Verstappen to turn the screw as Ferrari milestone looms
MEXICO CITY :Ferrari will have gone a year without a win in Mexico this weekend and the wait looks likely to continue as Red Bull's Max Verstappen seeks to turn the screw on McLaren's Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.
Four-times world champion Verstappen is staging an astonishing Formula One fightback, from 104 points down on Piastri at the end of August to 40 adrift now, and chasing a fourth victory in the last five grands prix.
The last Ferrari winner was Carlos Sainz in Mexico on October 27 last year, with Norris second and Verstappen an unhappy sixth after serving two 10-second penalties.
The Spaniard, now with Williams, can be counted out this time - particularly since he picked up a five place grid drop in Texas last Sunday.
Seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton, a double winner in Mexico, has yet to stand on the podium in 19 starts since he joined Ferrari in January while teammate Charles Leclerc has had six podiums but only one second place in Monaco in May.
Verstappen meanwhile has a momentum that will be hard to beat at a high-altitude track where he has won five times previously.
MOST COMPETITIVE COMBINATION OF CAR AND DRIVER
"I think the most competitive combination of car and driver at the moment seems to be Verstappen and Red Bull," McLaren boss Andrea Stella said after last Saturday's U.S. Grand Prix sprint race won by the Dutchman from pole.
He singled out Brazil, Qatar and Abu Dhabi as remaining tracks where McLaren should go well - conspicuously not mentioning Mexico - and be able to exploit their car's characteristics.
That could mean another tough weekend for Piastri, who has not been on the podium in the last three races and has seen his lead over Norris slashed to 14 points.
Norris, who has been on the podium in three of the last four even if he has not won since Hungary in August, is within reach of taking over at the top if the Australian struggles again.
Mercedes' George Russell is fourth, 94 points behind Piastri and effectively out of the running, with McLaren still on course for their first title double since 1998 after securing the constructors' crown.
The problem for McLaren and Verstappen is that the Ferrari drivers and Russell could still play a big role in the title outcome by taking precious points away.
"We are in a situation where you go to a race weekend and you have three or four teams that can fight for the win if they extract everything their car can produce on the track," said Red Bull boss Laurent Mekies.
"I think every remaining race will be about which one of these four teams is nailing the track layout, the conditions, the temperatures, the tyres - and then that guy will win the race."
Red Bull will be looking also to Yuki Tsunoda, his future at stake with Mexico seen as a potential cutoff point for a decision, to continue recent improvement.
The Japanese has scored 16 points from his last three weekends - a meagre haul compared to Verstappen's 76 in the same timeframe but more than he had taken in 16 previous rounds.
"I'm not going to tell you that's good enough, nobody feels like that, Yuki doesn't feel like that," said Mekies.
"All I'm saying is that it's two races in the points, two very good starts, two very good first laps and it's a progression compared to what has been shown so far."
The battle for second place in the team standings is tight, with Mercedes seven ahead of Ferrari and Red Bull a further three behind.
Williams look safe in fifth but Sauber, Aston Martin and Racing Bulls are all fighting for sixth.
