After a huge race weekend in Austin, another one awaits as the teams make the relatively short trip south to Mexico City. With 40 points covering the top three drivers in the championship and plenty of young drivers set to get track time, it\u2019s going to be another action-packed three days of track running at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.<\/p>\n
McLaren targeting a quick response<\/p>\n
Only a week ago, in the build-up to Austin, we pointed out how the Drivers\u2019 Championship<\/a> picture could change quickly across the coming double header. The first part of that certainly delivered on that front, with the United States Grand Prix seeing Max Verstappen<\/a> close the gap to Oscar Piastri<\/a> to just 40 points.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a remarkable run of form over the past four races that has seen Verstappen take 64 points out of Piastri\u2019s lead, and with five rounds to go he\u2019s very much in the title mix. But having another race just one weekend later can work both ways.<\/p>\n Verstappen\u2019s recent form makes him a real threat, and Red Bull<\/a> will hope to continue the momentum they have built up since Monza, but McLaren<\/a> have still had a quick car in that time. Piastri struggled to match Lando Norris<\/a> for pace at Circuit of The Americas, but the lead McLaren was very much on par with Verstappen\u2019s performance level when not fighting Charles Leclerc<\/a>.<\/p>\n The pressure might be building on McLaren, but one strong weekend can alleviate some of that, while Verstappen says he has to be \u201cperfect\u201d every time to stay in the frame.<\/p>\n Games between rival teams<\/p>\n As we reach the business end of the season and the title fight hots up between not only the McLaren drivers but Verstappen as well, so too does the tension between the teams themselves.<\/p>\n In Austin, Red Bull were fined \u20ac50,000 \u2013 of which \u20ac25,000 is suspended until the end of the season \u2013 for a team member entering the area around an access gate in the pit wall after the formation lap had started.<\/p>\n Although the stewards\u2019 verdict didn\u2019t make any specific claims about why the team member entered the area, there were suggestions in the paddock that they were trying to remove a strip of tape on the pit wall that had been placed there by McLaren to try and help Lando Norris line up in the optimum position in his grid slot. McLaren adding that tape is not against the rules \u2013 but nor is removing it.<\/p>\n Red Bull boss Laurent Mekies was asked about the incident in his post-race media briefing in Austin, saying: \u201cI think we were summoned because it was felt that sometime during the grid procedures, one of our guys had not followed the official instructions and we spoke with our people, they are very positive that they have followed our instructions at all times, so I think it’s probably a misunderstanding there.\u201d<\/p>\n Regardless, the rumours will likely ramp up the rivalry between the two teams entering the final five race weekends of the year.\u00a0<\/p>\n One of Ferrari\u2019s better chances to win?<\/p>\n It has been a tough 2025 for Ferrari<\/a> so far, with no race victory to their name after such a strong end to 2024 that saw them fighting for the Teams\u2019 Championship with McLaren.<\/p>\n As part of last year\u2019s title run-in, Ferrari had a particularly productive double header when they won both Austin and Mexico, as Charles Leclerc led home a 1-2 at Circuit of The Americas before Carlos Sainz<\/a> triumphed at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.<\/p>\n Although the level of performance has not been to quite the same level so far this season, there was still a strong showing in Austin as Leclerc finished third and Lewis Hamilton<\/a> fourth, both qualifying well on Saturday after a tricky start to the weekend.<\/p>\n Leclerc was having to defend from Norris for much of the race, but despite losing out in that battle, he was still competitive compared to race winner Verstappen, and the recovery after a tough Friday was impressive.<\/p>\n If last year can be used as a barometer, then Ferrari could well be closer to the front once again this weekend \u2013 and if they can get their car working amid the unique characteristics of Mexico City, it could be an outside threat for victory.<\/p>\n Plenty of FP1 rookies<\/p>\n Ever since the rules were made mandatory for teams to run a rookie driver in a select number of FP1 sessions each year, a few traditional venues have emerged when teams make use of their young talents.<\/p>\n One of those is Mexico City<\/a>, due to the nature of the circuit \u2013 as in, not a street circuit such as Las Vegas, Singapore or Azerbaijan \u2013 and the fact it\u2019s not a Sprint weekend. Austin, Brazil and Qatar all see just one FP1 session held, so teams can\u2019t afford to take that away from one of their race drivers.<\/p>\n So this weekend in Mexico there will be plenty of rookies looking to make a good impression, including at Aston Martin<\/a> where American Jak Crawford will make his FP1 debut, and at Williams<\/a> where Crawford\u2019s F2 title rival Luke Browning also gets another outing.<\/p>\n There\u2019s a change at McLaren, too, where home hero Pato O\u2019Ward will hope to impress while also trying to help the team\u2019s chances of getting back to winning ways.<\/p>\n