F1 Mexican GP: The Key Storyline for Every Team in Mexico City

For avid Italian and Mercedes motorsport fans, there's only one storyline they're anticipating. But hey, there's more to this weekend in Mexico than Kimi Antonelli potentially clinching the 2026 World Drivers' Championship. 

Probably a Sergio Perez points finish in the Mexican Grand Prix? We never know. Racing is like that.

A viral illness kept championship leader Kimi Antonelli out of media day duties on Thursday in Mexico. This might be a Mercedes precautionary move to get Antonelli in peak form on Saturday's qualifying, but they haven't issued any updates yet. Still, the young Italian driver can clinch this weekend if neither George Russell nor Lewis Hamilton wins the race.

Ferrari's upgraded car, especially that of Charles Leclerc's, had the pace to bring the fight to Mercedes and Red Bull in Austin. The question for Ferrari now is how they can make those upgrades work in Mexico.

After the United States GP, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri wanted more pace out of their car, saying that they can't keep up with the cars in front. McLaren now finds itself tied with Red Bull in the Teams' Standings (355 points). They just need to outpace Red Bull, which is a big challenge in itself. 

Max Verstappen extended his podium streak to six in the US GP, but he and teammate Isack Hadjar had tons of complaints about the RB22. Verstappen struggled with "engine consistency", while Hadjar complained of clutch failure. Red Bull must need to fix these issues to keep up with Mercedes and Ferrari.

Arvid Lindblad failed to score in the last two races, and has finished behind his teammate, Liam Lawson, in the last three races. Lindblad should look at Mexico as his chance to bounce back and level with his teammate.

After finishing in the points in back-to-back weekends in Monza and Madrid, Franco Colapinto has not scored in the next four races. Moreover, he has DNF'd thrice during that drought. Whether it's driver error or car reliability, Colapinto and Alpine must get their act together if they still want to chase the Racing Bulls in front.

After the US Grand Prix, Oliver Bearman said that the VF-26 has hit its ceiling, albeit on a positive note. So, does it mean that the Haas drivers can't extract more performance? They are pressured to do so. After all, they hold seventh place in the standings by just seven points over Audi.

Audi driver Gabriel Bortoleto knows that their car will struggle in Mexico, citing their larger turbocharger as a weakness here. Scoring on raw pace might be difficult for Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg. They might have to rely on Safety Cars and chaos in front to have the opportunity to make up places.

Fernando Alonso made quite a remark about Alex Albon, saying that there's less talent at the bottom of the grid. How will Albon clap back, and can he? The Williams driver has not scored in the last 12 races.

Alonso should back up his remark against Albon, though. After all, he's also at the bottom of the grid right now. Aston Martin is just five points behind Williams for ninth place. A superb (and lucky) race from Alonso could get the team a real shot at snatching that ninth place.

Cadillac - Can the home circuit be kind to its home hero?

After a one-year layoff, Sergio Perez returns to his home race, this time as a Cadillac driver. However, Cadillac has struggled for pace and reliability throughout the year. Perez might not be in a position to fight for points, but the home crowd just wants him to finish the race.