“Valtteri and I will no doubt work as a team”: Lewis Hamilton opens up about the Mercedes masterplan for the race at the Mexican GP
by A.Dyes · The SportsRushMercedes’s Lewis Hamilton believes that he and teammate Valtteri Bottas will have to ‘work as a team’ to ensure the two Red Bulls behind them don’t have the upper hand.
Finn driver Valtteri Bottas lines up on pole in Mexico after an immense lap followed by his teammate Lewis Hamilton in P2. Right behind the pair are the two Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez respectively.
The run from the start line to the first turn is approximately 900 metres, making it one of the longest opening straights second only to Russia. Usually, a long opening straight gives an advantage to the cars behind the leader in the form of a ‘tow’.
However, Mexico is different in this area. Although the run to the first corner is quite long, the altitude of the Autodroma Hermanos Rodriguez does not allow for an incredibly effective tow.
The thinner air at the 7,342 ft high Mexican track reduces the effectiveness of the tow as compared to its Russian counterpart. While it is less effective, it is still very much there.
This is why the Mercedes drivers have to ensure that they work together to take away any advantage from their rivals.
“It’s a little bit different,” explained Hamilton. “It’s obviously probably almost as long(As Russia), if not, yeah, I don’t know exactly.
“It feels exactly the same sort of length but obviously, in Russia there’s a lot more drag and a lot more tow-effect.
“Here there’s less but still there is a tow effect and so you know, Valtteri and I will no doubt work as a team to try and hold one-two for the team.”
Bottas echoed Hamilton’s plans for trying to keep the charging Bulls behind them going into turn one.
“Like Lewis said, it’s maybe a bit less drag here, so but I think to maintain the first two places, you still need a really good start.
“If the guys behind us have even a little bit better start then they will have an upper hand.”
Turn one is crucial for the entire race
Max Verstappen who qualified P3 after a controversial Q3 session in qualifying on Saturday will try his best to utilise the tow created by the Mercedes cars as will teammate and hometown favourite Sergio Perez.
If Hamilton were to try and pick a tow from his teammate, that would require the Briton to get behind Bottas’ car. However, the single-file formation which this move demands the two cars to be in can inadvertently give Verstappen or even Perez an advantage.
The movie “The Art Of Racing In The Rain” said it best:
“No race was ever won in the first corner, but many have been lost there.”