Max Verstappen knows he and Red Bull must be “perfect” if they are to deny McLaren in the Formula 1 drivers’ title fight. After Oscar Piastri won the Dutch Grand Prix at the end of August, the Aussie was 104 points ahead of Verstappen.
The four-time champion had given up on his hopes of joining Michael Schumacher as the only drivers ever to win five in a row. But three Grand Prix wins out of four and a Sprint race later, Verstappen is now just 40 points behind and piling the pressure on.
“We have gained a lot of positive momentum over the past few races,” he said ahead of Sunday’s race in Mexico City. “We want to keep pushing and extracting as much performance out of the car as we can and the team have been working hard to do this. We need to keep having perfect weekends to fight for the championship.”
Verstappen’s win in Austin last weekend was his seventh on US soil – more than any other driver in F1 history. He now heads straight to another venue which has been very kind to the Dutchman and his team in recent years.
The Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez is 2,200 metres above sea level and Red Bull’s Honda engines tend to fare better than those of their rivals at dealing with the lack of oxygen and cooling air. That has helped Verstappen to five wins in Mexico City to date and a sixth this weekend would make it his most successful circuit in F1.
But he is hampered by missing the first practice session of the weekend with British teenager Arvid Lindblad taking his car for a spin on Friday. The rules force every driver to give up two FP1 sessions per year to rookies and Verstappen still needs to satisfy his quota for 2025. He will pray to get his car back in one piece so he can make up for lost time and get his set-up dialled in for the main event.
Verstappen said: “It’s important to hit the ground running in Mexico. The circuit tends to suit our car and it will be all about managing our tyres and the grip. Of course, the high altitude always brings unique challenges, decreasing the air density, which will be affecting everyone, but it will be exciting to round up the double header there.”
Lando Norris is second in the championship and is bidding to halt Verstappen’s momentum after limiting the damage last time out. The Brit, who is also missing FP1 as McLaren run IndyCar driver Pato O’Ward, said: “After finishing on the podium in Austin, I want to build from that and fight for more points this weekend.”
And championship leader Piastri, who hasn’t beaten either of them in any of the last four races but won’t have to miss first practice in Mexico, is desperate to stop the rot. He said: “Heading straight into another race weekend is a good opportunity to get back in the car and work with the team to maximise our performance. I’m confident it can be a productive weekend. I’m looking forward and focusing on getting the very best out of myself.”