Bouncing Back for a Podium Finish

After a disappointing outcome in Austin, leaving Mexico City with a trophy in hand was what the Team needed from the second leg of the triple header.

Lewis’ smile in parc fermé and on the podium post-race said it all. P2 was reward for all the hard work that has gone into improving W14 at Brackley and Brixworth in the last few weeks.

The weekend had ended in scorching sunshine, but had started in the cool, cloudy conditions of Friday. Nothing was going to dampen Frederik Vesti’s spirits, however, as our Junior Driver got behind the wheel of W14 to undertake his first-ever official Formula One Grand Prix weekend session.

Fred drove in place of George in FP1, one of two rookie sessions that every team must undertake throughout the course of the season.

Fred’s data from the hour-long practice session would prove crucial as we moved through the weekend. He will be back in the W14 for FP1 in Abu Dhabi.

This is a very special weekend for me, it’s a dream come true for me and I’m very grateful to the team for the opportunity.

Fred Vesti

Normal service resumed in FP2, with George Russell back in the hot seat, and with a host of setup changes made the car looked stronger on the long run pace, with work still to be done over one lap.

“We need to do some work on our pace, but I know we will work hard overnight to achieve this,” said George at the end of Friday.

Optimism levels rose again going into Qualifying after an improved FP3 that saw both drivers more content with where the car was. When Lewis topped the times in Q2 with George just behind in P3, we were all set for a super exciting Q3.

But there was a twist in the tale. And it came in the form of the track temperatures at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodriguez. Between the final two runs the tarmac temperature tumbled, and both drivers reported the tyres being too cool on their final attempts. Lewis ended up just 0.3 seconds off pole, but it only yielded P6. George was close behind but could only manage P8.

“I couldn’t squeeze anything more out of it on that final lap,” said Lewis. “I don’t know what kind of race to expect but it’s going to be on a knife edge.”

“On the final run we had one set of new tyres and tried something different on the out lap, and it didn’t work and the tyres weren’t in the window,” explained George.

Toto laid out the plan for the Grand Prix on Saturday night: “We showed some decent race pace yesterday after the set-up changes. The only goal will be to move forward from where we start.”

“The field is just so tight these days and we were not fast enough when it mattered,” said Trackside Engineering Director Andrew Shovlin.

The silver lining to starting off the front row in Mexico can be the slipstream advantage gained in the long run down to Turn One. Such a luxury afforded to those charging behind quite often means the first few corners can be fraught with danger.

That proved the case when the lights went out on Sunday, but thankfully, both George and Lewis were able to make it through the opening lap unscathed after Checo’s coming together with Charles. With the race settling down in the initial stages, it was time to make the most of the pace of W14.

After a few laps camped behind Ricciardo in the Alpha Tauri, Lewis pulled off the pass into Turn One and set off after the Ferraris. As the first round of pit stops approached, Lewis reeled in Sainz ahead at a rate of half a second a lap. “The balance is great, let me know when you want me to turn up the heat,” said Lewis on the radio.

The altitude and high temperatures were starting to affect the cars, to the point where both Lewis and George – who had been unable to clear Piastri – were backing off and pulling out of the slipstream on the straight to allow the brakes to cool.

Lewis headed in to try the undercut on lap 25 and was on his way 2.5 seconds later with a new set of Hards. George did the same two laps later, coming out in P10 behind Piastri. Up ahead, Lewis’ undercut had been successful, and he had turned his deficit to Sainz into a 6.6 second advantage.

But before we could get stuck into the gap to Charles ahead, we were back in the pitlane under red flag conditions following Magnussen’s crash. There was now a decision to be made. Stick with the Hards, or return to a set of used Mediums for the remainder of the Grand Prix? We went with the latter for both George and Lewis.

P3 and P7 and 35 laps to make some moves. Lewis slotted in behind Verstappen and Leclerc, while George did brilliantly to beat Piastri off the line, before driving around the outside of Ricciardo into Turn One.

Both drivers now had the same red wall in front of them, as Lewis hunted down Leclerc and George filled Sainz’s mirrors. After a couple of laps of being not close enough, Lewis made his move on the run down to Turn One, flicking up the dust on the edge of the track to charge up the inside of Leclerc to take P2.

Back down the road, it was not going to plan for George. Having been unable to get past Sainz he was suffering from high brake temperatures. Backing off to cool them, he lost tyre temperatures and a vicious circle ensued. He was now falling into the clutches of a charging Norris behind. He was unable to prevent the McLaren diving up the inside, and in the closing laps he had to defend from Ricciardo behind, too.

It was like driving on ice for the last 20 laps

George Russell

The contrast in having one car in clear air and one in traffic became apparent in the closing stages, as Lewis comfortably pulled away from Leclerc to consolidate P2. The icing on the cake was the fastest lap on the final tour, a crucial extra point in our fight with the Scuderia for P2 in the Constructors’.

The cool down lap emotion said it all. “Yes guys, I am so happy with that!” said a delighted Lewis. “What a bloody brilliant drive that was, mate!” said Bono. Toto, meanwhile, called the performance ‘perfection.’

Podium 197 of Lewis’ career may well have been one of his strongest non-wins. A Sunday charge with precise tyre management combined with two perfectly timed moves on a track notoriously difficult to overtake on.

“We dug really deep this weekend to improve the set-up and get it right and the result today shows the hard work everyone in the team has put in to achieve that,” he said. “I didn’t think the tyres were going to last, I did some real sweet finesse with them!”

George crossed the line in P6, having done well to hold off Ricciardo for more important points in the closing laps.

“We were concerned about making it to the end, so I had to back off. I did feel good in the car today, the pace was definitely there, so that is a positive from the weekend.”

Two down, one to go in the triple header, and with the North American back-to-back now in the books we head south towards one of our favourite stops of the season: Interlagos. With good memories from our last two trips to Brazil, we are keen to keep the momentum going and put on another show for the incredible Brazilian fans in São Paulo this weekend.

2023 Sao Paulo Grand Prix