It’s Monday, October 23, 2023 and this is Racing Recap, your summary of last weekend’s motorsports action. Max Verstappen extends F1 season wins records as Sergio Perez disappoints home crowd in Mexico City. At Martinsville, Ryan Blaney wins his way into NASCAR’s Championship 4. Jorge Martin wins a classic in Thailand to show he’s not out of the MotoGP title fight yet.
Perez Doesn’t Survive First Corner In Mexico City
A lot of pressure was on Sergio Perez heading into the Mexico City Grand Prix. While Red Bull Racing has stated that Sergio Perez’s place in the team is secure, rumors have swirled that Daniel Ricciardo could replace the Mexican driver. However, Perez couldn’t even survive the start in such a vital race for his future.
Ferrari locked out the front row in qualifying while Verstappen and Ricciardo lined up on the second row. With the extremely long run to the first corner, cars further back can easily slipstream their way to the front. The Dutch world champion split the Ferraris and got to the inside of polesitter Charles Leclerc. Perez, who started fifth, reached Leclerc’s outside.
The cars were three wide as they funneled into the first corner, and the Red Bulls pinched the Ferrari as Perez turned in. Perez’s Red Bull made contact with Leclerc as the Ferrari driver had nowhere to go. The car was launched into the air but was able to return to the pit lane. Red Bull was forced to retire Perez’s car because of the massive hole punched into his sidepod.
The onboard cameras showed Perez’s frustration as mechanics pushed his car back into the garage. His teammate Verstappen would win the race, joined by Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton on the podium. The crowd booed the Ferrari driver, blaming him for the crash. Perez told Racer:
“It’s certainly pretty high up there. I’ve had some really sad moments in my career, but certainly this is, as a race, the saddest one because of the end result. At the end of the day, this is just racing. I go home very sad, but I also go very proud of my time or myself. We gave it all. I knew that, today, a podium was not enough for me, and I really wanted to go for the win. I saw the gap and I went for it.”
Race Results
1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
2. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) – +13.875 seconds
3. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) – +23.124 seconds
4. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) – +27.154 seconds
5. Lando Norris (McLaren) – +33.266 seconds
Ryan Blaney Makes Championship 4 For The First Time
The NASCAR Cup Series season is quickly coming to a close, with the winner-take-all finale next weekend in Phoenix. The field of four championship contenders was set yesterday at Martinsville Speedway. Penske’s Ryan Blaney passed a now-retiring Aric Almirola for the lead with 22 laps to go and went on to win the Xfinity 500.
It will be the first time that Blaney will be racing for the championship in the season finale. Hendrick’s William Byron secured the fourth spot on points despite finishing a lap down. Denny Hamlin ended up being the first driver below the cut line, just missing the Championship 4 in back-to-back seasons.
Race Results
1. Ryan Blaney (Penske)
2. Aric Almirola (Stewart-Haas) – +0.899 seconds
3. Denny Hamlin (Gibbs) – +4.140 seconds
4. Chase Briscoe (Stewart-Haas) – +9.875 seconds
5. Joey Logano (Penske) – +10.659 seconds
Three-Way Last Lap Scrap Decides Thailand MotoGP Race
Pramac’s Jorge Martin, Ducati’s Pecco Bagnaia and KTM’s Brad Binder went blow-for-blow at MotoGP’s Thailand Grand Prix. The trio began the final lap with Martin in the lead, just after Bagnaia tried and failed to complete a double overtake to take first position. Binder gave it his all to set up a last-corner pass on Martin, but the Pramac rider held on to win the race. During the lap, Binder also just went off track limits and ended up getting demoted to third.
Race Results
1. – Jorge Martin (Pramac)
2. – Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) – +0.253 seconds
3. – Brad Binder (KTM) – +0.114 seconds
4. – Marco Bezzecchi (VR46) – +2.005 seconds
5. – Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha) – +4.550 seconds