‘Bring back Daniel Ricciardo’ - Mexican Grand Prix Hot Takes

Ferrari once again demonstrated a strong showing in Mexico after Carlos Sainz claimed his second win of the season ahead of Lando Norris.

Charles Leclerc secured a third place finish, and the fastest lap point allowing his team to topple Red Bull in the constructors' championship.

F1 RESULTS: HUGE Verstappen penalties cause major title change

READ MORE: FIA hit Verstappen with huge DOUBLE penalty after controversial Norris incident at Mexican GP

Norris' P2 finish has cut Max Verstappen's lead in the drivers' standings to 47 points, with the Dutchman finishing P6.

However, Verstappen was slammed with a 20-second penalty as a result of his battle with Norris during the opening stages of the race, after the Brit described his driving as 'dangerous'.

Meanwhile, Verstappen's team-mate Sergio Perez finished a woeful P17 (last of the remaining runners) following his Q1 exit on Saturday and a five-second penalty for a false start.

Here's what the GPFans team had to say about the Mexican Grand Prix.

Dan Ripley - Deputy Editor

Whatever nonsense is going on with Sergio Perez at Red Bull, it needs to end and it needs to end now. It's one thing to be out of form and off the pace of Max Verstappen, but it's quite another to be dropping clangers every other week to the point that even the basics are becoming a troublesome task for the Mexican now.

Going out of Q1 in a Red Bull should already be an eyebrow-raising level of failure but to then follow that up by picking up a five-second penalty for a false start is just unforgivable. Let's not forget this should be the weekend where Perez is arguably at his best in front of his home fans too.

Forget 2025, Perez is all at sea at Red Bull and it really isn't going to get better anytime soon - and enough chances have been given. Not only is it time to promote Liam Lawson to Red Bull for an end of season feeler for 2025 (and can he be any worse than Checo?) but it's also time to bring back Daniel Ricciardo at RB and give him a proper F1 send off that he fully deserves. Contracts? Pay off Checo and send him off into an F1 retirement. He's done.

Matt Hobkinson - Global Lead Editor

The F1 champions might as well be called Oracle Max Verstappen Racing at this stage such is the pointlessness of Sergio Perez in the RB20.

Checo is a lovely guy and I have no ill-will against him whatsoever, but if the Red Bull hierarchy were willing to ditch Daniel Ricciardo mid-season, then I have absolutely no idea why Perez is still with the team.

Red Bull will come third in the constructors’ standings this season behind Ferrari and McLaren because the team have decided to back a man who has more Q1 exits than Lance Stroll and Yuki Tsunoda this year.

Much like a marriage that has slowly but surely run out of love, the team would be kinder to just front up to things and call it quits then let it drag on for yet another year in the hope that they can turn things around.

Besides, there are much younger and more appealing options out there for the team.

Chris Deeley - US Lead Editor

What an incredibly stupid race. That’s not a criticism – my cats haven’t got as many brain cells combined as a crash test dummy, and they’re great – but that doesn’t change the fact that this was a six-clown pileup from lights to flag.

The fault lies with a number of people. It lies with Sergio Perez, who started up the circus noises with a false start from 18th on the grid (yeah mate, really necessary), and it lies with Max Verstappen for acting like he’s wearing a pair of FIA-repelling Y-fronts.

Mostly though, the fault lies with the FIA. They’ve been contradictory and wishy-washy about what counts as forcing a driver off the track, and where ‘the line’ sits, all year. Last weekend in Austin may have been the nadir, with drivers getting alternately punished and saved for apparently identical incidents.

The fact that Verstappen felt that he could act exactly as he did seven days previously when trying to keep Lando Norris behind him makes complete sense, because the FIA made it pretty clear that he could. Was it a matter of double standards, a make-up call to apologise to McLaren for biffing the penalty decision last week? Perez getting away with a very similar move to his team-mate would suggest as much.

Well, it would if the FIA had even a touch of consistency about them. As it is, it was probably just the luck of the random number generator.

Ronan Murphy - Social Media Editor

Maybe it was the clock going back in Europe, but the Mexico GP felt like the longest race in history while watching George Russell and Lewis Hamilton battle for fourth.

Hamilton eventually overtook his current team-mate with a few laps remaining following an impressive chase where he kept pressure on throughout. Other teams may have asked Russell to move aside and let their other driver pass, but not Mercedes, who do not want to choose their future over their past.

But that’s what this race felt at times, a taste of the past. Fernando Alonso was treated to special 400 races banners and graphics before being forced to retire early on. Sergio Perez was celebrated by his home fans and should have retired early on too.

Thankfully, there were glimpses of an exciting future for F1. Not least Hamilton’s future team overtaking Red Bull in the Constructors’ Championship race and McLaren extending their own lead over Red Bull too.

Maybe there’s a good future ahead for F1. But I’ve been up for about 25 hours today, so it’s time for bed. Shove your daylight savings.

Simmey Hannifin-Donaldson - F1 Journalist

Well, well, well. It appears the FIA have finally grown a pair and decided to give Max Verstappen the treatment he deserves.

For what it’s worth, I think the three-time champion is the best driver on the grid at the moment, but my god does he make it hard to like him.

In recent years, the Dutchman appeared to have calmed down and matured, but it seems this was purely down to his car’s dominance. This season, with a challenge from plenty around him, the Verstappen of old has reared his head time and time again.

Whilst we all want to see drivers fighting hard and putting it all on the line, with Verstappen, when things are not going his way and he is up against it, it gets to the stage where he is essentially giving his rivals an ultimatum - yield or crash. That is unacceptable.

For all his brilliance, when he pulls moves like today, the FIA need to step in and be bold with their punishment.

For all the focus on his swearing off-track recently, it's his on-track etiquette that the FIA perhaps really needs to come down hard on.

Sheona Mountford - F1 Journalist

Red Bull have made a major mistake.

Not only have they let Sergio Perez outstay his welcome, but Ricciardo’s prolonged departure at RB has also deprived Liam Lawson of time to prove his full capabilities before he is inevitably launched into the Red Bull seat.

Their junior squad has failed its purpose, and that is to prepare drivers adequately for a seat at the top team or to find the right driver to partner Max Verstappen at Red Bull.

How long is it before Lawson replicates the likes of Alex Albon and Pierre Gasly, and also fails to live up to the extremely high standard the team inflicts on its drivers?

If Verstappen does indeed leave the team in 2026 they will be left without a strong driver that can guide them towards championship success and that should worry Red Bull.

Their inability to let go of Perez and Ricciardo is an important lesson, and one they must learn from if they wish to survive at the front of the grid.

It is time Red Bull took their driver lineup seriously, and start to look beyond their own pool of drivers.

READ MORE: FIA hit Verstappen with huge DOUBLE penalty after controversial Norris incident at Mexican GP

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