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George Russell believes the Mexico City Grand Prix was one of his most difficult races of the 2021 season so far, with the Briton ending the day sixteenth having been inside the points-paying positions early on.

Having started sixteenth following a penalty for a gearbox change, Russell avoided the chaos at turn one to run ninth and felt at that point that he was on course for a good result.

But the Williams Racing driver endured a tough day at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, with driver after driver finding their way ahead of him, and Russell ended the day well outside the points in sixteenth position.

“It was probably the most difficult race of the season so far,” said Russell.  “We made a good start and had moved up to P9 from P16 on lap one which was relatively strong, and I thought we could be on for a good result.

“However, we did not have the pace after that and went backwards so there’s lots to review. It wasn’t a very enjoyable afternoon but the positive is that this Grand Prix is a unique race with the temperature management that is required, so hopefully our pace in Brazil will be better than here.”

The McLaren F1 Team scored only one point during Sunday’s Mexico City Grand Prix, and Team Principal Andreas Seidl admitted it was a tough day for the Woking-based team at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

Daniel Ricciardo’s chances of points were all but over at turn one on the opening lap after the Australian made contact with Valtteri Bottas.  The incident forced Ricciardo to pit for a new front wing, while there was also damage to his MCL35M that made overtaking even more difficult than it already was as he ended the day outside the points in twelfth.

Lando Norris, on the other hand, was able to climb from eighteenth on the grid to claim tenth and the final point having gone into the race with a new Mercedes-Benz power unit.

Seidl admits the effort put in by the team throughout the weekend in Mexico was not reflected by the end result, but they still have hopes of overhauling Scuderia Ferrari and finish third in the Constructors’ Championship in 2021.

“Tough Sunday for us in Mexico,” said Seidl.  “Daniel’s race was effectively over after Turn One. He hooked-up a great start, made some positions and then had an unfortunate coming together with Valtteri [Bottas].

Daniel Ricciardo says the opening lap clash with Valtteri Bottas was ‘as painful as they get’ as it meant his chances of points in the Mexico City Grand Prix were pretty much over.

Ricciardo was attempting a pass down the inside of both Sergio Pérez and Pierre Gasly heading into turn one, but he misjudged the move ever so slightly and made contact with Bottas, spinning around the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team driver and breaking his own front wing.

The McLaren F1 Team driver was at the back of the field for much of the race as overtaking proved extremely difficult around the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, with Ricciardo ending the day twelfth, but he did not regret making the attempt to pass at turn one.

“The first lap incident was about as painful as they get because your race is pretty much over from the start,” said Ricciardo.  “I was in a tricky position because I know that if I didn’t go for it, someone else would have, and I’d probably have been swamped by other cars. At the end of the day, I think it’s just a lap one incident.

“The start was good and those first few hundred metres were looking positive. I think we were potentially in P4, and in a split-second it changes. That’s the nature of the beast, but these ones are pretty painful because you have to endure the race and hope something happens, but nothing really did.

Laurent Rossi says it was pleasing to see the Alpine F1 Team score points in Sunday’s Mexico City Grand Prix, particularly on the back of their disappointing and compromised performance during Saturday’s Qualifying session at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

Fernando Alonso found himself eliminated in Q1 of Qualifying, while Esteban Ocon made it through to Q2 despite knowing he would be starting at the back of the field following an engine change and grid penalty.

However, despite a close call with the spun Valtteri Bottas at turn one, Alonso was able to bring the car home in ninth to score two points for the team, while Ocon ended thirteenth after escaping major damage after contact with both Yuki Tsunoda and Mick Schumacher at turn two on lap one.

“After a compromised qualifying yesterday, to be back in the points today shows the fighting spirit of this team,” said Rossi, the Chief Executive Officer of Alpine Cars.  “It was important for us to return to the top ten today after the frustration in Austin last time out.

“It was not an easy race – far from it – with Fernando starting in the middle of the pack and Esteban at the back of the grid with the engine penalty. For Fernando, he was a little unfortunate at the start as he had to avoid Bottas’s spin but from there, he drove a very smooth and sensible race to work his way into the points.

Fernando Alonso was happy to score two points in the Mexico City Grand Prix, although there is disappointment that Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda were able to outscore them on Sunday afternoon.

The Alpine F1 Team driver was in points contention throughout the race at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, but he was unable to better ninth at the chequered flag.  He was lucky to miss the chaos at turn one, with the Spaniard taking avoiding action as Valtteri Bottas was stopped in the middle of the track after being turned around by Daniel Ricciardo.

Pierre Gasly’s fourth place finish for AlphaTauri means both teams are now level on one hundred and six points heading into the final four races of 2021, but Alonso hopes the two points he scored will help Alpine win the battle for fifth place in the Constructors’ Championship come the end of the season.

“I am happy with a well-executed race for us today,” said Alonso.  “Ninth and in the points after a difficult day yesterday is ultimately a good result.

“I was not proud of my job yesterday, but I am prouder today. It was quite a messy start and I had to dodge a few cars in the first few corners. It was very close, but we did quite well to avoid any damage and then I gained some positions after the Safety Car.

Frédéric Vasseur says it was pleasing to see his Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN team score only their fifth top-ten finish of the 2021 Formula 1 season during Sunday’s Mexico City Grand Prix, although it was disappointing not to have both cars inside the points.

Kimi Räikkönen equalled his and the teams best result of the season with eighth place on Sunday, but team-mate Antonio Giovinazzi missed out on the points in eleventh despite having rose to as high as sixth in the early laps at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

Vasseur, the Team Principal at Alfa Romeo, says the four points scored by Räikkönen will give the team confidence heading into the final four races of the season, starting with the São Paulo Grand Prix at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace next weekend.

“Just as in the last few races, we have been on the pace all weekend: today we’ve delivered a strong performance when it mattered and the result shows it,” said Vasseur.  “We bring home four points, another top ten finish that gives us more confidence for the final races of the season.

“It’s a shame not to have two cars in the points, especially given how strong we looked in the opening stages, but the race didn’t go Antonio’s way after the stop.

Kimi Räikkönen says it was nice to return to the points in Sunday’s Mexico City Grand Prix, with the Finn securing an excellent eighth place finish at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

The Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN driver admitted passing Williams Racing’s George Russell early on was key to scoring only his fourth top-ten finish of 2021, with the eighth place equalling his best result of the season from the Russian Grand Prix.

Räikkönen says Alfa Romeo can be satisfied with the result in Mexico, and they can take confidence into this weekend’s São Paulo Grand Prix where he hopes they can be fighting for points once more.

“It was nice to get points and bring a reward to the team,” said Räikkönen.  “We always try to do our best, every time we get to a race, and today things worked out well for us.

“P8 is probably the best we could do, we had good pace and we could keep up with the cars around us. Passing Russell at the beginning was crucial for our race, then the biggest challenge was to keep the tyres alive until the end.

Otmar Szafnauer was delighted that Sebastian Vettel was able to bring home six points for the Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team in Sunday’s Mexico City Grand Prix, although he was less than happy that Lance Stroll was unable to improve on fourteenth.

Vettel started inside the top ten and was able to gain places on the opening lap to run eighth as he capitalised on the incident between Valtteri Bottas and Daniel Ricciardo, and then he used a good strategy to get ahead of Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN’s Antonio Giovinazzi to finish seventh.

“Sebastian delivered a solid drive, with strong race pace, which allowed him to control his afternoon and score six points thanks to a fine seventh place,” said Szafnauer.

Stroll on the other hand was always on the back foot after starting twentieth and last following a grid penalty for an engine change and a crash in the early part of Saturday’s Qualifying session. 

He was stuck in traffic for much of the afternoon but was able to pull off a super move on Williams Racing’s George Russell late in the day to claim fourteenth.

Highly-rated British driver Oliver Bearman has joined the Ferrari Driver Academy, after becoming the first driver in history to win both the ADAC and Italian F4 championships in the same season.

In his second year out of karting, Bearman announced a three-pronged approach to his first single-seater season, splitting his time between a sophomore campaign in ADAC F4 and Italian F4, now with Van Amersfoort Racing, and the GB3 Championship (née British F3).

Van Amersfoort are one of the best outfits on both grids in Europe, having helped Mexico City Grand Prix winner Max Verstappen and Ferrari junior Mick Schumacher to Formula One.

GB3 was only able to enjoy Bearman’s talents for nine races, but the 16-year-old showed enough to bring home a win and four podiums with Fortec Motorsport.

On the continent, things went even better, taking the ADAC and Italian F4 titles with 17 wins ahead of Tim Tramnitz. Red Bull Junior Programme driver Jonny Edgar took the spoils in Germany in 2020, competing in FIA F3 this season with Carlin Buzz Racing.

Sebastian Vettel was happy with the performance of his AMR21 during Sunday’s Mexico City Grand Prix, with the German scoring some valuable points for the Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team in seventh position.

The four-time World Champion capitalised on the incidents ahead of him to run eighth in the early laps, and once he cleared Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN’s Antonio Giovinazzi during the pit stops, he was able to secure a good haul of points with seventh place.

“I am quite happy with our performance today,” said Vettel.  “We had shown competitive long-run pace on Friday and I knew that if we could hold position on lap one, we would be able to stay there and score points.

“We obviously benefited from the spin for Valtteri [Bottas], although it actually held me up a bit, and the damage to Daniel’s [Ricciardo] car, but we managed to recover a position from [Antonio] Giovinazzi using the strategy.

“After that, I was on my own for most of the race with decent pace. It was a solid weekend by the team and I am pleased we could score some good points.”

Mattia Binotto says it is important for Scuderia Ferrari to consolidate their position in third in the Constructors’ Championship across the remaining four races after seeing the team move thirteen and a half points clear of the McLaren F1 Team after a strong weekend in Mexico City.

Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr. finished fifth and sixth at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez to secure eighteen important points for the Maranello-based team, whilst McLaren scored only a solitary point with Lando Norris in tenth.

Binotto says the result in Mexico moves them closer to reaching their objective for finishing best of the rest behind the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team and Red Bull Racing in 2021, with the team spirit shown also pleasing the Team Principal.

“Today’s result keeps us on course to reach our objective in this final stage of the season, which is to finish third in the Constructors’ championship,” said Binotto.  “The 18 points are the result of a good job from the entire team, the drivers, engineers and mechanics at the track and back at the remote garage, in the way they prepared for and managed this weekend.

“I was particularly pleased with the team spirit shown by Charles and Carlos and with the pit stops, with two very quick and precise tyre changes, despite the pressure the team was inevitably under. We are now back in third place, with a not insignificant lead, but of course nothing can be taken for granted.

Charles Leclerc felt fifth and sixth place for Scuderia Ferrari in Sunday’s Mexico City Grand Prix was a solid result for the team, even if the pace of Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda’s Pierre Gasly was a surprise ahead of them.

Leclerc and team-mate Carlos Sainz Jr. both took turns as the lead Ferrari driver to try and close down the gap to Gasly ahead of them, but ultimately the AlphaTauri driver was easily able to stay well clear of them both.

Sainz gave back fifth on the penultimate lap to Leclerc, with the Monegasque racer delighted with the team spirit shown at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez as they regained third place in the Constructors’ Championship from the McLaren F1 Team.

“Fifth and sixth is a solid result to take home from this weekend, as the race turned out a bit different to how we had expected,” said Leclerc.  “My first stint on the Mediums was strong and my pace was very competitive.

“We stopped relatively early for Hards to try and put pressure on Gasly ahead of us, while Carlos went long to create a tyre delta and try to challenge him towards the end of the race. We swapped positions but unfortunately, neither of us managed to catch him. His pace was quite a surprise today.

Franz Tost believes Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda had a ‘very successful’ Mexico City Grand Prix weekend, with Pierre Gasly delivering one of their best results of the season in fourth place.

Gasly was one of the stars of the weekend, with the Frenchman qualifying an excellent fifth on the grid.  He was able to profit from the collision between Daniel Ricciardo and Valtteri Bottas to run fourth, and from there on he was easily able to consolidate that position until the chequered flag, much to the delight of Team Principal Tost.

“From our side, I must say that we had a very successful weekend,” said Tost.  “Pierre qualified yesterday in fifth position and the strategy was clear today: he had to survive in the first corner, keep the Ferraris behind and bring home P5.

“Due to Bottas’ spin on the first lap, he was able to move up to fourth place and he defended this up to the chequered flag. We know how difficult it is here in Mexico to manage the tyres and the brakes at this altitude, and Pierre was incredible during the entire race, behaving in a very professional way.

“Pierre and the team did a fantastic job across the whole weekend and the car showed a very good performance.”

Pierre Gasly had an extremely good, if not lonely, race at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on Sunday, with the Frenchman claiming an excellent fourth place.

The Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda driver made a good start from fifth on the grid and was able to gain a place thanks to Valtteri Bottas’ spin, and from there on in he was in a race of his own.  He was unable to match the pace of the trio ahead of him, but he had more than enough pace to keep the charging Scuderia Ferrari drivers well behind him.

Gasly was pleased with the result as it moves AlphaTauri level on points in the Constructors’ Championship with the Alpine F1 Team, and he hopes they can overhaul their rivals before the end of the season.

“I’m extremely happy, P4 is such a great result and we couldn’t ask for a better weekend,” said Gasly.  “Everything was under control with Charles [Leclerc] behind, I was able to pull away nicely and manage the entire race well from fourth position.

“This weekend the car has really been there, we delivered yesterday in Quali and then again in the race today and finishing ahead of Ferrari always feels good as well.

Toto Wolff says Red Bull Racing were on ‘another level’ compared to the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team during the Mexico City Grand Prix, with Lewis Hamilton able to only finish second behind title rival Max Verstappen.

Hamilton and team-mate Valtteri Bottas filled the front row at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, but both fell behind Verstappen heading into turn one, and Wolff feels that even if Hamilton was in the lead, the Dutchman would still have found a way to get ahead of the reigning World Champion.

“First, we must congratulate Red Bull because their pace was on another level,” said Wolff, the Team Principal at Mercedes.  “I don’t think we could have won the race even if we had stayed ahead in the first corner because they could have pincered us around the pit stops.

“At the end, I think for Lewis’ championship it was damage limitation and he drive a brilliant race with the equipment he was given.”

Mercedes’ race was further compromised at turn one on lap one as Bottas was spun around by McLaren F1 Team’s Daniel Ricciardo, with the Finn re-joining at the back of the field as a result of the contact.