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Driver Debrief by Aramco: Mexico City GP


Driver Debrief by Aramco: Mexico City GP

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The team made places from its starting positions but did not get into the top 10 in the Mexico City Grand Prix.

Mexico City GP

Sebastian and Lance started towards the back and had good starts to gain a few positions each.

Running differing strategies, the pair found themselves in battles throughout the race.

However, there were few opportunities for the race to fall into the favor of the team due to little attrition.

Sebastian

Sebastian started the race on new Soft tires from 16th on the grid after a power unit penalty for Kevin Magnussen pushed him up the pack.

He gained two positions off the line, passing Pierre Gasly and Mick Schumacher, and slotted into 14th behind Daniel Ricciardo.

Eventually Ricciardo got past the Medium-shod Alfa Romeo of Zhou Guanyu, who then became the car in front of Sebastian.

Sebastian kept in touch with Zhou for much of the first half of the race, staying within five seconds of him throughout.

Race report by Aramco

Damage limitation in Mexico City

Sebastian and Lance both gained places from their grid positions at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, but were unable to take points home from the Mexico City Grand Prix after a challenging event for the team.

learn moreMexico City GP

His one and only stop came at the end of lap 38, having run longer than anybody else starting on the softs, and he pitted for medium tires.

Zhou stopped a few laps later and came out behind Sebastian.

Sebastian was unable to resist cars behind in the second half of the race and slipped down the order. He did battle with Zhou, but eventually lost out.

He did, however, gain a couple of positions later in the race when Yuki Tsunoda and Fernando Alonso retired. In the end, he finished in 14th.

I could hold on to the cars in front of me, but then I was a bit unlucky to get tangled up with Yuki.

Sebastian Vettel

“Overall, we were just a little bit too slow today. At the start of the race, I could hold on to the cars in front of me, but then I was a bit unlucky to get tangled up with Yuki.

“His car was damaged, and he came back onto the track right in front of me – I lost too much time and was an easy target for the others.

“The car did not feel too great and the afternoon was a bit of a struggle – but, luckily, we did not lose too much ground in the fight for sixth in the Constructors’ Championship.”

lance

For the third race running, Lance had a brilliant first lap and gained several positions.

Starting at the back due to previous penalties, he gained a position off the line and then gained four further places in the turns One, Two and Three sequence of corners to run in 15th by the end of the first lap.

He engaged in a battle with Gasly, with the pair of banging wheels in the early stages of the race.

Gasly barged his way past Lance at Turn Four and picked up a five-second penalty for his forced overtake.

Lance’s first stop came at the end of lap 17 and he switched to the soft tires.

He was able to catch and pass Magnussen on the track, before he pitted for a second time at the end of lap 40 for another set of softs.

He passed Schumacher on the track with his new tires and then gained another couple of positions when Tsunoda and Alonso retired. Lance finished the race in 15th.

We will try to understand this dip in performance and see how we can make progress to maximize the final two races of the season.

Lance Stroll

“The start was great; it was definitely the highlight of the race. On the move with Pierre, he braked late, passed me but did not give me any room.

“However, it would not have really changed our day if that had not happened. There were fun moments out there passing other cars, but we struggled a lot with our pace and the tyres.

“We will try to understand this dip in performance and see how we can make progress to maximize the final two races of the season.”

Qualifying report by Aramco

A difficult qualifying session in Mexico City

Practice report by Aramco

Clocking the miles on Friday in Mexico

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