F1 Mexico Grand Prix: Can Perez stop Verstappen domination in home race

The next round of the Formula 1 championship takes the field to Mexico City.

Mexico initially joined the calendar in the 1960s, with a circuit created in a sports complex in the eastern suburbs of the city, and it is currently in its third stint in Formula 1.

The event was revived in 2015 and it immediately established itself as one of the most popular grands prix on the calendar, aided by the passion of the Mexican supporters, the offerings of the sprawling city, and the event coinciding with the colourful Day of the Dead celebrations. 

It is a circuit at which drivers run Monaco levels of downforce but get only Monza levels of corner grip owing to the altitude – 2,250 metres – at which Mexico City’s race takes place.

That means drivers have to adapt to lower levels of corner grip while teams have to modify cars to ensure that engines, gearboxes and brakes receive the required levels of cooling due to the reduced air density.

Top speeds are often at their maximum but the impact of DRS and the slipstream is reduced due to the thinner air, while drivers can struggle to follow a rival due to overheating cars, even with a lengthy straight. 

Max-ico City

Mexico City returned to the calendar in 2015, the same year in which a 17-year-old Max Verstappen debuted with Toro Rosso.

Just two years later Verstappen triumphed in Mexico City in what was a dominant third career victory, which at the time was an anomaly amid the fight between Mercedes and Ferrari. 

Dominant Verstappen victories have not been a rarity in 2023. 

Verstappen added to his 2017 victory with another win in 2018, and claimed further commanding victories in 2021 and 2022. 

Those four wins means Verstappen is already the most successful driver in the history of Mexico City’s grand prix and the three-time World Champion is chasing another Formula 1 record.

Verstappen’s victory last weekend at the Circuit of the Americas means he has 15 for the season and one more would be unchartered territory in terms of wins in a single year.  

Can Checo do anything?

Sergio ‘Checo’ Perez is one of Mexico’s most successful sportsmen; his every movement is tracked throughout the weekend, his face adorns the enormous billboards that festoon the highways in Mexico City, and every time he passes the crowd on-track they stand in acclaim. 

He scored points four times from five attempts when with midfield outfit Force India, and claimed podium finishes with Red Bull that were rapturously received in 2021 and 2022.

But both of those were on the lowest step of the podium, behind Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, and given the strength of the RB19 he is surely never going to have a better chance than 2023 to stand atop the rostrum. 

There will be no free gifts from Verstappen so Perez will need to execute everything perfectly – and hope for a bit of fortune – if he is to become the first Mexican to win on home soil. 

And Perez has also been enduring a rut in form, with COTA has fourth straight race without finishing inside the top three. Getting back into that arena must be a target for Perez. 

Recommended bets:

Back Max Verstappen to win @ 1.38
Back Lando Norris to finish on the podium @ 2.2