The Mexico City Grand Prix weekend featured a series of memorable radio messages. Perhaps the most notable were the reactions from Lando Norris and Max Verstappen after their lap 10 incidents. Norris declared that Verstappen was ‘dangerous’ and that he had to take evasive action to ‘avoid a crash’.
The Red Bull driver received two 10-second penalties for his driving. When Gianpiero Lambiase informed Verstappen of his first punishment, he sarcastically replied ‘that’s quite impressive’. Lambiase told him there was ‘a lot of whinging’ from McLaren.
Verstappen later added that it was ‘silly’ that Norris got away with leaving the track at turn four, when he was penalised for overtaking off the circuit at turn eight. It was the latest chapter in the developing rivalry between the two drivers and teams. Elsewhere, Sergio Perez dubbed Liam Lawson an ‘idiot’ after a clash at turn four.
RB youngster Lawson was as aggressive as possible against the senior team driver, attempting to close the door on the inside before running onto the grass as he held the outside through the chicane. They ultimately made contact, ruining Perez’s race. This was a particularly significant battle given that Lawson is aiming to take the seat alongside Verstappen next year.
Guenther Steiner says George Russell ‘wants the drama’ after Mexico City Grand Prix radioSpeaking on the Red Flags podcast, former Haas team principal Guenther Steiner also revisited a message from George Russell. Forty-three laps into the race, Russell told his team he could see ‘very small’ rain drops on his visor. The skies had noticeably darkened over the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, but Steiner thought it was obvious that there was no rain coming.
He accused Russell of falsely generating ‘drama’. Photo by Kym Illman/Getty ImagesIt’s possible that Russell is playing games with Mercedes‘ rivals, Steiner says. But this is always unlikely to work given the wealth of data they have at their disposal.
Steiner said of Russell: “He wants the drama. Or maybe he’s smarter than us and he thinks to catch the other ones out. He thinks that somebody gets the intermediates ready.
I don’t think that works. Maybe we underestimate him. But I think nobody is this dumb to do it.
”What Toto Wolff told George Russell and Lewis Hamilton before Mexican GP battleRussell finished fifth in Mexico, retaining his starting position. He’d once again beaten teammate Lewis Hamilton in qualifying but he fell behind him in the race. Fourth was up for grabs after Verstappen’s penalties, with Russell ahead after the pit-stops.
Hamilton passed his fellow countryman at the start but lost the position during the first stint. However, front wing damage for Russell cost him pace and allowed the seven-time world champion to win the battle. Toto Wolff warned his drivers to keep it clean, according to reserve Esteban Gutierrez.
Ten points was still a solid haul for Russell, who had crashed heavily in practice on Friday. Mercedes won’t be able to bring any more upgrades because the repair bill has now climbed too high.
