Formula 1 has become a multi-billion dollar industry that is at the forefront of motorsports on a global level. And it keeps getting bigger and bigger with each passing year. Since 1950, a total of 772 drivers from 41 countries have raced in F1 at least once. That should provide a better understanding of how exclusive this world truly is. The closest most people will get to the sport is by watching it on TV, but that's still exciting up to a certain point.
The Mexico City Grand Prix is underway as drivers have gone through the first two practice sessions of the weekend. Existing contracts have been extended so that the event stays on the F1 calendar until at least 2025.
The first practice session kicked off just after the news that Red Bull Racing had reached an agreement with the FIA on the topic of the budget cap breach. The team will have to pay a $7 million fine while also getting an aero-testing reduction for 2023. Some people have felt this decision to be a mere "slap on the wrist," and that the FIA should have taken more drastic measures.
That goes to show that it's indeed lonely at the top and that the fight for the World Title is more intense than ever before. But let's skip the politics and get into the action from FP1. There were several relatively new faces on the grid in conjunction with official FIA rules.
Pietro Fittipaldi jumped behind the wheel of the HAAS Ferrari and managed to complete a total of 9 laps before the end of the session. Pietro is the grandson of two-time F1 World Champion Emerson Fittipaldi, but his fastest lap was only good enough to have him sitting in last place.
Photo: Daimler AG
Jack Doohan might ring a bell, as his father dominated the '90s era Grand Prix motorcycle racing. Mick Doohan won five world titles in a row between 1994 to 1998. Jack is 19 years old and drove 13 laps in an Alpine Renault F1 machine, finishing FP1 in P19.
We are already getting used to seeing Nyck de Vries on track during a GP weekend, but it was slightly strange to have him sitting behind the two other rookies out on track. Logan Sargeant from the United States was behind the wheel of a Williams Mercedes and completed 22 laps to secure a P17 finish just 0.336 seconds ahead of De Vries.
Liam Lawson was there to put New Zealand on the map with his P16 finish. But he was also the man to cut FP1 short, as a technical failure caused the stewards to wave the red flag with a few minutes more to go. Verstappen and Perez dominated the first part of the session, but Gasly, Sainz, and Bottas were all keen on getting up there as well.
With 38 minutes to go, Leclerc went out for his first lap, and soon enough, he took P1 with a fast lap of 1:21.546. Mick Schumacher had a brief moment of brilliance there, but Ferrari's main driver still had some aces up his sleeve. A lap of 1:20.753 would give him P2 overall, as Carlos Sainz managed to outrun him by 0.046 seconds by the end of FP1.
Photo: Ferrari
Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen set identical lap times, crossing the line in 1:20.827. The reigning world champion spun out at one point and felt amused that he could not correct it due to the poor grip levels on the track.
Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso were the only other two drivers to go faster than 1:21, with Valtteri Bottas coming fairly close to that performance in P7. All the other drivers behind the Finn up to Mick Schumacher in P14 managed to finish their fast laps lap within a second of the former Mercedes driver. Meanwhile, Nicholas Latifi would end up in P15, just ahead of the weekend rookies. We'll be back with more information at the end of FP2.
The things Dragos enjoys the most in life are, in no particular order: cars, motorcycles, diecast cars, and drifting. He's seen (and driven) many vehicles since he started his writing career back in 2009, but his garage currently houses a 1991 Mazda RX-7 FC3S Turbo II and a 1999 Suzuki SV650-S. Full profile
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