A penalty that shifts Verstappen back a row
Max Verstappen did the hard part in qualifying for the Mexico City Grand Prix by taking fourth place. The stewards then took a place back. According to [1], he receives a one-place grid penalty for contact with Liam Lawson in second practice, so he starts from the third row rather than the second.
A single place sounds minor, but at a circuit where the run to the first corner is long and crowded, starting a row further back can matter. Verstappen will have cars ahead of him that were quicker in the final practice session, and he will be defending as much as attacking in the opening laps.
The same report says Verstappen and Lawson have since cleared the air after the incident. Lawson is still waiting on a decision about his 2027 seat, and Verstappen stayed tight-lipped on that subject. The penalty looks like a racing matter that has been settled between the two drivers rather than a lingering feud.
Practice shows a car behind the leaders
Final practice gave a clearer picture of where Red Bull stand. [2] reports that Lando Norris topped the session by 0.001s from Kimi Antonelli, with the top four teams very close together. Red Bull ran behind that group.
Verstappen was fifth, 0.351s behind Norris, and he struggled with his brakes. Brake trouble can be managed with setup changes, but in the thin air of Mexico City cooling is a constant concern, and a driver who cannot trust the pedal tends to lose time over a lap and over a stint.
Isack Hadjar finished in the top eight and described his Red Bull as the worst car he had driven that weekend. That comment reflects his own run only and should be read with care, since he still ended up inside the top eight. It does suggest the car has not been easy to get into a comfortable window over the weekend.
Liam Lawson was ninth, ahead of rookie team-mate Arvid Lindblad, who rounded out the top ten.
The wind tunnel will not help yet
There is no quick fix coming from the factory. [3] reports that Red Bull’s new wind tunnel at Milton Keynes is not yet ready and is expected to come online sometime during the 2027 season.
The report says it will most likely benefit the second half of the 2027 car and most of the 2028 car. Team principal Laurent Mekies says the facility should eventually provide a competitive advantage, but no immediate gain is expected.
That timeline matters for how to read this weekend. Whatever Red Bull find in Mexico has to come from the current development tools and from setup work at the track. The new facility is a long-term investment and does not answer the brake and balance questions seen in practice.
What it means
Red Bull sit third in the Formula 1 World Championship on 379 points from 19 rounds, an average of just under 20 points per round. That is a strong return for a team that was behind the front four in final practice, and it suggests that results have come from Verstappen extracting more than the car’s raw pace.
Mexico tests that again. Verstappen starts from the third row after the penalty, with brake problems still to resolve and a gap of about a third of a second to the fastest time in final practice. A podium would need a clean start and a car that holds up on its brakes.
The wider picture is a team that has to maximise the current car while the wind tunnel is still a project for 2027. The input includes no model podium forecasts for this race, so this piece makes no predicted finishing order. The facts point to a points finish as the baseline for Verstappen, with more only if the rivals ahead make mistakes.
Sources
- Autosport: Verstappen clears the air with Lawson, but keeps opinion on Racing Bulls F1 seat to himself motorsport.com ↩
- Autosport: F1 Mexico GP: Norris tops final practice by 0.001s from Antonelli autosport.com ↩
- Autosport: Red Bull provides timeline for long-awaited new F1 wind tunnel motorsport.com ↩