Formula 1 and the FIA now have plenty of material in the wake of the United States Grand Prix to review its racing guidelines “in the interest of the sport”, according to McLaren team principal Andrea Stella.

McLaren failed in its submission of a right of review over the five-second penalty given to Lando Norris, as the FIA upheld its opinion that Norris passed Max Verstappen off-track at Turn 12 on lap 52.

Stella and McLaren believe that Norris had already completed the move on the run to Turn 12 and that Verstappen – in their eyes, now the aggressor – had pushed Norris off the road.

Following the FIA’s decision to deny the right of review, although noting that the “high bar” set out in the right of review regulations was more suited to decisions made with team representatives present, Stella believes that it is now the time to “make a step forward” with the current guidelines.

“We have already made our observations that the guidelines for these driving manoeuvres need review,” Stella said. “This was mainly, I would say, after some of the episodes in Austria already, then I think in Austin definitely. 

“We have suggested, either with the right of review or straight after the race in our comments in Austin, that we think the interpretation of the racing between Lando and Max was really unnecessarily at the disadvantage of Lando. 

“For us as a team, we leave it to the leadership of the FIA. We have always been respectful, constructive, collaborative with the FIA, we are ready to keep doing that. 

Andrea Stella, Team Principal, McLaren F1 Team

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

“I think the drivers as well have had the chance to express their opinion, and they all agree that there’s quite a bit of work to do. And I think they have also given their opinion on the episode that happened in Austin. 

“There’s a lot of material. There’s a lot of information. I think it’s now the time to process this information and take a step forward in the interest of the sport.”

In the aftermath of the race, Stella initially said that the team would accept the decision – but the grey area in interpreting the position of the cars on track meant that McLaren felt it needed to press on with a right-of-review submission.

He explained that McLaren still disagreed with the FIA’s interpretation of the incident, and of its application of “new, significant, and relevant” information, but welcomed the swift resolution from the governing body.

“In terms of my comments straight after the race, related to the fact that we wouldn’t have proceeded with a right of review, they were based on what I knew at the time. 

“But after we read the decision, it became very clear that there was an element in the decision, which was an element also in relation to what is required by the International Sporting Code to be a new, relevant, significant element to make the petition successful. 

“Reading the decision, it was very clear that the decision included an objective, measurable, provable error, which was the element that we wanted to consider as this required new, relevant and significant element. 

“We disagreed with the interpretation of the stewards that this element wouldn’t be significant, relevant and new – we thought that was actually the case.

“But we remain thankful to the stewards for having considered the matter very rapidly, quickly, and we keep our as usual, our constructive, supportive approach.”

Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko has been clear that Sergio Perez’s current performance is not good enough, following a dismal qualifying result at Formula 1’s Mexico City Grand Prix.

Not only was Perez outqualified by Max Verstappen for the 23rd time in 24 sessions this year (sprint qualifying included), but he also suffered the ignominy of being eliminated as early as Q1, finishing 18th with an eight-tenth deficit on his team-mate – a setback the Mexican blamed on braking issues.

In a context where Perez’s father Antonio has told Mexican sports newspaper Record that he remains convinced Sergio will become a world champion eventually, Marko reacted on Sky Germany: “Well, I honour his father’s optimism, but…

“I heard him on the radio complaining a lot about brake problems. We’ll have to see what was going on. But the hoped-for upturn that we all expected unfortunately didn’t materialise.”

Perez is already under contract with Red Bull for 2025, but his poor results – 47 points scored in the latest 13 grands prix, compared to 218 for Verstappen – mean there is constant speculation over his future.

Although Red Bull chiefs have reaffirmed time and again that the veteran had the second seat for next year, team principal Christian Horner recently stating Perez “is currently our driver for 2025” does sound like there is scope for change.

Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing, Christian Horner, Team Principal, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

Liam Lawson’s promotion to RB, replacing Daniel Ricciardo until the end of the season, certainly happened with a view to evaluating the youngster for the near future.

However, while his RB team-mate Yuki Tsunoda is keen to grab the second Red Bull drive himself, he is yet to convince the Anglo-Austrian squad bosses of his worth, and his Q2 accident at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez won’t do him any favours.

Marko called the incident “an unnecessary crash”, given Tsunoda risked damaging the VCARB 01’s new floor and being relegated to the back of the grid if parc ferme needed to be breached.

Asked if the Japanese driver was too unstable, Marko added: “Well, he had a spin in Austin and now this crash in qualifying.

“We thought he had stabilised, but apparently now, when the pressure comes from Lawson, it’s noticeable.”

Additional reporting by Kevin Hermann

Christopher Bell is the only Cup driver to make the Championship 4 in the first two seasons of the Next Gen era, and he is on the cusp of doing it for a third consecutive year. Despite his strong position, he only felt frustration after a dominant showing last weekend as he watched Joey Logano stretch the fuel and steal the win out from under him.

But the disappointing runner-up finish at Vegas still netted Bell a bucket of points — enough to put him ahead of the seven title contenders still fighting over the three remaining spots in the final four. That’s critically important as no matter what happens over the next two weeks, the driver with the most points (and no win in the Round of 8) will also have a clear pathway to Phoenix.

Bell’s true battle isn’t with the bottom four

He is 42 points above the cut-line, but the fight Bell really needs to pay attention to is the one to remain atop the points pile. Kyle Larson is just seven points behind him and William Byron is 25 points back. The top points-scorer is guaranteed one of those coveted four spots, no matter what. That fact certainly isn’t lost on the quietly clever driver of the No. 20 Toyota.

“Yeah, I think that’s what we’re planning on (gaining max points),” said Bell during media availability at Homestead. “You know, that’s why you’re in the Round of 8, trying to transfer to the Championship 4. You’re never really safe. The three of us William [Byron], Kyle [Larson] and myself have kind of, the way that the cards fell, we’re kind of essentially point racing each other, and the guys below that are far enough below, they’re basically out of the points and essentially racing for wins.

“Certainly, we’ll know more once we get through Homestead on Sunday night, but, right now, we’re planning on there being three winners and the three of us – William, Kyle and myself – are racing for that last points spot. There’s a good chance William, Kyle or myself could win this weekend and it could change. But + 42 (points) sounds great until you realize every time someone wins, that cutline shrinks more, more and more, or that gap to the cutline. You’re never safe and it’s going to be a battle.”

The lack of a safety net in this round makes it unique to the two that precede it where ‘okay’ runs are normally enough to skate through. But in this penultimate round, the entire dynamic changes and nothing short of a victory feels secure. Perhaps that’s why Bell was unusually animated on the radio when he lost the Vegas race to Logano’s fuel gamble.

Points vs. wins: A recent history

But is it really wise to prioritize points over race wins in this round? Taking a short walk back through recent history gives us some good insight into the answer.

Last year, Byron (+20 over nearest competition) was the driver who left Homestead with the most points of the non-winners. In 2022, it was Ross Chastain (+8 on nearest competition). Both drivers did end up making the Championship 4. However, it was a nail-biter for Byron who narrowly moved forward by a margin of just eight points. And Chastain? I think we all remember what he had to do, driving his car full-throttle into the wall and achieving what was once thought impossible in a daredevil move for the ages.

But the most interesting statistic here is that neither of those drivers went on to win the title while both of the NASCAR’s most recent champions [Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano] won their way into the finale. In fact, that trend continues back before the introduction of the Next Gen car with Larson in 2021 and Chase Elliott in 2020.

The last champion to actually point their way into the finale was Kyle Busch five years ago. In fact, it’s only happened three times in ten seasons with this current format. Bell is of the belief that winning in the Round of 8 — specifically the opening race as Logano just did — gives any driver a certain edge over the other contenders. 

“The Phoenix car is a special car and if you’re in the final four, it deserves to have more time and effort put into it,” explained Bell, who has only ever made the final four by winning Ro8 races. “So, winning that first race is huge and yeah, it’s an advantage. And I noticed that from winning Homestead last year, having that extra week to prepare.”

George Russell has suggested he would be in favour of Mercedes compromising the rest of this Formula 1 season to gain an advantage into 2025 as the team deals with the fallout of several high-profile crashes.

Mercedes’ repair costs have been mounting up of late after Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s Monza practice crash, the Austin shunt sustained by Russell in qualifying, and his latest prang in Mexico’s FP2 session.

This led Toto Wolff to tell Sky Germany of his fear that Mercedes would struggle against the budget cap with further crashes.

Given the situation, Russell said he would be happy to stick with his current car specification – now running Miami-spec parts after his crash – to save cash for next season.

“There’s no concerns with budget cap because we’ve always got a bit of margin and you’re always weighing up what you put into this season versus what you put into next season,” Russell said after securing fifth on the grid for the Mexican GP.

“We may have to compromise over the rest of this season, which to be honest I’d probably be in favour of because we’re not fighting for a championship.

“I’d be more than happy staying on the old floor if that gives us a better chance into next year.

George Russell, Mercedes F1 W15

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

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“But I think we’ll be able to repair the floor from Austin. I think that’s the plan. It wasn’t as bad as we initially expected and that should be out in Brazil.”

Russell was surprised that he was able to qualify fifth with older components and that the team was taken aback by its pace from FP1 before the Briton’s incident during the second Friday session.

Recounting the FP2 incident, he explained: “The last two years, I’ve been using that kerb every lap. In FP1, I did four laps using the kerb, and there was no problem and then suddenly I hit it and it was like I was a kangaroo.

“That was really disappointing. For the last two weeks, I’ve put so much pressure on the team now with the lack of spares and it’s been pretty unnecessary.

“But we don’t really know why it’s happening. It’s not through sort of overdriving. It’s just the car bites.”

Carlos Sainz says Ferrari’s upturn in form is “bittersweet” for him, because he feels the squad is gearing up to be firmly in the world title hunt next year when he’s no longer there.

Ferrari has overcome a car development setback in the middle part of the 2024 season to regain competitiveness in recent races, especially on circuits with relatively few high-speed corners.

Charles Leclerc won Monza’s Italian Grand Prix in September and was fighting for victory in Baku, while a botched qualifying session prevented both he and Sainz from competing up front in Singapore. But the pair struck back by taking a 1-2 victory last week in Austin, led by Leclerc, which is bringing Ferrari back in championship contention.

Ferrari’s resurgence is the culmination of a long process, with the team unable to sustain its development rate after a strong start to the 2022 season. In 2023 Fred Vasseur came in as a team boss to drive the squad forward in every department as he aimed to improve its culture and weed out operational mistakes, which is paying dividends this year with much improve race pace.

Sainz has been there for most of the build-up, joining Maranello from McLaren for 2021, but he will be departing for Williams next year after Vasseur snapped up Lewis Hamilton from Mercedes at the start of the year.

So, while the Spaniard was buoyed by Ferrari’s upturn in performance as he took his sixth pole of his career with the team, he admitted his Mexico pole was tinged with sadness as he won’t be able to complete his journey with the resurgent Scuderia in 2025.

Pole man Carlos Sainz, Scuderia Ferrari, in the post Qualifying Press Conference

Photo by: Dom Romney / Motorsport Images

“It’s very sweet, given how good the car is, how well I’m driving recently, obviously optimistic going into the last five races,” he said after beating 2024’s title protagonists Max Verstappen and Lando Norris, as well as Leclerc, in qualifying.

“At the same time, it’s bittersweet because it gives me a feeling Ferrari might be in the fight for the world championship next year and I will not be there to use it.

“I feel like I’ve been quite a big part of this team during the last four years trying to prepare the team to fight for that championship next year. And the fact that I’m driving well, being fast with the car and I’m leaving in five races is definitely leaves me a bit… I don’t know how to say it, but not with a very good feeling.

“But it is what it is. I’m going to try and win more races, stand on the podium for as long as I can during these five races and enjoy that. And then we will think about next year.”

Ferrari may yet win the constructors’ title this year, bringing the gap with McLaren down to 48 points, and following just eight points behind Red Bull.

Sainz felt Ferrari’s high-speed cornering weakness compared to McLaren, which is still the dominant car in fast corners, will come to bite Ferrari in Qatar, but he expects other circuits to be stronger for the Scuderia.

“We are still lacking in high speed corners, especially in qualifying mode, which makes me feel like Qatar will still be a difficult race for us,” the 30-year-old explained.

“But at all the other circuits hopefully we’ll be in the mix, which means you give yourself a chance at winning at almost every track except for Qatar that I think is not a Ferrari track at all.”

Liam Lawson believes that RB was a shoo-in for the final stage of Mexican Grand Prix qualifying, had team-mate Yuki Tsunoda not crashed at the close of Q2 in Formula 1 qualifying.

Lawson and Tsunoda were sat on the cusp of progressing into the top-10 shootout, and the Japanese driver had looked particularly competitive throughout all three practice sessions – placing third in both Friday outings and seventh in FP3.

Tsunoda then overcooked it on the brakes at Turn 12 during his final lap of Q2; although his crash into the barrier entering the Foro Sol stadium was somewhat sedate, it nonetheless brought out the red flag.

This froze the Q2 order with both RBs just outside it, having both been on better laps and were attempting to surpass the benchmark 1m17.048s set by Pierre Gasly in 10th.

“It’s a shame obviously. We had a fast car all weekend,” Lawson said. “Obviously, Yuki’s been extremely strong in practice. We’ve been building up and I think we were right there in quali.

“I think the team’s worked extremely hard and given us a really fast car this weekend. So they deserve to have two cars, if not one, in Q3.

“I was considerably up. So honestly, even just with a normal sector two and three, it should have been enough. But yeah, that’s how it is sometimes.

“Unfortunately that’s the risk sometimes when you run towards the back [of the pack] and if there is a flag that’s what happens. We did all the right things, we built up and by quali we were honestly on the limit. I feel confident we would have been able to go through.”

Liam Lawson, RB F1 Team VCARB 01

Photo by: Dom Romney / Motorsport Images

Lawson nonetheless praised the trail that had been cleared by Tsunoda over the weekend with set-up, stating that his side of the garage had been using his data to help the Kiwi get his head around the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

He added that RB was going to have to dig deep to beat Haas in the race, given that the two teams are separated by just two points in their battle for sixth in the constructors’ championship.

“It’s been perfect; it’s good to have a fast team-mate and be able to use his data and that’s what we’ve been doing all weekend honestly.

“It’s been useful, I think obviously having extra time this weekend has helped for sure. So yeah, just a shame we didn’t get to finish the lap.

“I feel for [the team] because they’ve worked really hard and this is a weekend where you don’t often have two cars that are very quick and capable of Q3.

“Haas have now completely capitalised on that and put both their cars in Q3 and because of what’s happened we’re now both out.

“We’re close to the points obviously we see where they’ve qualified. But we’re close and the long run looks good, so hopefully we can move forward.”