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Formula 1
Mexico City GP
F1 Mexico GP Live Commentary and Updates – Race
Minute-by-minute updates for the 2023 Formula 1 Mexican Grand Prix
Live AppleTV Race Audio
Charles Leclerc leads an all-Ferrari front row from Carlos Sainz after the Italian squad pulled off a surprise in qualifying.
That pushed world champion Max Verstappen to third place on the grid for Red Bull, while another shock in the shape of AlphaTauri’s Daniel Ricciardo took fourth, ahead of home hero Sergio Perez in the sister Red Bull.
The Mexico GP gets under way at 8pm GMT.
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We mentioned earlier that Leclerc had been noted by the stewards for driving in an unsafe condition. That will now be investigated after the race.
Norris has closed up on the pack by four seconds in the last two laps. If everyone stopped now, he would leap into the top six or seven positions.
For the time being Piastri isn't under threat from Russell, who has fallen back a little from the McLaren after being within DRS range earlier. Ricciardo, Piastri and Russell are fairly equally spaced with a little over 2s between each.
And out of the points falls Zhou in the lead Alfa Romeo car. Albon is now in the points and is 2.3s behind Gasly's Alpine ahead in ninth.
Hamilton is just over a second behind Sainz ahead. He tells Pete Bonnington that his "balance is great". An assault on the Ferraris could be imminent from the two-time Mexico GP winner.
Stopwatch
Norris and Tsunoda are currently the fastest drivers on the track after their stops, with the latter setting the fastest lap so far with a 1m22.501s.
By way of comparison, Verstappen's best effort so far is 1m23.218s.
By way of comparison, Verstappen's best effort so far is 1m23.218s.
Leclerc is given the same Plan A message as Sainz. Does that mean the team will also keep his damaged front wing at the first stop? We'll have to wait and see.
Sainz is informed over the radio that he remains on Plan A. Whatever that means, losing out to Verstappen at the start hasn't changed Ferrari's approach.
And even worse for Alonso, as he has allowed team-mate Stroll through for P15 and has now been told to lift and coast more to cool the car. We're roughly a quarter of the way through the race, on lap 14 of 71.
"Watch the kerb at Turn 3 Max," Gianpiero Lambiase warns his charge as the Red Bull man continues to break-build.
Leclerc has slipped back to 3.3s behind Verstappen. The gap is widening between the Ferrari and Red Bull out in front, with little prospect of it closing thanks to his damaged endplate.
Pit stop
Norris has now stopped and is trying something different to move up the order. Off go the softs, on go the mediums. He is back to P18.
On Alonso's speeding incident before the race, he has been fined 100 euros.
Pit stop
Tsunoda stops after his off and removes the medium compound and fits some hards. This will provide useful data for Ricciardo in P5.
The other Mercedes is looking a bit racy too. Russell has DRS on Piastri, whose hold on sixth place may prove tenuous.
Forget what we said about Hamilton pausing his efforts to get on terms with Ricciardo. He's just nabbed fourth from the Aussie into Turn 1 starting lap 11. What can he do about the Ferraris ahead?
Quote
Norris is being warned to pull out of the dirty air and cool his car.
In response, he says: "I am, no one else is doing it."
In response, he says: "I am, no one else is doing it."
Verstappen is starting to put the hammer down. He's eked the gap out to 3s over Leclerc, who has 2.3s in hand over Sainz.
Yellow flag
Tsunoda briefly causes the yellow flags to fly as he hops across the grass at Turn 1, dropping behind Alonso as he attempted a move on Sargeant.
"The car is running hot," Hamilton tells engineer Pete Bonnington. His early efforts to get on terms with Ricciardo look to have been put on hold for now, although he remains within DRS range.
Sargeant has now muscled past Alonso for P16. Aston Martin have Alonso P17 and Stroll P18. For the team that began the season as the primary contender to Red Bull, this is shocking.
Out front Verstappen is keeping things steady around the 2s mark back to Leclerc. You get the impression he'll be starting to control things from here, as he has done so many times in 2023.
Looking to the lower reaches of the points, Zhou is clinging onto P10 and from Albon. They are both in a DRS train and a single point could make a significant difference in the constructors' standings.
Hamilton takes a big long look into Turn 1 starting lap eight, but it's a half-hearted one that he doesn't commit fully to before falling back into line.
Leclerc has been noted by the stewards for driving in an unsafe condition. We'll keep you posted on that one, as Hamilton piles the pressure on Ricciardo.
Perez is finally out of the car and the damage looks to be too great to even consider sending the Mexican out to please the fans. A nightmare weekend for the home hero.
As we resume racing on lap six, Verstappen has a two-second cushion over Leclerc, with the closest battle in the top six between Ricciardo and Hamilton over fourth.
Before the VSC was deployed, Norris made his way past Alonso with DRS into Turn 1. He is up to P15 as Alonso continues to head in the wrong direction, back through the order.
Green flag
After that brief interruption, we're back to full green flag running.
There's debris in the run-off at Turn 1, naturally resulting from the first corner fracas.
Yellow flag
The virtual safety car is out.
Perez is still sat in his car, looking like he is wishing for an unlikely repair. Although it might come, it would only be to turn this into a glorified test session at absolute best.
"We don't see anything big," Leclerc is told over the radio. He doesn't look like he's coming under undue pressure from Sainz behind, it must be said.
Verstappen has a 1.6 second lead at the end of lap two. How long will Leclerc keep Sainz bottled up behind him?
And there it is, the mechanics stop working on Perez's car, he beats the steering wheel and his retirement from the race on lap one is confirmed.
Norris has climbed from his lowly starting position to P16 already, with Alonso losing a position to P14 despite the chaos ahead.
Verstappen leads Leclerc, who has a flapping left-front endplate, Sainz and Ricciardo. Hamilton is fifth, then it's Piastri and Russell.
Crash
Perez is still circulating but is at the back of the pack. He returns to the pits immediately.
Green flag
And we're green in Mexico. It's a poor one for the front row men and Verstappen shoots to the inside of Leclerc, while Perez tries to make it three-wide. Perez gets punted into the air and Leclerc has damage.
Drivers are forming up on the grid. We're moments away from the start now, buckle up everybody!
By: Autosport Staff
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