Sergio Pérez goes home

Photo by Song Haiyuan/MB Media/Getty Images

The Red Bull driver’s return home is a major storyline for the Mexico City Grand Prix

Imagine, if you will, having the kind of season that Red Bull driver Sergio Pèrez is having, but seeing nothing but questions about your future every time you unlock your phone.

He is one of just three drivers to win a Grand Prix this year. He helped Red Bull to their second-straight Constructors’ Championship, and is sitting second in the Drivers’ Championship, having extended his lead over Hamilton while in Austin. Pérez is one of just five drivers to secure a pole position this season, and one of just four drivers with multiple pole positions on the year.

And yet almost every story written about him — including some from yours truly — wonder if his seat at Red Bull is truly safe for 2024.

Still, he forges on, and now he gets to head to Mexico for his home race, where the crowd will be behind him in full voice.

“I think we know what we did wrong across the weekend, so we are really optimistic going into future races,” said Pérez following the USGP. “We need to make sure we learn from this weekend as there are some good understandings to make for Mexico. There is a bit more pace in there and I am massively looking forward to my home Grand Prix.”

His boss, who gave him a huge vote of confidence ahead of the United States Grand Prix, praised his effort in Austin.

“Checo also drove well. He’s had some tough races but he had good pace today and I think he’ll take a lot of confidence from that,” said Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner. “Hopefully that will put him in a good space before his home race next weekend. As all eyes turn to Mexico, we look forward to seeing what’s to come and what we can achieve.”

Over his career, his best result in his home race is a P3, something he accomplished in both 2021 and 2022. Improving on that would be a heck of a way to come home, and shut people like me up for a while.

Has Logan Sargeant done enough?

He finally has his first point in Formula 1.

Now Logan Sargeant is left to wonder if that will be enough to secure his spot for 2024.

The rookie is the only driver whose status remains up in the air for next season, as Williams has yet to commit to him for the 2024 campaign. Last month Team Principal James Vowles outlined that Sargeant has a number of benchmarks to hit before the team will solidify his seat for next season, but it remains unclear as to what exactly the team wanted to see from the American driver before locking him in for 2024.

“Logan has very clear targets of what he has to hit before the end of the season, and we are working with him continuously,” Vowles said in September. “And that’s the important point, we are working with him. We want him to succeed, and we want him in the car next year.”

However, Sunday delivered a career first for the rookie, thanks to both a strong drive, and the dual disqualifications of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc. Sargeant finished the United States Grand Prix in 12th place — which was already one of his best finishes of the season, as he picked up four spots during the race — but the double DQ bumped him up into P10, and into the points.

“It’s amazing to score my first point in F1 on home turf after the challenging weekend I’ve had. I’m so proud of this team and myself for the hard work and progress we’ve been making this season,” said Sargeant after the race. “We worked hard overnight to find a direction with the car that was going to be positive, and we found that.”

The accomplishment also made him the first American driver since Michael Andretti back in 1993 to score points in a F1 race.

His success in Austin likely checks one big box for Williams, in terms of Sargeant locking down a seat for next season. But with the team looking for consistency, backing up his performance in the United States Grand Prix with another solid effort in Mexico City will take him another step closer towards a return to the grid in 2024.

Mercedes vs. Ferrari

The latest chapter in this season’s battle between Ferrari and Mercedes for second place in the Constructors’ Championship took a fascinating turn on Sunday. The Silver Arrows, thanks to an apparent second-place finish from Lewis Hamilton, extended their lead over Ferrari for a brief moment.

But that moment was erased when both Hamilton and Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc were disqualified following a post-race inspection that found the planks on both their cars did not comply with F1’s Technical Regulations. So instead of Mercedes extending their lead over Ferrari by a small margin, instead Ferrari actually chipped into that Mercedes advantage.

The teams head to Mexico separated by just 22 points, with Mercedes holding onto that slim lead.

Can either make the most of their time in Mexico, or will this battle truly go down to the final laps of the season?

Aston Martin upgrades

A number of teams brought upgrades to Austin ahead of the United States Grand Prix, including Aston Martin. The team brought a number of new elements to Texas, including a new floor.

However, by the time the Grand Prix rolled around, some of those upgrades were out the window. After both drivers failed to advance to Q2 during qualifying on Friday, the team decided to make some changes to both cars ahead of the race itself, relegating both Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso to pit lane for the start.

To their credit, both drivers made the most of things on the track, and in the closing stages both Stroll and Alonso were in a points position. While Alonso was forced to retire near the end of the race with floor damage, Stroll came across the line in ninth. The double disqualification saw him bumped up to P7, an impressive result given how he started.

Now the team gets to head to Mexico for a traditional race week, with three practice sessions ahead of qualifying. That will give Aston Martin three hours to get a grasp of the upgraded AMR23, and perhaps a better shot at a decent qualifying session.

“We gathered valuable data on the latest updates today. That data will pay dividends for the upcoming races as we continue to tune the set-up of the AMR23,” said Team Principal Mike Krack following the USGP. “I want to thank everyone at the AMRTC in Silverstone and here in Austin for their efforts over recent weeks to get the new parts on the car. We look forward to getting back on track next weekend in Mexico.”

McLaren on the march

Consider this.

It is mathematically possible for McLaren to pass both Mercedes and Ferrari, and finish second in the Constructors’ Championship.

Of course, it would take a lot for that to happen, starting with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri sweeping the season, and both Mercedes and Ferrari scuffling down the stretch, But the fact that it mathematically possible seems a lifetime removed from where McLaren started the season.

After all, this was a team that spent most of pre-season testing in Bahrain wondering what was wrong with the MCL60, and admitting upgrades would be needed as soon as possible. We were wondering early in the year when it was time to panic at McLaren, and as Norris explained to me in April, even the upgrades the team rolled out starting in Azerbaijan would not deliver immediate improvements.

But eventually, things clicked. A team that was sitting in sixth place in the Constructors’ standings following the Canadian Grand Prix, with just 17 points on the season, has scored a stunning 225 points since then. Only Red Bull has scored more points over that stretch. The result? A climb from sixth place, and behind Alpine, to fourth place behind only Red Bull, Ferrari, and Mercedes.

Norris also highlighted for me back in April that given the relative strength of Red Bull, Aston Martin, Ferrari, and Mercedes at the time, the rest of the field was largely left fighting for the final two points positions.

Now? Now everyone — save perhaps Red Bull — seems to be chasing them.

A stunning turnaround, and one that has us wondering: Can McLaren be a true title challenger in 2024 at this rate?