Sebastian Vettel has the mettle to make waves in Mexico GP

Mexican Grand Prix
Sky Sports F1, 7.10pm Sunday

The F1 title race lacks a certain amount of tension with Lewis Hamilton needing only seventh place in Mexico to seal his fifth global crown.

But Sunday's showdown itself looks set to be sizzler with the Red Bulls of Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen on the front row and championship top two Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel behind them in third and fourth.

The altitude in Mexico has narrowed the engine advantage Mercedes and Ferrari have over the Renault-powered Red Bulls, and the Anglo-Austrian team's superior aerodynamics are serving them well, with Verstappen looking the fastest man on the track until he was pipped by Ricciardo in Q3.

To make the race even more spicy, there is a chance of more rain, so while Hamilton surely needs only to finish to take the title with two races to spare - he has never been lower than fifth when completing the course this season - the on-track action could be some of the best of the season.

Vettel needs to win and hope that Hamilton has trouble to extend the title battle to Brazil, let alone the finale Abu Dhabi, but he's not a bad bet to at least sign off on a high with his sixth win of the season.

The Red Bulls look the quickest cars but they have both been dogged by technical trouble lately and with their prices much shorter than usual due to their excellent speed - Ricciardo is 2-1 and Verstappen 13-8 favourite - they are not attractively priced.

Vettel makes more appeal at 6-1 with two each-way places.

Hamilton will be keen to wrap up the championship in style but Ferrari have shown strong straight-line speed and the Mercedes have had handling and tyre-wear issues that could cause trouble over a race distance.

Recommendation
S Vettel
1pt each-way 6-1 general

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