Despite a tire disadvantage, the 23XI Racing driver appeared to find an extra gear on the final lap when he surged ahead of both Denny Hamlin and Ryan Blaney.

33.379s — Tyler Reddick‘s final lap time, which was half a second faster than anyone else on the track (and was even quick enough to land fourth place in Saturday qualifying). It was an astonishing charge that appeared to come out of nowhere, cutting under Hamlin in Turn 1 before blowing the doors off Blaney with a high-side pass in Turns 3 and 4.

“I didn’t know how bad we were going to bleed,” said Reddick about his tire deficit. “I drove into turn three (on the restart) … out of desperation (and) I kind of held serve. I was very shocked by that. Then as laps just kept winding down, it didn’t truly feel like we were at a big tire deficit. You come to this place, you know tires are a premium.

“Early in the race we saw the 8 [Kyle Busch], a number of other cars, on three/four-lap tires stay out and get their doors blown off. I was completely shocked we were able to stay in the mix like we were. Yeah, going into (Turn 1), I made the right guess. I got the bottom. I got clean air. I got up in front of the 11 [Hamlin]. I had a good run on the 12 [Blaney].”

Race winner Tyler Reddick, 23XI Racing, The Beast Killer Sunrise Toyota Camry

Photo by: Ben Earp / NKP / Motorsport Images

As the leaders headed for the final set of corners, Blaney chose to run middle which left the top wide open for Reddick.

“I was just blown away that I had that kind of momentum going into turn three,” explained Reddick. “I thought there was no way Blaney was going to leave me the outside. He must have thought that I was just going to absolutely dive bomb it off in there to try to get around him. Once I saw him kind of shade down, I hit the gas and forgot about everything else. Came out on the other side in the lead. It was just crazy.”

It’s quite the turnaround from one week ago when Reddick’s Las Vegas race ended in a bizarre rollover crash through the infield grass. Seven days later, he’s secured the second of four coveted spots in the finale. Reddick has never placed higher than sixth in the Cup standings, but he is now guaranteed to finish no worse than fourth in 2024.

The topic of IndyCar taking a trip south of the Rio Grande has been a hot topic since NASCAR announced plans in August to have a race at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez – the same track where Formula 1’s Mexican Grand Prix is held.

That stock car event will take place across 14-15 June next year on a shortened 14-turn layout, with drivers going right at Turn 4 instead of left, skipping Turns 5 and 6 of the full configuration.

It will be NASCAR’s first points-paying Cup Series race in Mexico City, with the Xfinity Series previously racing at the track four times between 2005-08.

There hasn’t been an IndyCar presence in Mexico since 2007, which came under the Champ Car era at the Hermanos Rodriguez circuit.

“We’ve been in discussions with IndyCar,” said Alejandro Soberón, the president of Mexico City GP promoter CIE.

“They were here before in Mexico. Next year, NASCAR is coming to Mexico. They’re going outside the United States for the first time. There’s a lot of excitement. It’s a completely different type of race and championship.” 

Another element that bolsters chances for an IndyCar return is the surge of interest in Pato O’Ward, a Mexico native from Monterrey who drives for Arrow McLaren. 

Race winner Sebastien Bourdais, Newman Haas Lanigan Racing

Photo by: Dan R. Boyd / Motorsport Images

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25-year-old O’Ward, who won three IndyCar races this past season and also came within two corners of winning the Indianapolis 500, completed his first FP1 running of the 2024 F1 season at his home event last Friday as one of two required young driver sessions.

Sliding into the cockpit of Lando Norris’s MCL38, he finished just 0.3s behind team-mate Oscar Piastri after logging 21 laps in the one-hour session.

It was shared that O’Ward received similar support as Sergio Perez, the only Mexican who competes full-time in F1, with over 3,000 fans attending a recent sponsor appearance at the Plaza Reforma 222 shopping mall in downtown Mexico City.

“We have set up conversations with IndyCar in January to think about 2026,” Soberón added. “Of course, Pato is a big factor in all that.”

Marc Marquez is adamant he would have come away with a second MotoGP win in eight days but for the costly crash that ended his hopes in a wet Thailand Grand Prix.

The Gresini Ducati rider endured a low-speed fall coming around turn nine on lap 12 while fighting for the lead in tricky wet conditions against Francesco Bagnaia.

Though he would go on to remount and claw back ground to score points for 11th place, Marquez was frustrated by another race day error had cost him a shot at back-to-back victories, claiming he had the measure of Bagnaia in terms of pace.

“We were the fastest today but now after the race, maybe we weren’t patient enough in that moment of the race,” he declared after the race.

“It’s true that it was super-tricky because I wasn’t able to overtake in a clear way against Bagnaia. I was always planning a very clear overtake, because I had the speed and I said ‘We will have more chances’.

“Always, I was trying to push, attack; then, when it was not possible, to cool down the front tyre, [then] attack again. 

“I was doing always a bit the ‘elastic’ during the race, and on that second attack I saw that I was much faster.

“I tried to not give up and I tried to follow him, and just one-and-a-half degrees more in that corner [turn eight] and I lost the front and I couldn’t save — it was very close.

“We are humans, we make mistakes, and today it was my turn.”

Despite the lower returns on his weekend, Marquez continues to hold down third place in the overall standings ahead of Enea Bastianini with two rounds of the season remaining.

NBA legend Michael Jordan is a longtime NASCAR fan, but he only became an owner in 2021. Since then, the team known as 23XI Racing has won Cup races with Kurt Busch, Bubba Wallace, and Tyler Reddick.

But they’ve never been part of the Championship 4 — until now. Jordan was in attendance on Sunday, watching on nervously as Reddick charged from third to first over the course of the final lap, stunning his rivals and securing the victory.

As MJ headed over to the finish line to celebrate with his driver, he praised the crew chief for the aggressive call that put Reddick in position to win the race. Reddick had run longer than any other driver on fuel, pitting with 15 laps to go. Within three laps, the caution flew when the leaders tangled and Reddick stayed out on slightly older tires. Somehow, he made it work.

Race winner Tyler Reddick, 23XI Racing, The Beast Killer Sunrise Toyota Camry

Photo by: Ben Earp / NKP / Motorsport Images

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“Billy [Scott] made a call,” said Jordan. “Looked a little scared because we were going to run out of gas. Anything could happen. As you could see, Denny [Hamlin] was up there. Little kid [Reddick] drove his ass off. I’m proud of him.”

And his thoughts on that last-lap charge? “Oh, man, he just let go. He just went for it and I’m glad. We needed it. We needed it.”

MJ finally caught up to Reddick mid-interview, lifting him up off the ground as they embraced. “Yeah baby! Good job, kid,” he exclaimed.

Tyler Reddick, 23XI Racing, The Beast Killer Sunrise Toyota Camry, Michael Jordan

Photo by: NASCAR Media

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Reddick has never won a Cup title before and now he’ll get the chance to race for one with the full backing of one of the biggest stars in sports. “It’s special, man,” said Reddick. “He’s dedicated a lot of his time, his efforts, his money into elevating 23XI to where it is right now. He’s fully committed to this team, to our organization.

“To be able to reward him with the days like we had today, it’s a true honor. It was really cool to see how happy he was. We’re all very happy about it.

“He believed in me. He believes in this team. The people, him, Denny, everybody else, has put together to create what 23XI is. He’s put a lot towards it. It’s really cool in these critical moments to be able to deliver for him and for everybody else that’s a part of the team.

Reddick has now delivered the basketball icon five of his eight NASCAR Cup wins as an owner since joining the team at the beginning of last year, but now, he’ll have the opportunity to get MJ the biggest prize of them all — the Bill France Cup.

Williams driver Franco Colapinto has dismissed rumours he is in the frame for a seat at Red Bull’s RB Formula 1 team, suggesting he will be on the sidelines in 2025.

Colapinto wowed the F1 paddock with his strong performances and calm attitude as a mid-season replacement for Logan Sargeant at Williams. In his five races thus far, the Argentinian scored five points and never finished lower than 12th, with another combative display at Sunday’s Mexican Grand Prix going unrewarded.

There is no room for Colapinto as a regular driver at Williams next year, with the team having already signed Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, who won Sunday’s grand prix, to slot in alongside Alex Albon.

But the 21-year-old’s form has turned enough heads for him to be considered at Sauber and at Red Bull, which may have a slot at its RB team for Colapinto to slot into.

But while there have been casual talks between Williams and Red Bull, with Williams team boss James Vowles willing to loan his reserve driver out, Colapinto has dismissed suggestions he could be on the F1 grid next year.

“No, at the moment, I don’t understand much of what they are talking about. I don’t know from where it came from,” Colapinto told F1 TV.

“I don’t have any seat for next year, and at the moment, I’m not racing Formula 1. I’m probably going to be racing somewhere else.

“So look, it’s going to be maybe a year that I’m not going to be here, but I hope to be showing that I deserve a seat here enough to come back in ’26 or ’27. It is my goal, and it’s why I’m doing what I can race after race.

Franco Colapinto, Williams Racing

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

“That’s why [after qualifying] I was disappointed with the result and just trying to do my best session after session to try and show I deserve to be here.”

While Red Bull is understood to have some interest in Colapinto, driver advisor Helmut Marko suggested the team is not keen on taking outside drivers on loan when it has its own junior programme, with F2 frontrunner Isack Hadjar also waiting in the wings.

“The problem with him is that he has a long-term contract with Williams,” the Austrian told the Kleine Zeitung. “[Taking him on loan] is not interesting for any team. You do not want to train a driver for another team.”

On the subject of potentially loaning Colapinto to RB, Vowles added: “I think in all of these things at the moment, let’s start with the basics.

“He has earned his place on the grid, and what we want to help with that is finding him a place in that regard.

“What it looks like, I can’t tell you at the moment, because A, it’s very sensitive, and B, there’s really not a lot to discuss right now. “

Another weekend, another Ferrari win overshadowed by a squabble between title contenders. Carlos Sainz’s crushing dominance of proceedings in Mexico fulfilled his prime objective of picking up at least one more win before leaving Ferrari at the end of 2024, but his presence on the TV screens was distinctly secondary to replays of Max Verstappen earning two 10-second penalties within four corners. His racecraft, or lack thereof, at least disrupted Lando Norris’ race enough to deny the McLaren driver a chance of properly challenging Sainz.

Tempers ran hot in Mexico City’s high altitudes; perhaps the 22% reduction in air density limited the oxygen entering the drivers’ brains and led to moments of rashness and brilliance in equal measure. Both of those were evident in Charles Leclerc’s second place-losing snap at the Peraltada: he overstretched trying to defend from Norris and almost careened into the wall, but cat-like reflexes led him to gather up the wayward Ferrari and save the day from his own over-ambition.

Just four races now remain to decide the outcome of 2024. We’ve learned a lot this weekend, but we’ve selected the biggest-ticket items for your reading pleasure. 

1. Verstappen’s still got it – ‘it’ being questionable tactics

Verstappen caught the ire of the stewards for a pair of lap 10 incidents with Norris

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

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There’s always been a suggestion that Verstappen races Norris very differently, a suggestion that Verstappen has flatly denied. He had to contend with the same accusations when it came to dealing with Lewis Hamilton in 2021, and the Turn 4 Brazil incident buttered few parsnips in a contentious championship battle.

But Mexico proved that, indeed, Verstappen takes significantly greater liberties when pitted against his immediate championship rival. Let’s compare: when Sainz passed at Turn 1, Verstappen didn’t really defend at all. He instead attempted to gain the switchback into Turns 2 and 3, moves that Sainz was wise to and ensured that he covered off. Perhaps Verstappen had the sense that the Ferrari was going to pass him anyway, or had an inkling that he might be able to outfox his rival immediately after.

The Turn 4 and Turn 7/8 scenarios with Norris are different, but nonetheless tend to occupy the grey areas in the etiquette stakes. The latter of the two was arguably the more bonkers scenario; a wilful disregard for any regulatory framework was demonstrated by Verstappen just deciding to drive Norris off the road and make the overtake, banking on the McLaren driver to back up. 

This isn’t a plea for Verstappen to change his driving, because he won’t (and he certainly should not be taking advice from this writer). Everyone wants to see hard-but-fair racing, as demonstrated by the Mercedes duo, and Verstappen CAN do that. But there’s a conspicuous itch at the back of his neck when he sees a rival in his mirrors – and sometimes, he feels he’s just got to scratch it.

2. Norris must keep forcing Verstappen to over-defend

Norris forced Verstappen’s hand in Mexico

Photo by: Mark Sutton

The coda to the opening “thing” is this: if Verstappen decides to continue as he is, then Norris must find a way to exploit it – and there seemed to be signs he was figuring out how to do that in Mexico. Austin’s dramas exposed the pitfalls of the racing guidelines – but in a sense, served to reinforce them with no immediate changes made to the rulebook. Turn 4 is the case in point: with the be-alongside-at-the-apex rule clarified, Norris knew he had to be there when mounting a challenge to Verstappen. The charge around the outside was a gamble, but this was no different to Verstappen’s delicate touch on the brakes at COTA’s Turn 12. In both cases, the drivers earned themselves space.

This put Verstappen in the position where he had to either accept Norris had the inside line for Turn 5, or simply run his championship rival out of road. He chose the latter. 

Norris, who had cut across the grass and briefly sat in the lead, let Sainz go back through. Verstappen, who felt Norris had passed him off-track, probably expected to also be let through. When he wasn’t, he was in the position where he either waited it out and asked for his team to intervene, or simply run his championship rival out of the road. He chose the latter.

This is an exploitable weakness: trying to draw the foul (while ensuring nothing injurious to his own race) might be a solid tactic for Norris to try next time he’s in close quarters with his title rival. Closing a 47 point deficit with four races remaining is a tough ask, but playing Verstappen against himself might be the best way to dent his title charge. Getting the apex at Brazil’s Turn 4 might be a good place to start…

3. Ferrari has developed itself out of mid-season hole

Ferrari are hunting McLaren in a thrilling battle for constructors’ championship honours

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

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Ferrari’s team principal Fred Vasseur has been delighted by the Verstappen/Norris horn-locking so far. Not because it’s helped Ferrari chalk up a second win on the bounce, and not because the mirthful Frenchman just really loves drama: it’s because it has put a team that has won the past two races completely – his words – under the radar. The Prancing Horse has now overtaken Red Bull for second in the constructors’ championship and sits just 29 points behind McLaren with four to go. 

More encouragingly for the scarlet squad, the performance injected into its SF-24 for the Monza race appears to have stuck around. Ferrari had pinned its hopes on a floor upgrade that hoped to arrest a mid-season slump, precipitated by two previous upgrades’ exacerbation of mid-corner bouncing. With an uptick in performances across the Monza, Baku, and Singapore races, Ferrari knew its updated car’s oeuvre was missing a test on a circuit with both ‘normal’ levels of downforce and high-speed corners. The team’s domination at Austin rather ticked that off the list.

Mexico seemed to cement the notion that Ferrari has pulled itself out of that mid-season mire. Like McLaren, it is now regularly outpacing Red Bull; the orange and red cars will likely battle fiercely over the constructors’ crown. And let’s give Sainz his flowers because his weekend in Mexico was pretty much flawless. Even with Lewis Hamilton coming into the team, the Spaniard’s diligence and consistency will be missed at Maranello.

4. In the final stint, Magnussen was the quickest non-Ferrari/McLaren/Mercedes car

On his way out of F1 at the end of the season, Magnussen put in one of his performances of the year to leave a strong impression

Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images

When Verstappen came out of the pits after serving his 20-second penalty for what one might charitably describe as indiscretions, his Red Bull once again demonstrated an allergy to the harder compounds of Pirelli rubber. Once he’d cut through the midfielders, his progress flat-lined and the arrears to the Mercedes grew to between 10 and 11 seconds. 

Halfway through the final stint, Verstappen’s advantage over Kevin Magnussen was shrinking. It wasn’t being scythed down at a particularly rapid rate – a tenth here, a couple of tenths there per lap – but it was evident that the Haas driver was making inroads nonetheless. And he needed to, since the recovering Oscar Piastri was out for blood behind him. The Australian was also beginning to make progress as the race moved towards its final act, having dispatched Nico Hulkenberg to claim eighth.

Over the past couple of seasons, the Haas hasn’t quite worked for Magnussen; even this year’s markedly improved design has been tricky for the Dane to work with. Recent upgrades appear to be giving him what he needs to shine and, if this is it for his F1 career at the end of the year, he appears to have the ammunition required to end on a high. With seventh at Mexico, and Hulkenberg taking ninth despite feeling ill at ease with the VF-24, Haas has taken a big step towards sixth in the constructors’ championship.

5. Perez has Lawson under his skin

Lawson and Perez are widely viewed to be battling it out for the second Red Bull 2025 seat

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

“I think the way he has come to Formula 1, I don’t think he has the right attitude for it. He needs to be a bit more humble. You know, when a two-time world champion[Fernando Alonso] was saying things last weekend, he completely ignored him. It’s like when you come to Formula 1, you’re obviously very hungry and so on, but you have to be as well respectful off track and on track.”

This was Sergio Perez’s damning indictment of Liam Lawson, one driven by a battle through Turns 4 and 5 that spilled over into ill-temperedness. Lawson felt that Perez had pushed him off at Turn 4, and kept his nose to the inside for the next corner; Perez tried to close him off, and this led to contact that punched a hole in Perez’s sidepod and nibbled at his floor.

Feeling hot under the collar, Sergio? Lawson has been heavily linked to Perez’s Red Bull seat for 2025, so perhaps the verbal equivalent of a two-footed challenge in the penalty box might have been fuelled by the pressure that the Kiwi has already started to exert on the Mexican driver. And that’s the sort of doubt you’d try to precipitate if you were under pressure: “Yeah, it’s not going well for me, but I don’t think this other guy has the temperament…”

Does Lawson really need to be “more humble”, or was Perez expecting the still-inexperienced New Zealander to jump out of his way?

6. Red Bull spoke to quadricentennial Alonso over 2024 seat

Alonso at Red Bull? It could have happened.

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

The less said about Fernando Alonso’s 400th race weekend, the better – the Spaniard was ill on Thursday, and lasted just 15 laps before pulling into his with debris in his front-left brake duct. At least the stattos will be happy he’s got the opportunity to do a ‘proper’ 400th grand prix celebration in Qatar…

There was a non-zero chance that Alonso’s 2024 season could have been upgraded had talks with Red Bull gone a slightly different way; as Perez’s form declined during 2023, Red Bull considered other options – and Alonso contemplated a switch from Aston Martin despite the Silverstone squad’s strong start to the year. 

“At that time, Sergio’s contract hadn’t been extended, so as Fernando is a seasoned operator, he always wants to know all of his options. Between him and his manager or advisor of many years, Flavio [Briatore], they’re always testing the market, and it just shows how hungry and competitive he is,” Christian Horner explained.

“He’s still delivering at 42 years of age, or 43. He’s still in great shape and it just shows that age is just a number. He’s still a very, very capable grand prix driver and given the tools, I’m sure he’d be at the front.”

Horner also noted the sticking point between Alonso and Red Bull in talks for 2009, stating that the two-time champion only wanted a one-year deal while a minimum of two years was on offer. “We were convinced he had a Ferrari contract in his back pocket at that point, so we didn’t get to a deal.”

7. The world of F1 racing guidelines remains murky

Does anyone fully understand the rules?

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

So, what are the rules? How are drivers expected to race each other without fear of repercussions or reprisal? Will the stewards and drivers agree on the guidelines and waltz happily together into a more prosperous age of on-track combat?

Ha, no chance – even if GPDA director George Russell says “19 out of 20 drivers” are aligned with the stewards on what the racing guidelines should be, these need to walk the line perfectly. Over-legislate, and drivers might not feel empowered to take a few risks. Under-legislate, and this will create exploitable grey areas that might work to the letter of the law but completely disavow the spirit of F1 competition. As of yet, there has been no compelling suggestion that could work going forward.

Getting rid of the guidelines entirely could be ruinous. The stewards need to have a framework to penalise against, and a catch-all “did a bad thing” article in the sporting regulations would be completely open to interpretation and a lack of consistency. 

Permanent stewards might work for consistency, but one could cynically suggest that the ‘wrong’ combination could be open to corruption more than a rotating cast. 

It’s often better to come up with a solution and make it the right one, rather than only act when the right solution presents itself, but sometimes it’s okay for the stewards to be given more time. The penalties granted to the Verstappen incidents in Mexico were a step forward, but these were arguably more clear-cut than the Austin contretemps; for incidents like that, a deeper look into driver traces might be preferable – even if it’s deemed that the wrong driver stood on the podium.

Four F1 weekends remain, and nothing is settled yet!

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

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