Mexico City Grand Prix betting tips and F1 predictions: Verstappen can shine

Free F1 tips, best bets and analysis for the Mexican Grand Prix.

Where to watch

Sky Sports F1, 7pm Sunday

Best bet

Max Verstappen to win Mexico Grand Prix
1pt 5-4 bet365

Race preview

Red Bull had been expected to dominate this weekend's Mexico City GP at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez and that is how things begun, with Max Verstappen topping the timesheets during Practice Two on Friday before team-mate Sergio Perez went fastest during P3.

However, to the surprise of everyone, including Mercedes, it was the Silver Arrows that locked out the front of the grid during qualifying, with Valtteri Bottas finishing a tenth of a second ahead of Lewis Hamilton to secure pole, while Verstappen will be third on the grid.

Verstappen has claimed that starting from third will be better than second due to the 800-metre run-down to turn one that is the longest on the F1 calendar and where Red Bull will expect to have the edge.

The 24-year-old was also hampered during qualifying by a lack of grip, as well as team-mate Sergio Perez and the AlphaTauri of Yuki Tsunoda running wide off track when he was completing his final lap of the session.

Those extenuating circumstances help explain why Verstappen was edged out by Bottas and Hamilton in qualifying, but he still appears to be the one to beat during Sunday's race, as he looks to extend his 12-point lead at the top of the Drivers' Championship standings.

It certainly looks like being a straight shootout between Mercedes and Red Bull in Mexico City, with Perez starting alongside Verstappen on the second row.

AlphaTauri's Pierre Gasly qualified best of the rest and will start fifth on the grid, with Ferrari's Carlos Sainz, Daniel Ricciardo of McLaren and the second Scuderia of Charles Leclerc making up the top eight.

Tsunoda and McLaren's Lando Norris had qualified ninth and 10th quickest, but both will start at the back of the grid due to engine penalties.

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