome of the year before when both cars retired and Prost became champion - at the same circuit.

​Speaking on the opportunity and honouring Senna, in Thursday's pre-weekend press conference hosted by Tom Clarkson, Hamilton said: "Every tie we come here it's an opportunity to do that, and I think so many of the drivers also do that.

"But I never in a million years thought I'd get to drive Senna's car here. I remember someone contacted me, my manager told me about it, and I jumped at the opportunity. Back in the day when I was at McLaren, I did get the chance to drive the MP4/4 around Silverstone, which was incredible.

Hamilton will have the opportunity to drive his idol's championship winning machine on Saturday during what promises to be a very exciting an important weekend for the 2024 FIA Formula One World Championship.

Brandon Whiteside
Writer - F1 Journal

Carlos Sainz won the Mexico City Grand Prix after overtaking Max Verstappen early in the race after losing the lead into the first corner. Charles Leclerc finished second in Ferrari's second 1-2 in a row.

Yuki Tsunoda and Alex Albon collided before the first corner, and Fernando Alonso also had to retire his car in his 400th Grand Prix.

Max Verstappen and Lando Norris battled once again; this time, Max came away with two ten-second time penalties.

Sergio Perez finished his home race in 17th place after receiving a five-second time penalty for starting outside of his grid box and also picked up both side pod and floor damage.

Carlos Sainz started on Pole position for the Mexico City Grand Prix.

For the race start Lawson, Bottas, Colapinto, Perez, Zhou, and Ocon started on hard tyres, with everyone else starting on medium tyres.

​​The Mexico City Grand Prix has an 800m straight to Turn 1, and Carlos Sainz lost the lead to Max Verstappen at the first corner. Tsunoda hit the barrier before the first corner with a big spin, bringing out the safety car. Alex Albon was also caught up in the incident after clipping Tsunoda.

At the race start, Perez made up five places to 13th but was given a five-second penalty for being outside his grid box. Hamilton also passed Russell, with Franco Colapinto moving up into 14th, and Lawson into 10th.

The safety car ended on lap seven with Verstappen in the lead, followed by Sainz, Norris, Leclerc and Hamilton in fifth. Verstappen retained the lead at the race restart, but Sainz kept within one second of the race leader.

Surprisingly, Piastri didn't gain any places at the race start and was still in 17th place after the safety car and eight laps into the race.

Sainz took back the race lead at the start of lap nine, with Verstappen, Norris and Leclerc all chasing him down behind.

Norris and Verstappen have a repeat of Austin, with Norris ahead at the apex. Verstappen and Norris leave the track at Turn 4 and again at Turn 8 on one lap, leaving space for Leclerc to benefit and move into second place.

The Turn 4 and Turn 8 incidents between Norris and Verstappen were noted and then investigated. Verstappen received a ten-second time penalty for forcing a driver off the track. He also received a second ten-second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage, giving him a 20-second time penalty to serve in his pit stop.

On lap 14, Sainz led the Grand Prix, followed by Leclerc, Verstappen, Norris, and Hamilton. Further behind, Piastri moved into 15th, with Perez into 11th. Russell overtook Hamilton on lap 15 for fifth place.

Alonso was told to retire the car on lap 16 due to a brake issue related to cooling, an unfortunate ending to his 400th Grand Prix, just as the Ferrari drivers are told to keep it clean.

Perez and Lawson battled for 10th on lap 18, battling it out for a few corners side by side, wheel to wheel, with Lawson staying ahead. Perez was then in trouble from Stroll behind, again going wheel to wheel. Perez was under investigation for forcing Stroll off the track, but it was ruled no further action.

Perez pitted on lap 22 and served his five-second time penalty. He also picked up a big hole in his side pod from going wheel to wheel with Lawson. He came back out onto the track on medium tyres in 18th.

On lap 25, Sainz was still in the lead, followed by Leclerc 4.5 seconds behind, Verstappen 5.7 seconds behind, and Norris within the DRS zone behind him.

Further behind, Piastri overtook Colapinto, and Stroll moved up into 11th. Verstappen pitted on lap 27, serving his 20-second time penalty. He changed onto medium tyres and came out in 15th, in front of his teammate in 16th, as Stroll also pitted and came out in 17th.

Hamilton pitted on lap 29 onto hard tyres and came back onto the track in tenth place as Verstappen overtook Zhou and moved into 13th, trying to charge through the pack.

On lap 30, Verstappen overtook Ocon as Hulkenberg stopped for hard tyres. Norris also pitted on lap 31 for hard tyres and rejoined the track in 4th, with Verstappen setting the fastest lap.

Leclerc pitted on lap 31 from second and rejoined the track in second, as Russell also pitted and rejoined the track in 6th. Sainz pitted on lap 33 but had a 31.130-second gap to Leclerc behind him and rejoined the track still in first place nine seconds ahead of Leclerc. 

Russell overtook both Piastri and Lawson moving up into fourth, 11 seconds behind Norris. Lawson lost two places in two corners, being overtaken by both Piastri and Hamilton on lap 34. Hamilton then overtook Piastri on Turn 1 for fifth place.

By lap 35, Verstappen had moved up into eighth place, with Sainz eight seconds in front of Leclerc. Perez however hadn't passed anyone still running in 16th place with the damaged side pod and floor.

Russell lost time due to a broken front wing, just as Sainz complained about a misfire on lap 38.

​Colapinto complained that he had an issue with his steering, going stiff and then soft. Piastri and Lawson pitted on lap 40 with Piastri coming out in 13th and Lawson in 17th. Verstappen was up into sixth place 7.9 seconds behind Hamilton.

Verstappen complained on lap 42 that it was getting dark with a small chance of rain at the end of the race, with Russell saying on his radio that he had small raindrops on his visor on the next lap.

Perez pits for the second time, just as Zhou pits for the first time. Both return onto the track at the back of the pack. Verstappen's run through the pack finished at Hamilton when he started dropping back 0.4s a lap slower than Hamilton.

Norris set the fasted lap on lap 47 as he tried to catch Leclerc for second place, chasing down the 4.5s gap. Norris had a 20-second gap back to Russell behind, with Verstappen dropping back to 10s behind Hamilton.

Colapinto took the fastest lap in 13th place as the Russell and Hamilton battle continued, with Hamilton unable to get quite close enough to make a move. Piastri gained on Hulkenberg to within 1.4 seconds, and Norris gained slowly on Leclerc to within 3.6 seconds.

​With 15 laps to go, Piastri passed Hulkenberg for P8, with Magnussen eight seconds ahead. Norris was still closing up to Leclerc, with just a 2.4-second gap.

Leclerc was stuck in traffic in the stadium section, allowing Norris to move within 1.2 seconds of Leclerc. Hamilton and Russell still battled for fourth place, with a 28.8s gap to Norris in front of him.

Norris set the fastest lap on lap 62 and was within DRS range of Leclerc, with Sainz eight seconds ahead in the lead. Leclerc went off track at the final corner and was lucky to rejoin the track after an incredible save as Norris went through into second.

​Russell and Hamilton still having their own little race for fourth place, with Hamilton still all over the back of Russell's gearbox, with Hamilton finally getting past on lap 66 after about 12 laps of trying.

Lawson pitted again for a new wing and soft tyres after Colapinto clipped his front wing and was looked at after the race. Norris was still gaining on Sainz but was still 6.6s in front of him, with Leclerc 7 seconds behind and Hamilton 30 seconds behind him.

​With two laps to go, Leclerc pitted for soft tyres to try and take the fastest lap from Lawson and rejoined the track ahead of Hamilton. Perez also pits for soft tyres to try and take the fastest lap, with a fight between Red Bull and Ferrari for the fastest lap.

​Carlos Sainz wins the Mexico City Grand Prix, with Lando Norris in second and Charles Leclerc in third, with Leclerc also taking the fastest lap.

1) Carlos Sainz
2) Lando Norris         +4.705
3) Charles Leclerc     +34.387
4) Lewis Hamilton     +44.780
5) George Russell     +48.536
6) Max Verstappen    +59.558
7) Kevin Magnussen +63.642
8) Oscar Piastri         +64.928
9) Nico Hulkenberg   +1 Lap
10) Pierre Gasly
11) Lance Stroll
12) Franco Colapinto
13) Esteban Ocon
14) Valtteri Bottas
15) Zhou Guanyu
16) Liam Lawson
17) Sergio Perez
DNF Fernando Alonso
​DNF Yuki Tsunoda
DNF Alex Albon

Carlos Sainz, who wins his second race of the season in the Ferrari" “It’s incredible to see this crowd, I’ve been feeling their support all week and I feel like I’ve got a lot of fan support here in Mexico and they’ve given me a lot of strength.

“Honestly I really wanted this one, I needed it for myself, I wanted to get it done, I’ve been saying for a while I wanted one more win before leaving Ferrari and to do it here in front of this mega crowd is incredible. Now four races left I want to enjoy as much as possible and if another one comes I will go for it.”

On the overtaking of Max Verstappen: “I didn’t prepare to be honest. I was just a bit annoyed at the start having lost position to him and I said I need to surprise him one way or another, as he’s super difficult to pass, he’s proven it many many times.

​“I was a bit far back but I said I’ve got nothing to lose I’m just going to send one down the inside, I’ve been confident in the braking to Turn One this weekend and I knew I could make it.”

Anny Wooldridge
​Writer at F1 Journal

Carlos Sainz took pole position for the Mexico City Grand Prix for the first time since the 2023 Singapore Grand Prix. Carlos is followed by Verstappen in P2 and Lando Norris in P3.

In a dramatic qualifying session, both Sergio Perez and Oscar Piastri were knocked out in Q1. Yuki Tsunoda ruined his and Lawson's chances of making it through to Q3 after Tsunoda hit the barrier while on a flying lap at the very end of Q2.

Both Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg will start the Grand Prix in the top ten, along with Alex Albon and Pierre Gasly.​

Top 10 Results
1) Oscar Piastri         1:16.492
2) Lando Norris           +0.059
3) Carlos Sainz           +0.340
4) Max Verstappen      +0.511
5) Lewis Hamilton        +0.568
6) Charles Leclerc       +0.740
7) Yuki Tsunoda           +0.810
8) George Russell        +0.849
9) Kevin Magnussen    +0.982
10) Liam Lawson         +1.002

For Free Practice Three, Verstappen was back on track after his issues in FP1 and FP2 yesterday. The problem was caused by an "intake air circuit leakage which couldn't be thoroughly resolved before the third practice session."

George Russell had a heavy impact with the barriers at the high-speed corner of Esses, but the team fixed his car, making it ready for running in FP3, as he headed out to the track early in the session.

Verstappen set the first leading lap of the session with a 1:18.329 but continued to complain about low grip.

Russell was the first to go out on the soft tyre and instantly jumped ahead of Verstappen with a time of 1:18.284. But by the halfway mark, Carlos Sainz was ahead with a 1:17.825, followed by Leclerc, Norris, Hamilton and Russell.

Liam Lawson came to a brief stop in his RB at Turn 14 in the stadium sector, bringing out a very short yellow flag, but the New Zealander quickly turned his car around and continued on his way.

With 15 minutes to go, Verstappen again topped the timesheet with a 1:17.003 soft tyre run, but his time didn't stay at the top for long. Championship rival Norris took the lead, quickly followed by his McLaren teammate. Piastri managed to just top his teammate to the top of the leaderboard at the end of the session with a 1:16.492 lap, just 0.059 seconds ahead of Norris.

Out in Q1
16) Franco Colapinto
17) Oscar Piastri
18) Sergio perez
19) Esteban Ocon
20) Zhou Guanyu

The first cars to get out on track were the Saubers, the Alpine drivers, the Red Bulls and the Aston Martins.

Norris, Russell, Sainz, Leclerc and Piastri were all running on medium tyres in the first part of the session, with them all topping the leaderboard above all the other drivers, who were running soft tyres with ten minutes to go.

However, Verstappen quickly took the lead on the soft tyre by 0.205 seconds with just under ten minutes to go.

With five minutes to go, Colapinto, Ocon, Zhou, Piastri, and Perez were sitting in the bottom five, with Norris topping the timesheet with a 1:16.505.

With two minutes to go, Magnussen, Ocon, Zhou, Piastri, and Perez were in the bottom two, managing only 14th and 15th place.

Shock as Piastri and Perez were both eliminated in Q1 along with Zhou, Ocon and Colapinto with Norris topping the timesheet.

Out in Q2
11) Yuki Tsunoda
12) Liam Lawson
13) Fernando Alonso
14) Lance Stroll
15) Valtteri Bottas

Alex Albon was the first driver out on the track in Q2. He had the track all to himself for a lap before being joined by Verstappen and Leclerc.

Verstappen took an early lead on new tyres, with Leclerc only managing third. However, he was on used tyres and had his lap time deleted for track limits.

Norris reclaimed the lead with 1:16.301, 0.328 seconds quicker than Verstappen, followed by Russell, Hamilton and Sainz, with Magnussen, Stroll, Hulkenberg, Bottas and Leclerc in the bottom five with five minutes to go.

​Yuki Tsunoda brings out a Red Flag after hitting the kerb with his left front tyre, causing a lock up and headed into the barriers at Turn 12 with ten seconds left on the clock in the session, ending the session for him and everyone else.

Yuki Tsunoda, Liam Lawson, Fernando Alonso, Lance Stroll and Valtteri Bottas were eliminated, with Norris topping the timesheet.

Starting Top 10
1) Carlos Sainz         1:15.946
2) Max Verstappen     +0.225
3) Lando Norris           +0.314
4) Charles Leclerc      +0.319
5) George Russell      +0.410
6) Lewis Hamilton       +0.705
7) Kevin Magnussen   +0.940
8) Pierre Gasly            +0.946
9) Alex Albon               +1.119
10) Nico Hulkenberg   +1.419

The track temperature dropped going into Q3 due to clouds covering the sky, and teams had to decide whether to use new or used soft tyres in the first runs.

Verstappen started on brand-new soft tyres, and Magnussen and Hulkenberg also started on the track first in the session.

Verstappen set a provisional pole time of 1:16.368 with eight minutes to go but had his lap time deleted for track limits.

Sainz took provisional pole with a time of 1:16.055, followed by Leclerc, Russell and Hamilton, with Norris only managing fifth.

With three minutes to go, all the drivers were out on track, trying to make gaps when leaving the pit lane. Mercedes waited until the last moment to get out on track.

Carlos Sainz takes pole position for the Mexico City Grand Prix, with Max Verstappen in second, Norris in third, Leclerc in fourth, and Russell in the top five.

Carlos Sainz takes his sixth career pole, he said afterwards: “I’m very happy and a great couple of laps, with a lot of times around Mexico you always have a feeling that you can not put a lap together and it’s extremely difficult with how much sliding there is, but today my two laps of Q3 were pretty much identical and almost perfect. I’m very happy because it’s not normally the case around Mexico with how tricky it is.”

“Since Austin on our side we’ve done a step up, also in qualifying trying to find something extra with the out-lap and tyre preparation so it seems like we are going in the right direction. “I’m looking forward to finishing the job tomorrow but at least pole position I will take it because it shows progress and really solid laps.”

Anny Wooldridge
​Writer at F1 Journal

Free Practice One was filled with reserve driver running with Oliver Bearman (Ferrari), Felipe Drugovich (Aston Martin), Pat O'Ward (McLaren), Robert Shwartzman (Sauber) and Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes).

Free Practice Two was an extended session with one hour 30 minutes of running to allow for a Pirelli 2025 tyre test.

Top 10 Results
1) George Russell             1:17.998
2) Carlos Sainz                   +0.317
3) Yuki Tsunoda                  +0.701
4) Max Verstappen             +0.841
5) Kevin Hulkenberg           +0.906
6) Oscar Piastri                   +0.960
7) Esteban Ocon                 +0.998
8) Valtteri Bottas                  +1.050
9) Liam Lawson                   +1.095
10) Sergio Perez                 +1.096

Free Practice One in Mexico was filled with Red Flags and Rookie running. Oliver Bearman (Ferrari), Felipe Drugovich (Aston Martin), Pat O'Ward (McLaren), Robert Shwartzman (Sauber) and Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) were all out on track in FP1.

All of the drivers started on hard tyres, but the running didn't last long after debris on the track on the run to Turn 1 brought out the first Red Flag of the session. Antonelli hit the debris in Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes but didn't pick up any damage.

Once running was back underway, the Red Flag was shown again 22 minutes into the session after Alex Albon hit the barrier with force. Albon lost the rear in the Esses, and Oliver Bearman was on track but off-line, letting Albon through. Albon was fighting his car, and his rear hit Bearman's front left tyre, and Albon spun off at high speed.

Both drivers climbed out of their cars and Alex Albon went to the medical centre as a precaution before joining the team in the garage at the end of the session. The incident was noted and sent to the stewards but no further action was taken. An incident involving Shwartzman, for overtaking under yellow flags. Shwartzman was given a five-place grid penalty for the next race in which the driver starts, which will be carried over to his F1 debut, if or when it comes.

With six minutes to go, Verstappen returned to the pits after complaining over the radio that he had no power. Red Bull confirmed that Verstappen's car had a power unit issue.

Top 10 Results
1) Carlos Sainz          1:17.699
2) Oscar Piastri          +0.178
3) Yuki Tsunoda          +0.179
4) Charles Leclerc      +0.188
5) Lando Norris          +0.249
6) Kevin Magnussen  +0.540
7) Lewis Hamilton      +0.580
8) Valtteri Bottas         +0.652
9) Sergio Perez           +0.693
10) Liam Lawson         +0.861

Free Practice Two was an extended session used as a Pirelli tyre test, with drivers testing the 2025 Pirelli prototype tyre.

Pirelli gave each team a run plan, which featured two fast runs and two longer runs per car. This helped Pirelli make comparisons across C4, C5, and C6 compounds.

Lando Norris was the first driver out on the track, with Verstappen heading back after his power unit issue in FP1. Verstappen's running didn't last long, however, as he reported a weird and disturbing noise and returned to the pits.

Just over ten minutes into the session, George Russell hit the barriers heavily at Turn 9 after taking too much kerb into the corner. George climbed out of his car and went to the medical centre, where he was later deemed fit to leave.

The red flag gave Red Bull the chance to work on Verstappen's car. However, when the track was clear and running started again, it wasn't fixed, and he returned to the pits, running just 18 laps in FP1 and FP2.

Alex Albon did not make it onto the track during the session after taking a big crash in FP1, as his team was still working to rebuild the car.

Sainz topped the timesheet with 30 minutes left in the session, followed by Piastri in second place. As the regular session ended, Hamilton, Norris, Alonso, Zhou Guanyu and Leclerc put on a set of medium tyres and continued running after rookies drove their cars in FP1.

Anny Wooldridge
Writer at F1 Journal

Early Friday morning Mclaren announced they had put forth their request to have the FIA review the Penalty given to Lando Norris on lap 52 of the U.S Grand Prix (for leaving the track and gaining an advantage.) otherwise known as a 'Right to Review' request. The FIA met this afternoon in Mexico and ultimately denied Mclaren's appeal.
​

While this ends the issue of Lando's penalty, it certainly isn't the end of the discussion about how best to adjudicate this defensive driving style. Can you force a driver off the track to stop them legally passing you? and should they then get a penalty when they don't return the place because they were pushed off? Also if both drivers leave the track and seemingly gain an advantage can you only punish 1 of those drivers? The FIA and the rule book definitely don't make it easy for the Stewards!  

Joanna Blackmore 
​Writer @f1journal.co.uk

The year is 2001 and ITunes had just been unveiled to the world and George Bush had just become the 43rd president of the United States. However, the 4th March 2001 would end up proving to be a significant day for Spanish motorsport.

A young Fernando Alonso would be preparing for his Formula 1 Grand Prix debut at the Albert Park circuit on Melbourne, Australia for the opening round of the 2001 Formula One World Championship. The rest they say is so often history, however, over 23 years later, Fernando Alonso is set to make his 400th Grand Prix start at this weekend's Mexican Grand Prix.

To make his 100th Grand Prix start, he will be sharing a grid with Liam Lawson, Franco Colapinto and Oscar Piastri. Three drivers who were not born at the time of Alonso's debut Grand Prix.

The 43-year old since then has grown on to become a two-time world champion and has become a legend of the sport and one of the greats of the sport with over 30 Grand Prix victories.

Throughout his career, he has driven for powerhouse names such as McLaren and Ferrari while also currently enduring his most recent and current stint at Aston Martin, from whom he has raced for since the beginning of the 2023 championship.

​However, there can be no denying Alonso's most powerful times came at Renault where he clinched back-to-back world championships in 2005 and 2006 which broke a chain of five successive championships, which were all won by Michael Schumacher and Ferrari.

He has been a driver who has been in many title fights including his days at Ferrari, where he fought Sebastian Vettel hard for the 2010 and 2012 World Drivers Championships.

F1 TV did a feature on Fernando Alonso and his outstanding milestone as Tom Clarkson sat down with the Spaniard for an interview as an episode for the Beyond the Grid podcast, that was especially done for Fernando and celebrating the 400th Grand Prix milestone he is set to achieve.

Alonso said "To reach 400 is a big number" when he spoke about the demands of a 24-race season being demanding but he is able to "pay off all the sacrifices" be getting behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car.

"Knowing that no one reached that number in the past, maybe someone does in the future, but not many."

This race 400 is not likely to be the last we see of Fernando Alonso and he could continue on to get more races under his belt to extend his number further.He is currently under contract for both of the 2025 and 2026 seasons, to help Aston Martin embed themselves into an exciting new era with Honda association and Adrian Newey joining the team.

Since Alonso came into Formula 1 with Minardi for the start of 2001, he has consistently impressed throughout. His first win of his Formula 1 career would come in 2003 and it would come at that year's Hungarian Grand Prix after joining Renault that season.

2005 would be the year of Alonso's first drivers championship as the Spaniard would pick up seven wins, with Renault, on route to take the crown and to end the successive championship run of Michael Schumacher. He would retain his title in 2006 with another remarkable season.

However, following on from his two-successive championships at Renault, Alonso would make a shock move to join McLaren where he would partner young rookie Lewis Hamilton, who the year prior had won the 2006 GP2 championship. 

There was more than the fair share of controversies in the year that Alonso and Hamilton spent together as teammates with both drivers having a heated inter-team battle. It was also a year where Hamilton was more than challenging Fernando Alonso, and the young Brit would beat Fernando on many occasions.

At the end of 2007, Hamilton and Alonso would finish one point shy of the championship crown, but it would be Hamilton who ended closest, with second place going to Lewis Hamilton and third place going to Alonso as Kimi Raikkonen took the title for Ferrari. 

Alonso, unhappy at McLaren, made a return to Renault for 2008 to partner Nelson Piquet Jr. It would be this year that the controversial "Crashgate" happened with the inaugural Singapore Grand Prix being talked about for seemingly all the wrong reasons.

 He would stay with Renault for 2009 before joining the scarlet Ferrari team to partner Felipe Massa for the 2010 season. During his five seasons at Ferrari ending in 2014, he would fight for both of the 2010 and 2012 world championships and came close to winning both. However, beating him to both crowns would be Sebastian Vettel. His last Formula 1 win to date would come in the 2013 Spanish Grand Prix.

For 2015, he would return to McLaren and would partner with fellow Formula 1 veteran Jenson Button as Honda engines had returned to McLaren in a new era for the team. This would be a horrible time for Alonso with a lack of car performance and him being far from able to challenge. He would also endure a new teammate in 2017 and 2018 at McLaren with Stoffel Vandoorne replacing Jenson Button who retired from the sport.

While competing in the 2017 championship, Alonso would miss the Monaco Grand Prix due to him competing in the 2017 IndyCar 500 at Indianapolis. Alonso would be getting into the idea of competing in other variations of motors[port such as IndyCar or even Endurance racing.

In 2018, Fernando Alonso would announce his retirement and would move away from Formula 1 to compete in other championships. He would compete in Indycar competitions as well as Endurance racing. It would be endurance where he would have the most success. 

In the 2018-19 World Endurance Championship, he would take top honours in the LMP1 class with Toyota Gazoo Racing to become world champion in another top tier of motorsport. Alonso would also manage to win the 24 hours of Daytona that same year.

However, Alonso would make a comeback to Formula 1. It would be announced in 2020 to the surprise of everyone that Alonso would make a return and it would be with Alpine who were transitioning from Renault for the 2021 campaign onwards.

Alonso would be back and would stay for two years at the Endstone-based outfit as he would partner with Esteban Ocon. Although there were frictions at times between the two drivers, Alonso and Ocon did work together to take victory at the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix with Ocon taking his maiden win just like Alonso did in Budapest - 18 years prior.

At the end of 2022, Alonso would join Aston Martin to be part of Lawrence Stroll's project to try and get Aston Martin to be a winning team in Formula 1. He would make his debut in the 2023 season and that is where is up to this day and where he is set to be for the next two seasons - following th conclusion of the 2024 season.

Alonso's career stats speak for themselves with a grand total of two world championships, 32 race victories, 106 podiums and 22 pole positions. He also has more than 2,300 points to his name so far in his long Formula 1 career. He definitely is an all-time great in Formula 1 undoubtedly so.

To celebrate his impressive milestone of 400 Grand Prix, Fernando Alonso will be hoping to add to his tally at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City for the Mexican Grand Prix.

As Formula 1 people this weekend, whether we are super-fans of him or not, we should celebrate this milestone. With over 30 Grand Prix wins and two world driver's championships and driving for some of the biggest names in world motorsport. What he has achieved on track has built his legendary status and that simply has to be applauded.

Congratulations on 400 Grand Prix, Fernando Alonso!

Brandon Whiteside
​Writer - F1 Journal

Just hours before the Mexican Grand Prix weekend is about to begin Mclaren announced they have lodged a 'Right to review' with the FIA is reference to the 5 second penalty given to Lando Norris' after his incident on lap 52 at Turn 1 with Max Verstappen during Sunday's U.S Grand Prix.

After pitting later and catching the Redbull on track, Norris made multiple attempts to pass Verstappen but as the 2 entered Turn 1 on lap 52 Max went for the apex, Lando round the outside. Max went deep and in going off the track himself also pushed Lando onto the run off. Lando kept the position on track but just 2 lap later was handed a penalty for 'leaving the track and gaining an advantage'.
This was controversial for 2 reasons 1- there is no set place named for the 'Apex' of the corner meaning it was hard to know who was ahead and owned the corner and 2 penalties had already been handed out to drivers such as George Russell who did a similar thing to Max Verstappen defensively but in his instance against Valteri Bottas was given a 5 second penalty for 'forcing a driver off the track'.

Joanna Blackmore 
Writer @f1journal.co.uk

It's now been 2 seasons that we have all be talking about the safety of Sergio Perez's seat at Redbull. Previously he has been saved by an under performing potential replacement in the form of Nyck De Vries & Daniel Ricciardo or in more recent months an under performing car but has that changed with the return to F1 of  Visa RB's Liam Lawson.  

Lawson has never hidden his determination to race for the number 1 team and along side the reigning World Champion but can he make enough of an impression in the last 5 Grand Prix weekends we have between now and the end of the season to make this Perez's last Mexican Grand Prix? Or can Sergio have a far stronger end the year? 
He has a lot to prove. Redbull will want to see him scoring strong consistent points and being in the right place to help team mate Max Verstappen retain this years World Driver Championship as the Mclaren & Ferrari drivers consistently close the points gap. 
Does he even want to carry on? This he has been very clear on! He isn't leaving and has every intention of being in the Redbull till 2026 but we all know that when your time is up at Redbull you don't always get a say in it!  
The pressure is on Perez this weekend and every weekend till the end of the season but there is a very real chance Sunday could be the last home race of his career!
​If Lawson has anything to say about it, it will be!  

Joanna Blackmore 
Writer @f1journal.co.uk

Round 20 and we are in Mexico!!!! This race never fails to bring a crowd and an atmosphere like no other, the fans, for the most part of Sergio Perez shake the ground in the Stadium section. And the racing doesn't disappoint either!!! But can Mclaren or Ferrari break the Verstappen & Redbull dominance here in recent years. 

Joanna Blackmore 
​Writer @f1journal.co.uk

Argentina's Franco Colapinto is now 4 races into his Formula 1 career and its safe to say he has out performed even the most optimistic of goals set forth for him.
​1 Q3 appearance(the 1st for Williams this year), out qualified his team mate 2/4 times of trying, 2 points finishes, 14 places gained in races and 5 championship points- a wealth of achievements that not many rookies of any team can boast. But how does Franco compare to other Williams Rookies in their 1st 4 race weekends for the team in the last 25 years.

Colapinto has had a more successful start to his career than regular race winners such as Jenson Button, George Russell, Valteri Bottas and Nico Roberg. 
Lance Stroll had a very solid Qualifying showing in his first 4 race weekends for Williams but sadly only finish 1 his 1st 4 starts. 
When compared to his current Williams team mates 1st stint at the team, Franco also comes off better with Albon only making it out of Q1 once in his 1st 4 times of trying(once not even setting a time and another being disqualified) compared to Colapinto's 3/4  and scored 1 point in 4 races to Colapinto's 5. 

Williams has a long distinguished history of bringing in and bringing up the very best drivers we have ever seen and Colapinto has definitely taken advantage of his opportunity with the team so far. He has 5 races(+ 2 Sprints) left to impress Sauber/Audi who have the ony unclaimed F1 seat for 2025 and if he finishes how he started he isn't just going to rank within the best rookies we have seen at Williams in the last 2 decades but also the best rookies we have seen in the sport it's self in recent years. 

Joanna Blackmore 
Writer @f1journal.co.uk