By the time Formula 1 makes its return to the Mexican Grand Prix just like last year, Max Verstappen has already won the world championship, but there’s still more to play for in these next couple of races.
There’s the ongoing battle for P2 in the drivers and constructors’ standings, and last weekend’s results from the US Grand Prix certainly played a role as to why it’s becoming a tight battle for the rest of the pack.
Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc getting disqualified meant that they lost a huge chunk of points, so Sergio Perez still holds a healthy lead in P2, although he cannot afford to rest his laurels at home.
Meanwhile, Mercedes now have little to zero margin for error on Sunday because their lead in the constructors’ standings is slowly evaporating.
Perez eager to end dry spell at home
Max Verstappen might get all the glory for successfully defending his Formula 1 championship for the second consecutive season, but this time, it is Sergio Perez who’s going to be in the spotlight since this is his home race.
The 33-year-old is a fan favourite here in Mexico, and he even got a lot of chants from the grandstands during the US Grand Prix. However, that comes with a lot of pressure to perform, and he’s been going through a rough patch right now.
Checo hasn’t won a single race since the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, which was held last April. Since then, his form has dipped so badly to the point that there were murmurs about Red Bull possibly replacing him with Daniel Ricciardo, which, fortunately for Perez, didn’t materialise.
Perez’s last podium finish was P2 in the Italian Grand Prix. He almost went out of the points with subpar performances in Singapore (P8) and Qatar (P10), and he suffered a DNF in Japan.
Last week in Austin, Texas, Perez finished fifth but was promoted to fourth because of the Hamilton-Leclerc DQs, which is good considering he started ninth on the grid.
Look for Perez to try and finish the year out strong starting on Sunday, with the aim of having a one-two finish with teammate Verstappen in the final drivers’ standings.
Can Sargeant finally turn things around?
Williams were one of the main beneficiaries of the double disqualification of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, as their two drivers grabbed their first double-points finish of the 2023 season.
Alex Albon was promoted to P9, while teammate Logan Sargeant was behind him in P10, which certainly helps in Williams’ efforts to fend off Alfa Romeo, Haas, and AlphaTauri for P7 in the constructors’ standings.
For Sargeant, this is definitely one of his best races yet in his rookie campaign, and getting that valuable point takes some of the pressure off of him because he’s the only driver yet to secure a seat in 2024.
The 22-year-old American finally has some momentum heading into Mexico, so he’ll be keen to get positive Mexican Grand Prix 2023 results for his team this weekend.
History
Red Bull certainly love to race in the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez because they’ve won four of the last six Mexican Grands Prix.
Max Verstappen is the winningest racer on this track with four wins (2017, 2018, 2021, and 2022), including last year, when he made history when he won his 14th race of the season. He eventually won his record 15th race in a single season during the finale in Abu Dhabi.
Max Verstappen (P1), Lewis Hamilton (P2), and Sergio Perez (P3) have claimed the podium spots in that exact order in the 2021 and 2022 editions of this particular race, which is quite a coincidence.
Lewis Hamilton is the only active driver besides Verstappen who has won at least twice here at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, as the seven-time world champion won in 2016 and 2019.
What are the odds?
Max Verstappen remains the heavy favourite to win on Sunday, given his dominance at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
In the qualifying session tomorrow, the Dutchman is priced at 1.60 compared to 2.28 odds against any other drivers, whereas in the actual race on Sunday, he is at 1.35 compared to 2.88 against any other driver.
Considering what happened in Austin, Texas, last time out, the hope is that Formula 1 fans won’t get to see more DNFs or DQs this weekend.
The SBOTOP Mexican Grand Prix 2023 odds suggest the chances of such a thing happening, because Over 17.50 in terms of the number of classified finishers has a safe price of 1.57.
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