Mekies expects wide-open battle for Mexican GP victory

Red Bull Racing Team Principal Laurent Mekies believes four teams will potentially be in with a chance of winning the Mexican GP this weekend.

Mekies expects Red Bull, McLaren, Mercedes and Ferrari all to be in and around the podium positions as F1 heads to Mexico City’s Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez.

McLaren, Red Bull and Mercedes have all picked up multiple victories this season while Ferrari are currently winless after 19 Grand Prix.

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Are Red Bull the team to beat?

Red Bull have enjoyed a significant turnaround in form in recent times and Max Verstappen dominated the United States GP weekend last time out with a maximum haul of 33 points across both the sprint and Sunday’s Grand Prix.

In spite of Red Bull’s form, Mekies has underplayed the chances of another Verstappen whitewash when speaking after the United States GP.

“You know, we certainly feel three or four teams can win the race.”

He continued: “And today, they [Ferrari] were battling with us. They were battling with McLaren. They took some points out of McLaren. They could have taken some points out of us. So yes, we see them in the game, absolutely.

“One time it will be Mercedes, one time it will be McLaren, one time it will be Ferrari, one time it will be us.

Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari share the United States GP Podium - Photo: Race Pictures

“These interactions are going to change the points balance and who is getting more out of the weekend, but we cannot control that.”

Of the last five races, Max Verstappen has won three and finished second twice.

It's a period in which McLaren, the dominant force throughout most of the season, have only won once - at the Dutch GP in August.

Back-to-back Mexican GP wins for Ferrari?

Ferrari have not won a Grand Prix since the Mexican GP last year, courtesy of Carlos Sainz.

The team from Maranello showed promise last time out in Austin, with Charles Leclerc finishing P3 and Lewis Hamilton a joint season best P4 putting his sprint victory in China aside.

Ferrari Team Principal Frederic Vasseur believes that Ferrari have a competitive chance of finishing runners-up in the Constructors Championship.

But a failure to secure a victory at the Mexican GP will make it a full year since Ferrari last won a Grand Prix.

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