Five things to look out for at the F1 Mexico GP

Formula 1 is back again this weekend with the highly popular Mexico Grand Prix, which comes just seven days after Kimi Antonelli romped to victory in Austin.

That was the Mercedes driver’s ninth win of the 2026 season after dominating from pole in a race largely defined by strategy with Antonelli nailing a one-stopper.

He was joined on the podium by two-stopping duo Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen at round 18 of the season.

As things stand, there are now just five left, so it is very much the business end of the season, where two titles could be clinched at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

So here are five things to look out for.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Photo by: Alex Bierens de Haan / LAT Images via Getty Images

There is probably more chance of Pastor Maldonado making an F1 return than there is Antonelli not becoming world champion this weekend. The 20-year-old sensation has obliterated the competition, holding a respective 123 and 124-point advantage over the last remaining title contenders in George Russell and Lewis Hamilton.

This is with 125 points left available in the 2026 campaign - provided the Middle Eastern rounds go ahead - so all the Mercedes driver needs to do is finish ninth or higher to clinch his maiden crown. Quite frankly, there’s a good chance he’d claim the crown in Mexico even by finishing outside of the points because it would require either Russell or Hamilton winning the race which, based on current form, is quite unlikely.

Formula 1How will Kimi Antonelli become F1 world champion at Mexico GP?

So this should be the weekend that Antonelli enjoys his coronation, and what a deserving moment it will be. From round two in China he has been a cut above, taking nine wins, 15 podiums and seven poles while never really putting a foot wrong in the W17 despite struggles being ever-present on Russell’s side of the garage.

Antonelli will become F1’s youngest world champion by three years - taking the record from Sebastian Vettel in 2010 - and there is no doubt that more crowns will follow.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Photo by: James Sutton / LAT Images via Getty Images

Antonelli is set to give Mercedes its first drivers’ title since Hamilton took a record-equalling seventh crown in the 2020 season. The Silver Arrows’ wait for a constructors’ championship is a little shorter, however, as its last came in 2021 before four years of struggle in the ground-effect era.

But, as expected, Mercedes mastered the 2026 regulation switch thanks largely to its highly efficient power unit and it came out of the blocks fast by winning the opening six grands prix from pole. Other teams - Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull - subsequently closed the gap by fitting upgrades and taking wins of their own, but not enough to truly challenge Mercedes’ consistent superiority over the competition.

So heading into Mexico, it holds a 133-point advantage over second-placed Ferrari with 215 left available - a total that will reduce to 172 after this weekend. That does therefore make it possible for the German marque to take its ninth constructors’ title in Mexico - given there are 43 points on offer - but that is unlikely to happen.

To do so, it must outscore Ferrari by 39 points, which entails either finishing first and second or, at worst, first and third. If Mercedes takes a 1-2, then it’ll require the Italian marque scoring no more than four points while for the latter, Ferrari cannot take a return of more than two for the title to be decided in Mexico City.

So the most likely scenario is Mercedes winning the championship next weekend at Interlagos.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Alex Bierens de Haan / LAT Images via Getty Images

Across recent days, Motorsport.com’s Ronald Vording has been hot on the case, reporting on two issues that are still plaguing Red Bull amid its late-season resurgence. Poor race starts and technical problems on radio.

Formula 1Red Bull reveals when 'silly' problems affecting Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar can be fixed

Formula 1Max Verstappen pinpoints two recurring Red Bull problems: "We should use sign language!"

Starting with the former, this is something that has cost Red Bull throughout 2026 and has so far culminated in Isack Hadjar claiming in Austin that the team needs to redesign its clutch. It came after both he and team-mate Max Verstappen respectively dropped two and one position at lights out.

As for the latter, this problem emerged in Singapore with Verstappen, who was also affected at COTA as was Hadjar for the first time this year. So, the way things are going, expect further questions to Red Bull surrounding these two issues, especially as the race-start problem is highly complicated and likely to continue into 2027 according to team boss Laurent Mekies.

Because outside of that, the atmosphere is largely positive at the Austrian outfit as it has now overtaken McLaren for third in the championship with Verstappen on a podium streak of six grands prix - including two victories.

Victory wasn’t likely in Austin given the pace of Verstappen on the softs compared to the hard runners, but the fact that he was still able to finish on the podium amid troubles, shows how much the team has progressed from the start of 2026, when it was firmly fourth-best.

Photo by: James Sutton / LAT Images via Getty Images

Ferrari has finished on the podium at three consecutive grands prix and outscored every other team across the past two. The downside? Its winless run now stretches to nine races. It looked on course to end that drought in Austin, only to fall short.

Fred Vasseur's assessment on Sunday at COTA was that Ferrari had got everything right except its Q3 laps. Those costly Saturday shortcomings left Leclerc and Hamilton further down the grid and forced them to go on the attack in the race.

Leclerc still came away with second, and Ferrari left Austin encouraged, with further evidence that the SF-26's competitiveness is no longer dependent on circuit characteristics. Ferrari's heritage demands more than podium finishes, however.

Will Mexico provide the stage for its third victory of 2026?

At more than 2,200 metres above sea level, the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez presents a very particular challenge. But Vasseur is confident the package is working, with the difference between winning and falling short on any given weekend coming down to the fine margins of the tyre operating window and set-up. A Ferrari victory in Mexico on Sunday is certainly not out of the question.

Sergio Perez, Cadillac Racing

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / LAT Images via Getty Images

Surpassing the 300-race milestone in Formula 1 is an achievement reserved for a very exclusive group, and this Sunday Sergio Perez will join legends like Fernando Alonso, Rubens Barrichello, Jenson Button, and Michael Schumacher.

However, this figure carries a deeper significance that perhaps only Mexicans and Latin Americans fully grasp, but that the world needs to know. Reaching 300 Grands Prix means 300 occasions in which 'Checo' shattered the "pay driver" stigma - that myth attributing his arrival at the Pinnacle of racing solely to the backing of his sponsors.

Three hundred races later, the Guadalajara native boasts a runner-up finish in the world drivers' title, the record as the most successful Mexican driver in F1 history, and a comeback with Cadillac that forced many of his detractors to admit their mistake following his bitter exit from Red Bull at the end of 2024.

The backdrop for this celebration won't be ideal. Long gone are the days when he fought for podiums at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodríguez. In 2026, simply crossing the finish line with Cadillac will represent the biggest victory of the weekend in itself.

Even so, when Perez takes the start in his 300th race, he won't just leave his mark through numbers on the grid. His true legacy lies in having been the driving force behind Formula 1's return to Mexico and in paving the way for new generations to pursue their own dreams, guided by the motto 'Checo' has engraved on his helmet: "Never give up."

Formula 1Sergio Perez signs fresh Cadillac F1 deal until 2029

What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?

- The Motorsport.com Team