The fallout from the United States Grand Prix continued this week, with McLaren requesting a right of review over Lando Norris’ penalty, only to have it denied by the FIA. Norris was penalized after overtaking Max Verstappen off the circuit in the closing stages of the race, demoting him from P3 to P4. McLaren felt that Norris was pushed off the circuit and that Norris had been ahead. The stewards did not agree. Despite initially saying they would not submit a right of review with the FIA, McLaren chose to go ahead. Part of the process requires McLaren to provide a “significant and relevant new element” for consideration. McLaren submitted the FIA steward’s document, which it argued was not available at the time of the penalty and contained an “incorrect” statement. The document stated that Norris was overtaking Verstappen on the outside but “was not level” with Verstappen, which McLaren argues is false. However, the FIA rejected the right of review for failing to provide a new element. The FIA argued that since the purpose of the right of review process is to correct an error in a decision, the new element provided as evidence cannot be “the error” (the FIA document) itself.
The FIA is set to propose changes to their racing guidelines in the wake of a controversial United States Grand Prix. After an unusually long driver briefing on Thursday followed by a meeting of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association (GPDA), it is understood that the FIA will propose changes at the Qatar Grand Prix. Since the stewards’ guidelines are not regulations, they could take immediate effect, assuming the GPDA signs off on them. Although the drivers are not unanimous over last weekend’s events, it’s believed there may be enough support for changes, with an FIA statement saying, “there was a general commitment to continue to update the driving standards guidelines.”
Yuki Tsunoda will finally be given a test in the Red Bull car at the tyre test in Abu Dhabi after the season finale. This comes after pressure from Honda, which is looking to see how the fellow Japanese driver performs at the top level. Despite being on RB – the Red Bull junior team – and continued rumours of Sergio Perez’s fate at Red Bull, Tsunoda has never had a chance to test the Red Bull. He has only been able to run the car at some demo events and the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Despite this new test, Red Bull remains adamant that Perez will remain at Red Bull for 2025, as specified in his contract.
American Express has expanded its partnership with Formula One, reaching a multi-year sponsorship deal for 15 of the 24 races on the 2025 calendar. The company’s cardholders will have early access to ticket sales and will be able to access a variety of experiences at the races. This is an expansion of the brand’s current sponsorship deal, which sees a heavy presence at the North American races and sponsorship of an F1 Academy car.
Fernando Alonso celebrated his 400th Grand Prix entry, a number not obtained by any driver in Formula One’s long history. Kimi Raikkonen is the second most experienced driver, amassing 353 entries before retiring in 2021, although he is due to be overtaken by Lewis Hamilton before the end of the season. During his long career, the Spaniard has won two world championship titles since his debut with Minardi in 2001. It wasn’t until 2003 that he would return to the grid with Renault, winning back-to-back championships in 2005 and 2006. He left the following year to take a seat at McLaren, which turned disastrous. Various incidents including the infamous Spygate scandal saw his three-year contract terminated and he made a return to Renault. He joined Ferrari in 2010, finishing runner-up in the championship battle on multiple occasions. After failing to negotiate a new contract at Ferrari, he moved to McLaren, who were switching to the new Honda power unit. This turned frustrating for the Spaniard as the car struggled with performance and reliability, eventually leading him to step out of the driver’s seat. He returned to F1 in 2021 with Alpine (formerly Renault) before switching to Aston Martin, where he contracted to stay until at least 2026. Outside of Formula One, he has also tried his hand at other motorsports including the 24 Hours of Le Mans (winning in 2018), the Indianapolis 500, and even the Dakar Rally. Unfortunately for Alonso, his 400th entry resulted in a mechanical retirement early in the race.
The Mexican Grand Prix went underway Friday with George Russell leading Carlos Sainz in the first practice session. Many rookies were standing in for drivers as teams took the opportunity to satisfy the regulatory requirement to give rookies seat time. Kimi Antonelli, Ollie Bearman, Pato O’Ward, Felipe Drugovich, and Robert Shwartzman were behind the wheels of the Mercedes, Ferrari, McLaren, Aston Martin, and Sauber, respectively. After a brief red flag at the start of the session for debris that was run over by Antonelli, Sainz set the early pace. A second red flag was waved after Alex Albon lost control of his Williams near a slow-moving Bearman, colliding with the Ferrari and ending both of their runnings. There was some concern at the Red Bull camp after Max Verstappen complained about a lack of power near the end of the session. The reigning world champion finished the session in P4 behind Yuki Tsunoda.
Carlos Sainz continued his strong showing on Friday afternoon, setting the time to beat in the second free practice session. The session was extended to 90 minutes to test Pirelli’s prototype tyres for the 2025 season. Max Verstappen was virtually absent from the session, returning to the garage after his out lap with an engine issue. An early red flag when George Russell crashed in turn 9 gave the Red Bull mechanics some time to try and fix the issue. He returned to the garage for the rest of the session after another set of out laps. Alex Albon was also forced to sit out the session while the team worked to repair the damage from his FP1 shunt. Oscar Piastri was the second fastest ahead of Yuki Tsunoda, who again was P3.
Saturday saw the final free practice session, which was led by Oscar Piastri in a McLaren 1-2. It was much less chaotic compared to Friday’s running, totally free of red flags. Many teams were pressured to get in as much running as possible to make up for a lack of laps in the opening two sessions. This included Max Verstappen, who finished P4 but was still complaining about a lack of rear grip in his Red Bull. Carlos Sainz, who had led the first two practice sessions was third fastest with his teammate Charles Leclerc down in P6 behind Lewis Hamilton.
Carlos Sainz returned to the top of the timing sheets in qualifying to earn himself pole position. Lando Norris was quickest in Q1, but it was the shock exit of McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri and home hero Sergio Perez that had everyone talking. Neither was able to stay within the top 15 when drivers improved their times in the final minutes. Norris was again on top for Q2, which was shortened after Yuki Tsunoda crashed in turn 12, triggering the red flags. Max Verstappen had initially set the pace in Q3 but had his lap time deleted for track limits. It made little difference as Sainz climbed to P1 and no one was able to match his pace.
The race, which was very nearly a Ferrari 1-2, was won by Carlos Sainz, who took his second victory of the season for the first time in his career. It was not all smooth sailing for the Spaniard, who lost the lead on the run down to the first corner, with Max Verstappen moving into P1. The race was neutralized by the safety car on the opening lap. Yuki Tsunoda suffered a heavy crash when he ran out of space while trying to over Alex Albon before the first corner. After the race resumed and the DRS was enabled, Sainz retook his lead. But it was more drama between the two championship rivals that had people talking. Lando Norris attempted to overtake Verstappen on the outside of turn 4 but was forced wide and cut the corner. He rejoined in front of Verstappen, who seemingly made little effort to say on the circuit at turn 7, sending both drivers wide. Charles Leclerc gained most from the incident, moving up to P2 while Verstappen lost out when the stewards handed him two ten-second penalties. After the race, the penalty was amended to include two-penalty points towards Verstappen’s super license, bringing his 12-month total to 6. In the second stint, Norris began to close the gap to the Ferraris ahead, having lost out while stuck behind Verstappen in the first stint. He closed to within DRS range with around ten laps remaining in the race, but it was a mistake from Leclerc that promoted Norris to P2. Leclerc suffered some major oversteer exiting the final corner and, although he was lucky to keep the Ferrari out of the barriers, he dropped to P3. Ferrari’s finish was still good enough to raise them to P2 in the World Constructors’ Championship ahead of Red Bull. Click here to read a full recap of the race.
Charles Leclerc landed himself in hot water with the FIA for swearing in the post-race press conference. When talking about his late-race oversteer in the penultimate corner of the race, he said, “I had one oversteer and then when I recovered from that oversteer, I had an oversteer from the other side and then I was like, ‘f**k’.” Leclerc immediately apologized, joking, “I don’t want to join Max!” The matter also gave Carlos Sainz a good laugh, asking his teammate if he “You have your wallet here?” and jokingly saying “beep”. Such language goes against Article 12.2.1.k of the FIA International Sporting Code. Max Verstappen earned a reprimand and community service mandate for comments made at the Singapore Grand Prix press conference earlier this season, leading him to boycott the FIA press conferences. Following the press conference, the FIA media delegate spoke with Leclerc. Leclerc was apologetic but the media delegate was required to report the incident to the FIA sporting officials for further review and potential punishment.
There’s no time to rest as we head towards the conclusion of this triple-header stint of the season. Next up is a sprint weekend in Brazil. The sprint race will be on November 2 with the main event happening on November 3.
It can be challenging for even the most avid fans to keep up with the fast-paced world of Formula One. The Weekly F1 Recap is a series published each Monday that breaks down the action, both on and off the circuit, into bit-sized pieces. It's perfect for casual and experienced fans alike.
