Preview | Can Perez make make his home fans proud in Mexican GP?

A week after the United States Grand Prix, it is time for the Mexican GP. All eyes are on Sergio Perez, who dreams of a home victory at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. Will the local hero succeed, or will he have to leave the honours to Max Verstappen? Or will it perhaps not be Red Bull Racing's weekend at all?

Mexican Grand Prix

The Mexican GP was first organised in 1962, to be added to the official Formula 1 calendar in 1963. The race was won three times by Jim Clark, a record equalled by Verstappen in 2021.

After 1970, the Mexican GP disappeared from the F1 calendar, only to return in 1986. That year it was Gerhard Berger who won the race with the Benetton team. In the following years, Nigel Mansell, Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna and Riccardo Patrese recorded wins. Mansell and Prost succeeded twice.

After the 1992 edition, the Mexican GP went on hiatus again and it would be a long time before the race would make its reappearance in F1. In 2015, the race returned to the calendar and has since been won most often by Verstappen. Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton also managed to win the race. In 2020, the race weekend in Mexico was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez

The circuit is named after the Rodriguez brothers. Pedro and Ricardo Rodriguez were considered the most successful Mexican F1 drivers in history until Perez's arrival at Red Bull Racing. However, the Rodriguez brothers' story is a tragic one.

Ricardo was headed for a golden future at Ferrari, but the Italian racing stable did not want to participate in the Mexican GP because it was not officially part of the F1 calendar in 1962. Instead, Ricardo competed in a Lotus-Climax of the Rob Walker Racing Team. Just on the weekend of his home race, the only 20-year-old driver was killed in a tragic accident during a practice session.

His elder brother Pedro drove for Ferrari, Lotus, Cooper and BRM during his F1 career, scoring two wins and seven podium finishes. He too was tragically killed in a racing accident. It happened during an Interserie race at the Norisring in 1971. Two years later, the circuit in Mexico City was renamed the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

F1 2022 title battle is now about second place

The battle for both world titles in the 2022 F1 season is over. Verstappen secured his second title with a victory in Japan and Red Bull won the constructors' title at the United States GP for the first time since 2013. The team managed to do so during an emotional weekend, which on Saturday saw the bad news of Dietrich Mateschitz's death. The victory did not come automatically: Verstappen outsmarted Hamilton in a thrilling duel in the final stage of the race, after a poor pit stop by Red Bull.

Weather forecast Mexico City

The weather does not seem to be adding to the excitement for now. There is a 40 percent chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon on Saturday, but for the rest of the weekend it looks mostly sunny with temperatures around 25 degrees Celsius. That reports Weather.com.

Expectations for Mexican GP

Historically, Verstappen has the best chance for a win in Mexico. This is partly due to the fact that in previous years Red Bull's car performed very strongly in conditions like in Mexico City: the thin air and twisty track suited the Red Bull particularly well. For the RB18, however, that might just be different.

This year, it is usually Ferrari that is strong in the corners, where previously it was Red Bull's strong point. Mercedes has also shown that somewhere under the erratic W13 there is a decent race car hidden. The German racing team suffers on the straights, where it was previously so dominant. At the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, the straights do not dominate, so Mercedes will surely be out for revenge after missing out on a possible win in Austin.

However, all eyes will be on Perez, who dreams of a win at his home race and for whom the grandstands around the circuit will be packed. The Mexican has already indicated he does not want to get the win as a gift, but should a situation arise where he is ahead of Verstappen, he is confident his teammate will have his back as he himself has done for Verstappen on several occasions.