How likely is another Mercedes challenge at Verstappen’s best F1 track?

Can Mercedes mount another challenge?

Mercedes enjoyed their strongest weekend of the year last time out at the United States Grand Prix as Lewis Hamilton finished just two seconds behind race winner Verstappen.

While Hamilton’s day ultimately ended with a disqualification for a technical infringement, it was still a hugely positive afternoon for Mercedes.

Hamilton was buoyed by the impact of the new floor which Mercedes introduced for the weekend in Austin as they look to learn ahead of next year.

A better strategy with tidier pit stops would have likely handed Hamilton his first victory - for a few hours at least - since the end of 2021.

No doubt, Hamilton is a COTA specialist but Mercedes were clearly the second-quickest team, taking into consideration Verstappen’s pace was slightly hampered by a recurring brake issue.

Mercedes will be hopeful for more of the same in Mexico, where they were able to run Red Bull fairly close last year.

Hamilton was in contention for the race victory at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez 12 months earlier - but again, a poor strategy choice to go medium-hard allowed Verstappen to take another comfortable victory.

The pecking order behind Red Bull is often difficult to predict, especially with Ferrari’s fluctuating performance.

McLaren often fare best in high-speed, high-load corners, so on paper at least, are unlikely to be as fast as Mercedes or Ferrari.

Ferrari struggled in Mexico last year because the high altitude put additional strain on their engines - could the same happen this year?

One thing is for certain is that Verstappen will be the man to beat at a venue he’s won four times at.

Without an unfortunate puncture in 2019, Verstappen probably would have five wins in Mexico to his name.

Mercedes will probably be Red Bull’s nearest challenger again but it’s hard to look past Verstappen winning for a 51st time in F1.

Home soil pressure for Perez

The pressure continues to be on Sergio Perez to perform as he looks to secure P2 in the championship ahead of Hamilton.

Perez strengthened his grip on the runners-up spot behind Verstappen with his fourth-place finish in Austin.

He’s now 39 points ahead of Hamilton with just four rounds (and one sprint race to go).

Astonishingly, if Perez is able to secure P2, it would be the first time in Red Bull’s history they would see their drivers finish first and second in the championship.

Perez has finished on the podium just two times in the last seven races, and he’s not beaten Verstappen on merit since the fourth round at the end of April.

Winning in front of his adoring home crowd is a pipe dream but a podium would be a respectable return to form and something he can celebrate.

The battle for the wooden spoon hots up 

The battle for last in the constructors’ championship continues to hot up after Yuki Tsunoda’s P8 finish in Austin.

Tsunoda came away with eighth and the fastest lap to give AlphaTauri five crucial points in the constructors’ championship.

It means the Italian outfit sits just two points behind Haas, and six behind Alfa Romeo.

Each position in the championship is worth approximately $10 million so there’s a lot at stake going into the final run of races.

All change in FP1

A number of teams will be fielding ‘rookie’ drivers in Mexico as part of F1’s rule that they must do so on at least two occasions during the season.

Due to there being a sprint weekend in Brazil - and Las Vegas being a new track - many teams will likely opt for Mexico and Abu Dhabi to field their young driver.

Mercedes have Danish star Frederik Vesti driving for them in place of George Russell.

Vesti currently sits second in the FIA Formula 2 standings with one round to go and has been part of the Mercedes junior roster since 2019.

Alpine are running Jack Doohan, while highly-rated Ferrari youngster - and Brit - Oliver Bearman will be in the Haas.

Frenchman Isack Hadjar will get a chance to drive the AlphaTauri in FP1.