Verstappen: Mexico’s demands play to Ferrari’s strengths

Audi received two fines on Friday. The first, of €7,500, was for leaving an external cooling device attached to Freddie Slater’s car in first practice, and the second (€5,000) was for mechanics carrying a floor covered by a sheet during practice. The team also used another sheet to obscure the view of the car while mechanics worked on it.

Covering components or blocking the view into the garage is prohibited. Teams are only allowed to screen off areas of the garage “with their own bodies”.

Peter Bonnington played a prank on Kimi Antonelli in Mexico. When the championship leader arrived for the briefing, he squirted him with water from a toy monkey.

Formula 1 analysed the performance of each car after Friday practice and concluded that Ferrari has the fastest car over a single lap. Red Bull and Mercedes are almost two tenths behind.

Although Lando Norris was only a tenth off the pace on Friday, his true deficit is believed to be closer to 0.5 seconds.

The Dakar Rally announced a week ago that January’s event would not take place in its originally planned location, Saudi Arabia. The legendary rally will instead follow an alternative route through Portugal and Morocco.

The prologue will start at the Algarve circuit. The first full stage will follow the coast of Portugal and Spain. Competitors will then head to Morocco, where they will tackle a further eleven stages, finishing in Marrakesh.

The total distance of the 2027 edition will be 7824 kilometres.

As is traditional, the Mexican race weekend fell at the end of October, coinciding with All Saints’ Day, known in Mexico as Día de los Muertos.

The weekend’s “ofrenda”, a kind of altar intended to welcome the souls of the dead back among the living, features all the great figures from Formula 1 history. Even Hamilton’s dog Roscoe has been included.

Weather models point to a dry Mexican Grand Prix. Conditions should be mostly sunny, with a chance of morning fog. Air temperatures will reach 25 to 27 ˚C.

Another junior driver taking part in first practice in Mexico will be Nikola Tsolov, who will be at the wheel of a Racing Bulls car.

Lando Norris’s junior team LN4 Fusion has secured a place on the Formula 2 grid for the 2027 season. That means it will compete in all the major junior categories: Formula 2, Formula 3, Formula Regional, Italian Formula 4 and German Formula 4.

Cadillac has confirmed that Colton Herta will drive in first practice in Mexico. It will be his fifth free practice appearance this season, although the regulations require each team to give rookies at least four outings. Cadillac is clearly doing this to help Herta reach the 40 points needed for a super licence. Will he get Bottas’s seat too?

Ryo Hirakawa will drive for Haas in Mexico. That means the outing will not go to Rafael Camara, who will race for the team next season and would certainly benefit from some mileage in this year’s car.