Written by Jacob Awcock, Edited by Rohan Brown
DS Penske will leave Mexico City encouraged by the progress shown in the capital but recognise that improvements are required if they are to regularly compete for victories on race weekends.
Off the back of a mediocre weekend in Brazil, DS Penske arrived in Mexico with the knowledge that their car could perform when set up correctly and with luck on their side.
The team accumulated two points in São Paulo thanks to Jean-Éric Vergne’s ninth-place finish, with new driver Maximilian Günther finishing just outside the points in 11th.
While the results may not have reflected it, the team’s performance provided reason for cautious optimism heading into Mexico City that with gradual development results may begin to flow in for the American team.
After the Christmas break, DS Penske arrived in Mexico and was quietly confident, yet this confidence weakened after free practice one saw the team struck with issues.
This landed both drivers outside the top 10 and over a second off the pace. Then free practice two arrived, and while the results were not impressive, they were an improvement; Günther finished ninth, while Vergne took 13th.
Heading into qualifying the main aim was to progress into the duels, from then on any further would be a bonus for the team.
What happened after shocked viewers and arguably took the team by surprise too, as both drivers progressed into the duels and managed to secure top ten starts with Günther lining up on the third row in sixth, while teammate Vergne managed a second row visit in third place.
In the race, both cars showed impressive pace, yet were not on the same level as António Félix Da Costa’s Porsche or the Nissan of Oliver Rowland.
Vergne challenged Da Costa into turn 1, but ultimately his attack was fruitless, and he fell into the clutches of Jake Dennis who passed him early on.
From then it was a midfield battle, yet the pair never lost sight of the leading trio and stayed within touching distance for large parts of the race.
In the end, the pair claimed fifth and sixth, with Vergne being just three-tenths behind Dennis ahead, while Güunther held his position.
The competitive performance which saw the pair mix with front-running teams will provide the team with confidence as they head into the month-long break before Jeddah.
Günther is still evidently settling into his new surroundings, having moved from Maserati last season.
Yet the pace is there for the team; the execution of strategy and timing of attack mode has been good in the early stages of the race.
So as each team gets to grips with the new format, DS Penske’s success as the season progresses is certainly something to keep a track of.
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