Will Verstappen have the high ground?

THE ‘home straight’ in an exiting Formula One season is upon us.

This weekend, the final five-race stretch begins, and here, Morgan Bolton takes a look at what to expect in Mexico.

Let’s get high

The Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City is the highest circuit on the calendar, and rises 2 238m above sea level. To put that into perspective, Johannesburg on the Highveld is only a paltry 1 753m high.

As is the case on the Witwatersrand when sport is played there, it is a taxing endeavour for athletes and it will be no different for the drivers and their cars this weekend.

A higher altitude means less air to cut through and therefore less drag, but it also means higher downforce set-ups.

The thin air also means that there will be significant implications on the cooling system, while the turbos will also be impacted, as will the aerodynamics and the tyres’ behaviour.

The engines that could

AlphaTauri and Alpine have been going at it hammer and tongs this season, and in Mexico it could reach its nadir.

Only 10 points separate the teams in the constructors’ championship, the Renault powered Alpine in the lead on 104 points.

Renault have done well in Mexico in previous races when they were the engine supplier of Red Bull, so they will be no pushovers.

However, this track and the following Grand Prix in Brazil are considered to be slightly more in the favour of Honda.

Pierre Gasly has had an impressive season so far for AlphaTauri and is currently ninth in the drivers’ championship.

Nevertheless, it will be the combined threat of Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon that could scupper the Frenchman and his team’s chances of making the most of any perceived advantage.

Red letter day

Another team expected to do well this weekend is Ferrari. The Scuderia are in a tight battle in the constructors’ championship with their great rivals McLaren for third place.

In the last two races, Charles LeClerc has found consistency, no doubt due to his new power-unit, which has propelled him to fourthplace finishes in the United States and Turkey.

His teammate Carlos Sainz has also picked up the pace with a similar new engine, and since the Styrian GP 10 races ago, has not finished outside the top 10.

It is this consistency over the undoubtedly in-form Lando Norris and erratic Daniel Ricciardo that might see them overtake McLaren on Sunday.

The scales are tipped

On the face of it, Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes have it all to do. Not claiming victory in Austin, Texas, a fortnight ago – on a track where they were considered favourites – was a major blow.

On paper, Mexico and Brazil are Red Bull tracks, while Qatar and Saudi Arabia remain unknowns.

Last year Max Verstappen dominated the season-ending Abu Dhabi GP, and could do so again this year.

There are, of course, too many variables to make an outright prediction, but if the rest of the season follows this trajectory, then Verstappen will claim the world drivers’ championship.

He already has a 12-point lead going into this weekend and Hamilton will have to use all his considerable talent to overturn it.

Attitude at altitude

The Honda engines are said to prefer thinner air, more so than the Mercedes.

Coupled with the preferred set-up that is downforce heavy, and with straight-line speed pretty much negated, Vertsappen and company have the car to take the race by the scruff of the neck and extend their tentative lead.

The circuit is an extremely fast layout, with drivers reaching close to 360km/h. In 2019 Sebastian

Vettel clocked 357.9km/h, and even though he was 10km/h faster than Verstappen, the Dutchman still outqualified the Ferrari to claim pole.

Then there is the Sergio Perez factor.

This is ‘Checo’s’ home race and although the Mexican has had a scattershot approach this season, two podiums in recent races have helped him build momentum.