And this is the track, with a long, long drag race up to the first corner. Could be very, very dramatic.

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Andrew Benson
BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer

Lewis Hamilton complaining over the radio about his seat being "roasting; really hot on my back - you need to make sure you cool it next time"

It was sunny in qualifying yesterday, but a bit more cloudy today in Mexico City.

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Three-time world champion Sir Jackie Stewart speaking to BBC Radio 5 live: "I don't feel any pressure. I have held this (most titles from a British driver) for 44 years, it is time someone else came along.

"Lewis is a worthy champion and I hope he wins today. He has had a great second half of the season and has done a great job, so have Mercedes Benz."

Twelve of the 20 drivers have claimed a podium finish during their careers. How the Mexican fans would love it if Sergio Perez could get his eighth podium.

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Allan McNish
Formula 1 analyst on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra

The chances of a fifth world title [this year] for Sebastian Vettel are very, very, slim.

For him, he knows what he has to do. He has to win every race.

If he does then he has a chance but it is up for Lewis Hamilton as to what happens.

Eight of the 20 drivers know what it feels like to win a grand prix. Today would be a great time for Vettel to win for the first time since in Hungary seven races ago

Image source, .

There are some fantastic outfits at the Mexican Grand Prix. Here is another one.

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Peter Wanyonyi‏: Not sure what's scarier for Vettel - the Mexican day of the dead Halloween outfits, or Max starting alongside him on the front row!

Allan McNish
Formula 1 analyst on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra

Hamilton has won five of last six races and some have been surprise wins. There is no better way to win the world championship than winning the race. He will want to do it the right way and that is by doing it on the podium not celebrating just with his team.

David Milner‏: Been watching since early 80s and Hamilton's "last race, last lap, last corner" Championship win is the best for me.

Jake: HAM was teammates with ALO in his rookie season and they were very even so HAM can be considered the best of this gen at least.

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Andrew Benson
BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer

Valtteri Bottas has been in much better shape in Mexico this weekend after his poor form since the summer break and qualified just 0.024secs behind Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton.

“These kind of (smooth) asphalts suits my driving style a bit more,” he said. “It is just a little bit better for me. I still need to work on the rougher tarmacs. Rougher circuits and ones that are tougher for the tyres I tend to damage them more easily.”

Had it not for being delayed by Max Verstappen’s Red Bull in the stadium, which wrecked his first lap in Q3, Bottas may well have out-qualified Hamilton. But was this Bottas improving or Hamilton slipping back into previous dodgy form on low-grip circuits with high downforce set-ups - after all, he was out-qualified by Bottas in Russia, Monaco, Austria and Hungary in very similar situations.

There was less evidence of Hamilton over-reaching the car in the way he was on these type of circuits earlier in the season, but the suspicion that Hamilton was having another off-form weekend was there nonetheless.

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Andrew Benson
BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer

Esteban Ocon gets better and better in the Force India, in Mexico the Frenchman managing to sneak into the top six normally reserved for Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull by beating the struggling Daniel Ricciardo.

It was especially impressive because he had handed his car to development driver Alfonso Celis for first practice, who promptly binned it at the final corner.

"It was an awesome qualifying session,” Ocon said. "I’m really happy. The car was not so easy to drive yesterday, but the team did an amazing job overnight to find some more performance. Everybody at the track and back at the factory worked hard to make some improvements and I could really feel the difference today. They gave me a really strong car and during the session the pace just got better and better.

"I actually made a small mistake on my final lap in Q3 so maybe I could have been even faster and ahead of Raikkonen. Even so, I’m really pleased with this result and excited for the race. We have strong race pace, good top speed and the potential is there for a very strong result.” Team-mate Sergio Perez was very much not happy with 10th, 0.37secs behind. He blamed a change in tyre warm-up routine which he said lost him feeling for the car.

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Andrew Benson
BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer

Fernando Alonso starts among the group of engine penalty drivers at the back of the grid but he was one of the stars of qualifying nonetheless.

Fifth fastest in the first session, he was behind only the Mercedes, Vettel and Verstappen - albeit with both Red Bulls and Ferraris on super-soft tyres while Alonso used the ultras. Still, to be 0.2secs off the pace was astonishing - as was his being fastest of all in the twisty middle sector - and he wasted no opportunity to talk up the performance of the McLaren chassis.

“I did two laps, both were identical time,” he said. “We know where we lose and gain and if you are 0.2secs behind Mercedes it is quite a long way in front of them (when the engine deficit is taken into account). The whole weekend we have been very competitive. We have been improving the car. We brought updates ands they all deliver what we expect. The car felt great and very positive times.”

Alonso was always going to get a penalty here because of his MGU-H failure in the race in Austin, but it underlines what Honda’s poor reliability is costing McLaren this year. Assuming they finish it, the race will be difficult for Alonso and team-mate Stoffel Vandoorne owing to their lack of speed on the straights.

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David NicholsonHirst: Hamilton is one of the greats without doubt. Sometimes Senna gets too many plaudits, he didn't walk over his teammate, Hamilton does. I rank Hamilton above Senna, if you think Senna is faster, a more mature driver think again. In the wet, then it's very close.

Mr Turner: Greatest driver? Car plays a big part for LH. Arguably FA is best on grid with woeful equipment. If only to compare like for like.

Scotia: HAM a true great but can't help wonder if ROS ran him close and beat him, what would ALO have done in the same machinery?

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Sir Jackie Stewart has been speaking to Sky Sports ahead of today's race.

Asked about the possibility of Lewis Hamilton overtaking him as the most successful British driver of all time today, he said: "I have no regrets. I have held this for 44 years. It is time for a change. Records are made to be broken.

"I think he is very worthy. The second half of this season Lewis Hamilton came of age. His driving is smoother. His decision making is better. He hasn't been getting in tangles. He was in a better zone."

Asked if Hamilton is one of the greatest F1 drivers of all time, Stewart said: "It is an impossible one. I don't think because you have won a bunch of world championships you are the greatest. I still say Juan Manuel Fangio is the best and next to him was Jim Clark. Hamilton will be one of the best."

These are the drivers who have won the world championship the most times. Hamilton will jump up to joint-third of all-time if he wins the world title this year.

Andrew Benson
BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer

Strategy? It’s almost certainly a one-stop - Lewis Hamilton did 27 laps on a set of ultra-softs on Friday and even Pirelli, who are notoriously conservative in their estimates, are saying a one-stop is fastest.

But there is an 800-m run to the first corner - one of the longest of the year - so that will be tasty. After that, it will be a long first stint of 30-odd laps on ultras - important to have the extra grip off the line because of the long straight - and then most likely super-softs to the flag.

Safety car chance is high, though. That might spice things up.

And here are some more technical details for you, courtesy of the Formula 1 Twitter account.