After a really disappointing conclusion to the United States Grand Prix which saw Lewis Hamilton and Charles LeClerc disqualified for car irregularities, the F1 field now drags itself across the border to Mexico.
Will Max Verstappen claim his 17th race win of the season or wll someone put an end to the Red Bull man’s dominance as unlikely as it may seem?
To Win Race Outright
Max Verstappen 3/10 | Sergio Perez 7/1 | Lewis Hamilton 13/1 | Lando Norris 20/1 | George Russell 22/1
Previous Race
The second of this year’s Grand Prix held States side turned out to be extremely anti-climatic with Lewis Hamilton – who had originally finished the race in second – and Charles LeClerc – who crossed the line in sixth – both disqualified from the race due to the planks in their under chassis having worn too thin.
It was a hugely disappointing result for both drivers whose teams are currently battling it out for second place in the Constructors’ Championship while Hamilton is still in with a sniff of taking second in the dRivers’ Championship.
Ahead of the drama, Max Verstappen waltzed to yet another victory, claiming his 16th win of the campaign. With Hamilton ruled out, Verstappen was joined on the podium by Lando Norris – who originally finished third – and Ferrari’s Calros Sainz – who had crossed the line in fourth.
George Russell ensured Mercedes would hold the advantage in the race for second on the Constructors’ Championship standings heading into Mexico as he was bumped up to fifth on the standings. The Brit was joined in the top six by Sergio Perez who claimed fourth place and extended his advantage in the race to claim second place in the Drivers’ Championship while Pierre Gasly claimed sixth place.
The final race points scoring positions went to Lance Stroll (seventh), Yuki Tsunoda (eighth), Alexander Albon (ninth) and Logan Sargeant (tenth), while Max Verstappen took top honours in the sprint session the day prior.
Track: Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez
Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez – named after racing drivers and brothers Ricardo and Pedro Rodriguez – is packed with low-speed corners which will drastically test the field’s brake-by-wire systems. The track does have one of the longest straights on the calendar, however, so the drivers won’t just be plodding around corners for the entirety of the race.
The 4.304 kilometre-long track is situated in a public park, named the Magdalena Sports City, in the South East of the Mexican capital. The circuit contains seventeen turns, with the most notorious of these being the high-speed corner which goes by the name of the “Peraltada”. This corner leads onto the start-finish line, and while it is a real challenge, it’s also a corner the drivers thoroughly enjoy.
The start-finish straight is 1.2 kilometres long and because of the high-speed exit from the Peraltada corner, drivers get a slingshot into it. This combined with the high altitude means that we will see some blistering sector times being set here.
There’s been a decent amount of rain falling at the high altitude compound over the past few days but the weather forecast looks good for Saturday and Sunday at the time of writing (*Wednesday 8AM) with only minuscule amounts of water set to fall on the track during qualifying and race day.
Last year’s Mexican Grand Prix was won by – no surprises here – Max Verstappen, with Lewis Hamilton finishing second and Sergio Perez rounding out the podium.
Value Bet – Lando Norris podium finish 12/10
Mercedes and Ferrari are going to have to make adjustments to their cars after last weekend which could well open the door for McLaren and Lando Norris, who is enjoying a solid campaign. He hasn’t the best Mexican Grand Prix record finishing 10th in 2021 and 9th last year. I’m expecting him to vastly improve this time around, however.
To Win Race Outright – Max Verstappen 3/10
It would be pretty foolhardy to bet against the Dutch ace here. He’s won 17 of the 19 races staged this year and has won four of the last five races staged in Mexico. Like clockwork, Verstappen will reign supreme.
