2024 Mexico City GP preview: Will this be Sergio Perez's last home race?

It’s a tight right-hander located at the end of a 1.2km DRS-assisted straight, meaning cars will often approach the braking zone — even from the start — at over 200mph. It’s an opportunity for the brave to dive up the inside of their rival.

However, peril awaits in the s-shaped Turns 2 and 3, particularly on the first lap as the pack funnels through the tight and narrow section, frequently resulting in contact.

At the start of last year’s Mexico City GP, Sergio Perez rocketed from fifth on the grid to draw level with the leaders heading into the first corner, but was then bounced into the air and out of the race after trying to pass Leclerc on the outside. 49 laps later, Yuki Tsunoda attempted a similar move on Oscar Piastri but was sent spinning onto the run-off as he cut across the Aussie’s front wing.

In 2021, Valtteri Bottas was sent into a spin at Turn 1 as the late-braking McLaren of Daniel Ricciardo tagged his rear-right wheel. That set off a further series of collisions as other drivers tried to avoid the wayward Finn. It proved a race-ending moment for Tsunoda and Mick Schumacher.

With Verstappen and Norris poised to continued their heated battle for an advantage in the 2024 drivers’ title race, similar Turn 1 shenanigans could be expected this weekend.

Is this Sergio Perez’s last Mexican GP?

Despite having a confirmed contract with Red Bull for 2025, the F1 future of Sergio Perez remains bleak. In his last 12 races for the Milton Keynes outfit, the Mexican has finished no higher than sixth; has retired from three races; and has scored just 47 points compared to Verstappen’s 218.

Perez’s lack of performance has seen McLaren overhaul Red Bull in the constructors’ championship. It is now ahead by 40 points while Ferrari only trails by eight.

On numerous occasions, team principal Christian Horner and Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko have publicly encouraged Perez to “pick up his game” but with just five rounds of racing remaining in 2024, Perez’s chances to impress are rapidly running out.

The brilliant return of Liam Lawson at COTA has also likely increased the pressure on Red Bull to consider a driver swap for next year, as in his first race back in F1 since the 2023 Qatar GP, the Kiwi climbed from 19th to ninth — finishing ahead of RB team-mate Tsunoda and, critically, only 11 seconds behind Perez.

Should Lawson perform similarly in Mexico City while Perez continues to struggle, this weekend’s visit to the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez could ultimately be Perez’s last as an F1 driver.

Thin air

Located 2,240m above sea level, Mexico City is a F1 host venue like no other as drivers race through air that is 25% less dense.

The thinner air running across the front and rear wings means higher top speeds are achievable — as proven by Valtteri Bottas in 2016, when his Williams reached 231.46mph down the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez’s home straight.

But by the same token, there is also less air pushing the car into the ground and going into ducts to provide cooling to the engine and brakes. The reduction in downforce and grip also puts extra strain on the tyres.

In order to combat the unique conditions, teams run Monaco levels of downforce to both keep up cornering speeds and protect the tyres, which can often overheat due to intense graining — caused again by low grip levels.

This can result in a mix of race-day strategies, with the majority of drivers expected to opt for a two-stop strategy while some may opt for a one-stop in the hope of a late-race appearance from the safety car.

Pato O’Ward returns…

IndyCar driver Pato O’Ward lost his place on the Red Bull driver programme in 2019 because there was no clear route to F1 — a consequence of the low level of superlicence points offered by IndyCar and its IndyNXT junior category.

It took one of US racing’s biggest stars four years, but in 2023 he finally hit the points threshold and was appointed as one of McLaren’s reserve drivers for this season, moving a step further towards his stated dream of being an F1 driver.

This weekend may nudge him closer to that goal, as he takes part in the first practice session in Mexico City for McLaren — the third time he has done so, after two similar opportunities last year.

The reception for the 25-year-old, hoping to be Mexico’s next F1 driver is likely to be rapturous, based on chaotic scenes at a shopping centre this week, where hundreds of fans mobbed O’Ward and chanted his name during a promotional appearance at a shopping centre.

It will be the first chance that O’Ward has had to drive this year’s transformed McLaren, having been occupied fighting for an IndyCar series title. He ultimately finished fifth in the drivers’ standings — 84 points behind title winner Alex Palou — but did accumulate three impressive race wins and six podium finishes.

Upon pulling out of the McLaren garage at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, O’Ward will become only the fifth Mexican to drive in an official F1 session in their home country.

“I’ve been to Mexico many, many times for the Formula 1 Grand Prix, but have never actually been in the car, driving in front of everyone, so it will be a very new and cool experience for me,” he said. “I am definitely going to enjoy it.

“Mexico is one of the most special Formula 1 tracks on the calendar, it’s just a vibe. The people are super passionate, and I have felt a lot of warmth and love for Mexican drivers in F1, like Checo. I have also felt it in IndyCar, so I can imagine that driving at the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Mexico will be pretty special.”