Tony D: When you're saying the number of corners, it makes me think of heist movies and doing the twist on the safe

Sam Bird
Formula E driver on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

Sainz has done the right thing there he's tucked up behind Max Verstappen, given that place back, he used the grass run off as he felt like he was carrying too much speed into Turn One and has given the place back.

Yuki Tsunoda crashed before his RB had even reached the first corner, the car getting bashed up in the midfield scrap. And Alex Albon is also out! The Williams also falling foul of that messy race start.

Image source, Getty Images

Vamos! Off we go!

Max Verstappen has got the lead at Turn One ahead of Carlos Sainz! The Ferrari goes off the track and across the track and gives the place back.

The RB of Yuki Tsunoda has crashed! Out comes the safety car!

Image source, Getty Images

Max Verstappen is starting second but has won the past three Mexico City races, Lando Norris is one place behind the Dutchman and needs to chip away at that 57-point deficit in a big way.

Carlos Sainz has arrived in his grid slot. The rest of the grid are joining him now...

Sam Bird
Formula E driver on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

I see Oscar Piastri moving up quite quickly, he's been really decisive with his overtakes this year, I worry a bit more for Sergio Perez, I don't feel like he's on the best of form, I still think he might get a point or two.

The top 11 drivers are starting on the medium tyre, with Liam Lawson breaking that trend and going hard first in P12.

Our two back starters, Sergio Perez and Oscar Piastri, are opposites, with Perez a hard runner and McLaren's Piastri a medium.

Image source, Reuters

Sam Bird
Formula E driver on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

I'm excited for this one, I cannot wait for the run down to Turn One, we've been discussing on who is going to get out of Turn Two in the lead and I think we all we all disagree with each other on who might get the lead.

Ian Fergusson
BBC weather forecaster

Air temperature 19.8C and the track 38.8C. Light NW wind; dry and sunny. Nearest shower development is 60+km distant to the SW, but because some could build later around the Mexico City metro area, FIA risk of rain is 20%

Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent

Image source, Pirelli 2024

The Mexico City Grand Prix is normally a default one-stop race, and it is expected to be primarily on the medium and hard tyres. But all tyres are reasonable options, depending on a team’s strategy demands. Running in clean air is even more crucial at this track than at most because of the difficulty of cooling the car in the low air density at altitude.

Ferrari appear to have the fastest car heading into the race, but it may be that Lando Norris’ third place on the grid understates his pace compared to Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, as he made a mistake on his first lap and was quite cautious on his second to make sure he at least secured a decent grid spot.

Pit-stop time loss is about 22 seconds, 12-13 seconds under a safety car, which is quite common in Mexico. Having DRS is worth 0.7secs a lap.

Image source, BBC Sport

The mountain to climb for Lando Norris is becoming steeper as the end of the season draws closer.

Norris needs to gain on the Dutchman by an average of just under 12 points a race to overtake him in the remaining five grands prix.

BBC Sport analyses the Formula 1 title battle including the factors that may help the McLaren driver and whether history offers him hope.

Have a read here

With Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz claiming the top two steps on the podium at COTA, Ferrari have made the constructors' championship a three-way fight. While the Italian team need 40 points to catch leaders McLaren, the gap between themselves and Red Bull is only eight points.

Image source, Getty Images

Max Verstappen just needs to stay one step ahead of Lando Norris in the final five races and a fourth consecutive drivers' crown will be his. The Dutchman extended his championship lead to 57 points in Austin thanks to a win in the shorter sprint and a third-placed finish in the main grand prix.

Charles Leclerc is not mathematically out of title fight yet. The Ferrari driver is 79 points behind Verstappen and just 22 points away from Norris' second-placed total.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Title leader Max Verstappen starts on the front row and on doing any homework on the race start, he told Sky Sports: "I remember quite a few of them but every start is different, so you can't really, it gives you an idea but at the end of the day you just have to act at what is in front of you and next to you during the actual start."

On breaking the tow behind, he added: "Anything can happen, I don't know. What's important is to just try and get a good start yourself."

On having a car that can win, he said: "The last two races we have not been particularly strong in the race and we didn't really have a Friday so it's very unknown what's going to happen in the race that's why I don't really want to say that we can win the race today."

Image source, Getty Images

There's a great little battle going on between Haas and RB for sixth place in the constructors' championship.

At last week's United States Grand Prix, points in both the sprint race and main event has lifted Haas above RB for the first time this season and today in Mexico, the American-based team has two drivers starting inside the top 10: Kevin Magnussen in seventh and Nico Hulkenberg in 10th.

For RB, it was Yuki Tsunoda who ended Q2 prematurely for the rest of the field. The Japanese driver lost the rear of his car after a lock-up and spun off into the barriers, denying team-mate Liam Lawson the chance to improve his time. The pair aren't too far away from the Haas boys, though. Tsunoda starts P11 while New Zealander Lawson, who went from 19th to ninth last week, is one place behind in P12.

Spoiler alert: Brad has been filmed holding a Mexican flag and celebrating, so I think Sonny Hayes pulls off a win here. He's the one actually driving the car in these shots.

It's time for the national anthem and of course, Sergio Perez is centre stage. These acapella versions are great.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, EPA

Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

The race takes place against the backdrop of a debate about racing rules following a controversial penalty given to Norris in the US Grand Prix after overtaking Verstappen on track.

Many drivers feel that Verstappen, while driving to the letter of the rules, defended in an unfair manner by taking both cars off the track and governing body the FIA has agreed to revise the racing guidelines in time for the Qatar Grand Prix in two races’ time.

This leaves the question as to how the stewards will judge similar incidents in Sunday’s race, but Carlos Sainz said he expected little would change for now.

“A lot of drivers opened up about how they felt about each situation and what we think is the best way forward,” he said, ”how you interpret the rules and those driving guidelines that the stewards are going to apply penalties with.

“They’re still the same coming into this weekend and probably I think they will be applied in a similar manner.”

Image source, Getty Images

Lando Norris will start in P3 in the McLaren and he told Sky Sports: "I've done my homework already, I'm feeling good, it's a long run to Turn One many things can happen.

"Everyone wants it, you've got Charles behind, the Mercedes, Carlos who has nothing to lose and then Max and myself so it should be exciting."

On if the slipstream is key, he added: "It's different every year here, it's not always the same story and you can only prepare so much. A lot of it is reacting to what you see and do at the time, I'm prepared and I know what to expect, I know what my plans are, we will have to wait and see the rest."

On his other race opportunities if not Turn One, he said: "I hope our pace is good, I don't think we will be as quick as Ferrari but I could be proved wrong. We will wait and see, they've been very strong and there race pace on Friday was very very strong. I'm optimistic we have good pace and at least to try and beat Max ahead, I think we can do that."

Image source, Getty Images

As Andrew mentioned, reaching to the first corner unscathed after the 830-metre sprint will be target number one for the front runners, but at lights out last year, Sergio Perez was not so lucky.

The Mexican started fifth but soon found himself three-wide into Turn One with team-mate Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc in the middle. As he tried to go around the outside of the Ferrari, contact was made and Perez was sent up in the air and out of his home race.

Verstappen won from P3 on the grid, Lewis Hamilton took the runners-up spot from sixth and polesitter Leclerc ended his grand prix in the final podium place in third.

Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

The top four are all focused on the run to the first corner, the longest of the season, on which the powerful slipstream effect can give the advantage to the drivers in second and third on the grid.

The winner of this race has come from third on the grid - LandonNorris’ position - in three of the last four races.