Momentum within the 2025 F1 drivers’ championship combat has dramatically swung heading into the Mexico Metropolis Grand Prix.
Do McLaren have to prioritise one driver?
A rare run of kind from Max Verstappen and Pink Bull has seen the Dutchman take 64 factors out of Oscar Piastri’s championship lead previously 4 rounds.
Verstappen’s dominant United States Grand Prix weekend proved he’s very a lot within the title combine, with Pink Bull showing to now boast the quickest F1 automotive forward of McLaren. The four-time world champion can afford to go flat-out in his exceptional try at pulling off what would certainly go down as the best F1 comeback of all time.
With the risk from Verstappen growing on McLaren, has the time come the place the workforce have to abandon their parity and again one driver to make sure they win a championship that has lengthy been thought of a formality?
McLaren have refused to rule out favouring Piastri or Lando Norris however will seemingly solely achieve this when one in all their drivers is mathematically out of title competition. Not affording the luxurious of their earlier benefits, McLaren could also be pressured to be ruthless to verify they keep away from a repeat of 2007.
The state of affairs is sophisticated by the very fact Norris is presently the in-form driver, regardless of being 14 factors behind Piastri. As such, McLaren are in a particularly troublesome place the place making such a brutal name could be vastly controversial.
Verstappen is catching each McLarens
Is Oscar Piastri feeling the stress?
For Piastri, it was one other out of types weekend in the US. Ever since his final victory within the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort, Piastri has watched his championship lead shrink, whereas he has struggled to match the tempo of teammate Norris.
With an uncharacteristically error-strewn weekend in Azerbaijan adopted up by scrappy outings in each Singapore and Austin, it seems to be as if the mounting stress is affecting Piastri’s performances.
Cracks are beginning to present as Piastri finds himself in a tough state of affairs as he offers with the stress of combating for his first drivers’ championship, and tries to defend his ever-fading factors benefit.
He’s nonetheless in one of the best place out of the title protagonists, however Piastri badly wants a weekend through which he will get the higher hand over Norris to reset the steadiness of momentum. He shall be hoping that may are available in Mexico Metropolis.
Piastri had one other off weekend in Austin
An opportunity for Ferrari to finish winless streak?
Ferrari had an encouraging weekend in Austin as Charles Leclerc scored his sixth podium of a tricky and winless 2025. It marked the Italian’s first top-three look in six races, stretching again to the Belgian Grand Prix in July.
Probably the most constructive facet for Ferrari was how the workforce circled a troublesome begin to the weekend on Friday to extract extra efficiency from the automotive in time for qualifying and the race, with Leclerc solely narrowly crushed to second place by McLaren’s Norris.
Moreover, Lewis Hamilton said he lastly feels on prime of the SF-25 after equalling his greatest results of the season with fourth place.
Ferrari now head to the venue of their most up-to-date F1 victory – Mexico Metropolis. Carlos Sainz claimed his remaining Ferrari win on the Autodromo Hermanos Rodrigues 12 months in the past, however few would have anticipated the Spaniard to stay Ferrari’s final grand prix victor.
Primarily based on their efficiency final 12 months in Mexico, Ferrari may very well be an out of doors guess for victory together with Pink Bull and McLaren, significantly in the event that they get essentially the most out of their difficult 2025 automotive. One other podium is maybe a extra lifelike goal.
Leclerc celebrates Ferrari’s first podium in six races
Alpine’s workforce orders fallout
Overshadowed by the motion on the entrance, there was inside controversy at Alpine throughout a battle for seventeenth within the closing laps of the US Grand Prix.
Franco Colapinto was instructed to “maintain place” behind Alpine teammate Pierre Gasly however took issues into his personal fingers and handed the Frenchman on his option to securing P17.
Colapinto’s actions left Alpine “upset” and the French squad confirmed they’d “assessment and take care of” the matter internally.
Whether or not or not the fallout spills over into Mexico stays to be seen, but it surely was not what Colapinto wanted as he continues to combat for his F1 future.
Colapinto ignored a workforce order to cross Gasly
Return of the rookies
9 common drivers will miss first apply for the Mexican Grand Prix as rookie drivers get an opportunity to impress.
Championship contenders Norris and Verstappen, together with Hamilton, are the largest names to be vacating their seat for FP1 in Mexico Metropolis.
Pato O’Ward will drive for McLaren on dwelling soil, whereas Arvid Lindblad will takeover from Verstappen at Pink Bull. Antonio Fuoco will deputise for Hamilton at Ferrari, with Frederik Vesti changing George Russell at Mercedes.
Zak Crawford will make his F1 apply debut at Aston Martin, whereas Williams will hand one other FP1 outing to fellow F2 frontrunner Luke Browning.
Ayumu Iwasa will drive for Racing Bulls, Rio Hirakawa for Haas, and Paul Aron will get one other FP1 probability with Alpine.
Solely Sauber will run each their full-time drivers throughout the opening monitor session of the weekend.
