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THE Mexican Grand Prix has been suspended as Kimi Antonelli looks to clinch the world title.
The Mercedes driver only needs to finish in the top nine to become F1’s youngest-ever champ.
Lewis Hamilton started on pole but had a bad start and he has slammed the decision to only give Charles Leclerc a five-second penalty as “handing him the win”.
But for now, a red flag is in place after a horror crash involving Valtteri Bottas.
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We are getting closer to seeing this race restarted.
The good news is that the barriers have been replaced from that Bottas collision earlier.
Many of the drivers are getting their last instructions before returning to the cars.
The drivers are out of their cars and back in the pits analysing all the track data.
Bottas seems okay now but will head to the medical tent for a checkup.
Race organisers took the opportunity to red flag the race, concerned for the driver’s welfare.
Ferrari may need Hamilton and Leclerc to stand at opposite ends of the garage.
Well Bottas has thrown this race up in the air after coming off the track.
The medical car has been deployed, he is still not out of the car and the red flag has come out.
He has given the thumbs up to the doctor, which is great news considering that high-speed collision.
Leclerc is also commenting that the mediums are the worst tyre.
It could be a big problem for Ferrari in this race.
Antonelli comes in for, potentially, his last pit stop before becoming a world champion in the sport.
Bottas has gone off into the barriers and the safety car is heading out.
Hamilton has suggested the team have made a wrong choice with these medium tyres and there is no way they will last until the end of the race.
He sounds a real joy to work with, the former world champion.
Those working at Ferrari may find him the Bruno Fernandes of F1.
Interestingly, three drivers gain time on the leader in the lap.
That may suggest Antonelli may need to come in and change those tyres if they are dropping off.
Norris heads in and it is all change once again.
The two leaders are praying for that safety car right now.
It is a bold strategy that pays off far less than teams expect it to.
Hamilton posts the fastest lap of the race so far.
‘Still happy with these times Kimi, keep it up’ is the message on the Mercedes team radio.
Overheating brakes and engines could also play a major part in the latter stages of this race.
The humid conditions in Mexico City make this a common occurrance.
Antonelli is still setting a good pace on his tyres, which is why his team are not getting him to box anytime soon.
All three drivers ahead of Verstappen have yet to pit.
This is not an easy track to overtake on.
Once the grid reshuffles, having all pitted, you would have to feel that this is Red Bull’s race to lose.
Russell takes to the pit to sit out his ten-second penalty.
Norris is back in third spot but being told not to pit by his team.
The driver is not happy with that but they are taking a gamble on being able to do it during a virtual safety car.
Antonelli is also being told to stay out on his tyres that he started the race on and asks them to keep him informed on whether they are happy with the pace.
As Hamilton heads in to pit, it is a Mercedes one/two out there.
Both drivers have yet to make their first pit of the race.
To make matters worse for Hamilton, when he returns to the track, he is lodged behind Leclerc and Verstappen.
As Leclerc heads in to pit, Verstappen follows suit.
While he is back in fifth spot when he returns, he is the net leader right now.
Leclerc returns and posts the quickest lap of the race so far.
It seems Ferrari are not happy with Hamilton airing his dirty laundry on the team radio as it is broadcast live on Sky.
There is definitely no love lost between him and Leclerc.
Piastri is one of the first of the top ten to pit, although he may wish he didn’t with a slow stop of 5.5 seconds.
Hamilton is currently 7.2 seconds behind teammate Leclerc.
That will all change after that first pit stop by Leclerc of course.
Verstappen will be frustrated driving in the ‘dirty air’ of Leclerc, feeling that he should have no one in front of him right now.
On the team radio Hamilton declares ‘so the stewards have basically handed Charles this win. At the briefing we all agreed.’
Tyre selection could be so key towards the end of this race.
Red Bull are targeting having a set of soft tyres for the closing stages.
Many constructors opted to start the race on them, whereas Verstappen went on mediums.
Russell apparently had issues at the start of the race with his battery not giving him the power needed in the straights.
Bearman is moving his way up the field, now into 11th spot.
He is recovering from an error earlier on and took Bottas with a great move on the turn.
Fun fact, only twice at this venue has the person leading after the first lap of the race not gone on to win it.
The two unlucky drivers it has happened to is Verstappen and Leclerc.
Norris back in sixth spot, with teammate Piastri just behind him.
Russell’s chances of trying to keep his slim hopes of challenging for the world championship is surely ended with that penalty.
It would take a lot of planets aligning for him to turn that position, when he comes back out of the pit lane, to win from there.
Hamilton is not happy that Leclerc is driving in ‘clean air’ despite being hit with a five-second penalty.
Now the aim is simple for Leclerc, he must build that gap between him and the Red Bull.
The stewards have issued a five-second penalty for the race leader, meanwhile Russell has been given a ten-second penalty for causing an accident.
Leclerc and Russell will have to serve these penalties when they next go in the pits.
Leclerc is trying to build the gap between himself and Verstappen.
There is a potential of a five-second penalty if the stewards see hit, he is currently 3.0 seconds ahead of the Red Bull.
Hamilton is managing to hold off the charge from Antonelli.
Antonelli is in fourth spot, looking to put pressure on Hamilton in third.
He is starting to close up the gap and asking questions of the Ferrari.
The VSC is no longer in force, as we return to normal race conditions.
Meanwhile the stewards are still deep-diving the Ferrari drivers coming off the track earlier.
The VSC (virtual safety car) is out for the first time in the race.
It looks like a nightmare for Aston Martin as both Alonso and Stroll may have retired from the race.
None of the leaders will have any interest in pitting this early in the race.
If any action is taken against Leclerc, it shows all that is wrong with Ferrari.
Why the two drivers could not work together to protect themselves from the rest of the field is just baffling.
Instead, the pair may have handed the lead to Verstappen.
Russell has been reported for causing an accident, the one that caused Hadjar to spin out and loses all those places.
Hamilton is asking on the team radio ‘what is happening with Charles?’
The reply is simple ‘its being investigated, just concentrate on the race’.
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