Formula 1 Mexican Grand Prix qualifying predictions and F1 betting tips

Free F1 tips, best bets and analysis for the Mexican Grand Prix qualifying session from the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on Saturday.

Where to watch

Practice three
Sky Sports F1, 5pm Saturday
Qualifying
Sky Sports F1, 8pm Saturday

Best bet

Max Verstappen fastest lap
1pt 7-4 Betfred

Preview

Max Verstappen confirmed Lewis Hamilton’s fears that Red Bull would be “rapid” in Mexico when dominating Friday practice and the World Championship leader is a best-priced 1-2 to secure pole position in qualifying.

Verstappen leads the drivers’ standings by 12 points from Hamilton after his victory in the United States and has a golden opportunity to enhance that advantage at the Hermanos Rodriguez circuit.

Red Bull have dominated the last three editions of Mexican Grand Prix thanks to their ability to deal with the altitude better than their rivals and are on course to maintain that trend after Verstappen set the fastest time in practice two, going 0.424 seconds quicker than Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas.

Hamilton, who had been quicker than his title rival in first practice, was a further tenth back in third place in the afternoon session.

There was some encouragement to be found in Mercedes’ race pace when analysed with the difference between their car and the Red Bulls when running on the hard compound tyre more negligible.

However, over a single lap, it’s no contest and Red Bull will be disappointed were they not to lock out the front row of the grid, even with Sergio Perez having been slower than both the Mercedes on Friday.

With little value to be found in betting on qualifying, backing Verstappen to really stamp his authority on this race by clocking the fastest lap on Sunday is the preferred choice.

Every point counts in Verstappen’s charge towards a first world title and with Mercedes acknowledging this is their weakest race of the year, Red Bull can't afford to let the opportunity to collect a bumper haul pass them by.

Safer Gambling Week runs from November 1-7 and is an initiative that the Racing Post fully supports. The Racing Post will be playing its part in ensuring the messages of this important week are conveyed to all our customers. If you are concerned about your gambling, more details on actions to take can be found at safergamblinguk.org.