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Some excellent pre-qualifying reading: Giles Richards recalls the time a three-way title fight actually ended in a dramatic Mexico Grand Prix. Back in 1964, when it sounded like the great Jim Clark had precious little luck.
What about Oscar Piastri? The man leading the drivers’ championship, but who rather urgently needs to find his earlier season form, is staying level-headed. “I’d rather have the lead than be in any other spot,” he pointed out rather accurately this week.
Pre-qualifying Max Verstappen was asked about the bookies’ tightening odds – and whether he feels he is now the favourite for the drivers’ title. “We’re not stressed about it,” he deflects. “Whatever happens, we can be very proud of the upturn in performance we’ve made.”
You’ll note he does not reply: no.
Stat check: there are five race weekends to go, including this one. Max Verstappen has taken 119 points from the past five rounds – the McLaren drivers have taken 119 points combined in the same span. Momentum is with the world champion; Lando Norris will be focused on taking his practice form into qualifying to start a fightback.
So back to that final practice: Lando Norris was ahead of the pack and six-tenths quicker than his teammate and Verstappen. Only Norris and Lewis Hamilton appeared happy with their setup in the intense Mexico City heat.
“No grip, front and rear,” complained Max on the radio in P3. Red Bull are apparently making some tweaks before qualifying starts. Will they have a positive impact?
Constructors' standings
1) McLaren 678pts
2) Mercedes 341pts
3) Ferrari 334pts
4) Red Bull 331pts
5) Williams 111pts
6) Racing Bulls 72pts
7) Aston Martin 69pts
8) Sauber 59pts
9) Haas 48pts
10) Alpine 20pts
So, unless McLaren are hit with an unprecedented 300-point deduction, you may have noticed this is sewn up. But the tussle for second spot is enticingly tight: just 10 points between Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull (trailing in fourth despite five race wins this season). Nicely poised.
Drivers’ standings
1) Oscar Piastri (McLaren) 346pts
2) Lando Norris (McLaren) 332pts
3) Max Verstappen (Red Bull) 306pts
4) George Russell (Mercedes) 252pts
5) Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 192pts
6) Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) 142pts
7) Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) 89pts
8) Alexander Albon (Williams) 73pts
9) Nico Hülkenberg (Sauber) 41pts
10) Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) 39pts
The head-scratcher about a three-way title tilt is that a team with two drivers at the top should, theoretically, have an advantage. In that Yuki Tsunoda has not been in a position to disrupt the McLarens and support his teammate. But with McLaren (sportingly) letting their drivers slug it out, Norris and Piastri are getting in each others’ way, while Red Bull are 100% focused on one man.
So there hasn’t been much evidence of the McLarens using crafty tactics to disturb Verstappen’s race. Of course, to slow up Verstappen you have to first be ahead of him on the track … Norris might fancy his chances at the start in Mexico, given how practice went. Let’s see where they stand after qualifying!
Preamble
We’re coming up to Halloween and the nightmare for McLaren is that, despite an all-conquering triumph in the constructors’ championship, the drivers’ title could yet slip through their grasp. The ominous sight of a four-time world champion eating away at the once sizeable gap Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris had atop the standings will be causing a real scare.
Max Verstappen “senses blood in the water”, as Giles Richards put it in his Mexico preview, and recently his Red Bull has looked as fast as the McLaren, if not quicker. Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez is a circuit Verstappen enjoys: he’s won this race five times, though he didn’t last year (he finished second to Carlos Sainz).
That said, in today’s fascinating final practice, Verstappen was off the pace and only sixth fastest. Norris was quickest – by far – ahead of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, as British drivers posted the top three times. Piastri was almost six-tenths down on his teammate, however.
Mexico is a unique track: located 2,240 metres above sea level, it’s by far the highest altitude of any venue on the F1 calendar. The thin air has a hefty impact on the car’s aerodynamics meaning even a Monaco-style setup will still see cars generate less downforce than at Monza. Translation: it’s gonna be slippery.
Will Norris’s final practice dominance result in pole? Can Piastri find some pace? Will Verstappen and Red Bull pull something out of the hat? Let’s find out! Qualifying begins at 10pm (BST).
