As usual, the analysts of The Paddock, Play Sports’ F1 podcast, looked back on the Formula 1 race weekend. After the Mexican Grand Prix, host Dennis Xhaët discussed the comparison with regular panel member Sam Dejonghe and racing driver Frederic Vervisch. between Lando Norris and George Russell, the surprisingly good qualifying of Daniel Ricciardo and the underrated Sergio Pérez.
The comparison between Lando Norris and George Russell
In Mexico, both Norris and Russell rode their 101st Grand Prix. From starting position seventeen, Norris impressed by finishing fifth, one place better than his compatriot Russell. A great performance, according to Dejonghe. “Norris comes from a wealthy environment and had the opportunity to be part of the best teams right from karting. In the run-up to Formula 1, he was not particularly good. But I think he is starting to do that in Formula 1. His performance is very, very good. Especially in a team that is not yet fully there. I think the question will be: will he be able to do that in the same way if he is in a really top team? I do not know. Then we’ll see if he really is world champion material. But how he is doing now in a position with a little less pressure is really good.”
Should we gradually start to rate Norris higher than Russell? “I would rate Russell higher, but that is more of a gut feeling,” says Vervisch. “Norris really bought into everything. I’m having a bit of a hard time with that. But ultimately it’s not about how you get into Formula 1, but how you deal with it now. And he is now doing a lot better than I expected. He did make a mistake during the qualifications, which damaged his chances. But it is clear that he likes the driving style of the McLaren. Daniel Ricciardo, for example, couldn’t drive it. I rate Lewis Hamilton very highly and Russell often performed better or as good as Hamilton.”
Ricciardo’s good qualifying
The name has been mentioned: Daniel Ricciado. The Australian impressed in the qualifying sessions in Mexico by taking fifth starting position in the AlphaTauri. “It was a special context there in Mexico. That height changes the aerobalans especially, because you drive a lot downforce but you have an equivalent of the downforce in Monza, which is very low downforce-level is. Because there is so little on the straight drag (air resistance, ed.) is what holds you back, you can do a lot downforce start moving in the corners. This can ensure that the balance of a car concept that Alpha Tauri apparently has changes in such a way that it suddenly becomes a very good car. So I don’t expect him to finish in the top five in qualifying in all remaining races. But I do think it was important for him to experience this,” Dejonghe said of Ricciardo, who ultimately finished seventh.
Isn’t Sergio Pérez a bit underestimated?
For Sergio Pérez it was a Grand Prix to quickly forget. The Mexican saw his home race end before the first corner due to a crash. Should we feel sorry for Pérez? Vervisch doesn’t think so. “Pity is certainly not the right word. He has a dream job, drives the best car. They are paid incredibly, they do their passion. So I have absolutely no sympathy. But I do think that everyone is very strict with him. He may be second fiddle to Red Bull, but he is still second in the championship. In the end, that’s still not bad. I hope for him that he can finish it once and come second, then he has finally done his job. If you put a Hamilton or Fernando Alonso next to Verstappen, you will have misery within your team. So he’s not doing a bad job, but he probably wants it a little too hard and then forces it too much.”
Dejonghe nods. “It was very good at the beginning of the season. He still won against Verstappen (in Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan, ed.) and was initially at the same speed. That was turned, also because Red Bull wanted it to turn. They also sometimes create a situation where it is almost impossible to perform at Verstappen’s level.”
The full episode can be viewed here: