Charles Leclerc crowned himself the new United States Grand Prix winner last week, snatching it from either Max Verstappen or Lando Norris; creating a new narrative for the Monaguesque to be in the conversation for the Driver’s Championship.
Although seeing Red Bull struggle has become a common occurrence during the past few races. Austin specifically raised some concerns regarding race pace.
Norris managed to lose his pole position and a win, yet again; also raising concerns as if he is ready to fight for a Championship.
Mathematically, Leclerc is not out of the competition, which could stir up things for the last stint of races of this season.
Mexico will surely bring a great spectacle this weekend.
The track
The Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez held its first F1 Grand Prix in 1963.
In 1959, Pedro Rodríguez, father of the famous Mexican racing brothers, Pedro and Ricardo, was an advisor to Mexico's president, Adolfo López Mateos, so he suggested building a circuit in the capital.
The president liked the idea so much, the track was done in less than a year.
The first race was held in 1962 at a non-championship level, but the next year F1 came back as part of their official calendar, and Jim Clark won the inaugural race.
Mexico City is 1.4 miles above sea level, making the track a really physical challenge for everyone, not only the drivers.
It is a 71-lap track that consists of 17 corners and two DRS zones, with a total length of 2.7 miles.
The lap record belongs to Valtteri Bottas, who recorded a time of 1:17.774 in 2021.
The winner last year was Verstappen, followed by Lewis Hamilton and Leclerc.
What to watch out for
IndyCar and Mexican driver, Pato O’Ward, will drive the MC38 during the first free practice on Friday.
This will be the third time the Mexican takes part in an FP1 session, after Abu Dhabi in 2023 and 2022.
Sergio Pérez showed off his special helmet for this weekend, commemorating lucha libre, a style of wrestling that was created in Mexico.
He presented his helmet during a live event in Mexico City this morning.
The Mexican will be the main talking point this weekend, so there is only hope that he will be able to deliver for his country.
Fernando Alonso is also bringing a special helmet this weekend to commemorate his 400th Grand Prix entry.
The Spaniard is the driver with the most race entries in Formula 1 history.
After a perfect Sunday in Austin, Ferrari are now sitting just eight points behind Red Bull in the Constructor Championship.
It will be key that both Verstappen and Pérez have a perfect weekend to not lose the second place they are struggling to keep.
Equally, Verstappen and Norris will continue fighting for points this weekend.
After last week, the Dutchman extended his lead over Norris by 57 points but is still well within reach of the British driver.
As the season begins to come to an end, it is crucial for the top teams to not get distracted and lock in to keep or improve their current standings.
Schedule
- Free Practice 1 - Friday, October 25th - 2:30 pm ET (12:30 pm PT)
- Free Practice 2 - Friday, October 25th - 6:00 pm ET (3:00 pm PT)
- Free Practice 3 - Saturday, October 26th - 1:30 pm ET (11:30 am PT)
- Qualifying - Saturday, October 26th - 5:00 pm ET (2:00 pm PT)
- Race - Sunday, October 27th - 4:00 pm ET (1:00 pm PT)
- All sessions will be available through ESPN and F1TV.
