Sam Bird Reflects on F1’s Mexico Qualifying: Norris, Verstappen, and McLaren’s Challenges

Many Russian fans remember Sam Bird from the times when this British racer competed for the Russian Time team in the GP2 series (now Formula 2) and in 2013 he came to be a former hero.

But the next decade of his career was mainly dependent on Formula E, although he combined the electric series with endurance racing and, in particular, he became the world champion in the LMP2 category in 2014 as part of the Russian G-Drive Racing team.

But that was a long time ago, and since this year he has been collaborating in Formula E with the McLaren team and, of course, he has his own opinion on how things are going for the McLaren team. the Formula 1.

When he’s not racing, Sam comments on Formula 1 on BBC Radio 5 Live, and now he took part in the latest episode of the F1 Checkered Flag podcast and shared his thoughts on yesterday’s qualifying the City of Mexico.

Sam Bird: “Before qualifying, we all expected Lando Norris to take pole, but things didn’t turn out the way he wanted. It’s just that Max Verstappen can do things that other drivers can’t: in training he was nowhere near the top three, and in general things were not going well for Red Bull, but by receiving a certificate Max showed second place. This again emphasizes how good it is.

I think the fact that Oscar Piastri dropped out of the fight at the very beginning of the qualification and would not be able to help his teammate was unpleasant news for Lando. I noticed after he qualified that he looked a little upset that he wouldn’t be able to cover his teammate.

Norris will have to fight with both Ferrari drivers and Max Verstappen, but it is possible that Mercedes drivers will also. All this makes his life difficult. Let’s put it this way: his speed allows him to win the race, but it would be better if Piastri could support him in some way. In general, Sunday’s events for Lando may or may not develop well.”