So we come to round 19 of 21, with a few stories to still wrap up. Will Manor hold on to 10th in the constructor’s championship, and thus claim extra prize money? Will Force India keep 4th place ahead of Williams? And of course, who will be crowned world champion of 2016?
That final question is one that could be answered on Sunday. If Rosberg wins and Hamilton places 10th or lower, Rosberg will take his first title. It’s unlikely that will be Nico’s focus – he will instead be focused entirely on the race itself. For Hamilton, the situation remains the same – he must win to keep his hopes alive, and hope Rosberg has a problem.
It was last year that Mexico returned to the F1 calendar after last hosting a race in 1992 – Rosberg won last year – the start of a sequence of 7 consecutive wins – and he would love a repeat of that. The track has been modified from the fast and bumpy circuit that it used to be – some of the speed is gone, but the atmosphere is immense, with Mexican fans turning out in droves to support their drivers, Sergio Perez and Esteban Gutierrez. They – and the other drivers – will still have to negotiate a long blast down toward turn 1, which will be an obvious overtaking point, and the chicane that is turns 4 and 5 will be another opportunity. A good enough exit from turn 5 might create chances at turn 6, but from there it will be tricky to keep close enough to the car ahead, especially in dirty air, through turns 7-11, and turns 12-17 are unlikely to lend themselves to overtaking.
Let’s hope for a good race!
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