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Lewis Hamilton stands on the brink of a fourth world championship, as the Formula One circus rolls into Mexico City for what is yet to be another gripping Mexican Grand Prix. Join The Roar for a live blog of the race from 6am AEDT.
The Briton must finish anywhere in the top five, regardless of where his title rival Sebastian Vettel places, to claim an unprecedented fourth crown.
Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez will be the stage upon which Hamilton can clinch the title, with 71-laps spread across the high-speed 4.3km circuit.
What makes Mexico unique amongst the rest of the calendar, is that the circuit is at the highest altitude of anywhere in the world, being 2,200m above sea level.
Its vast altitude is known to have an impact on the hybrid power-units, with the thinner air affecting the power output from the combustion engine and reducing brake cooling quite significantly.
All this results in a circuit which, to an extent nullifies the differences between the power-units, despite the fact Mercedes AMG have cruised to victory in the past two years.
A crucial fast lap at the death saw Vettel claim pole position, just ahead of Max Verstappen in the Red Bull, who will join him on the front-row.
Hamilton’s Q3 efforts were scrappy to the say the least, with the championship leader only managing a time to put him third fastest overall – but ahead of his teammate Valtteri Bottas.
There was some controversy during the final phase of qualifying, where Verstappen had been investigated by the stewards for having impeded Bottas, while the Finn was on a fast lap. The Dutchman has since been cleared of any wrongdoing.
A bemused Daniel Ricciardo will only line up seventh, having struggled to extract much grip from his tyres. Ahead of him is Esteban Ocon, who will start an impressive sixth.
Home favourite Sergio Perez meanwhile is due to line up tenth on the grid.
Toro Rosso’s lineup has once again been altered, with Daniil Kvyat dropped for the remainder of the season and Pierre Gasly having return to partner Brendon Hartley.
Hartley will start from thirteenth on the grid, whilst Frenchman Gasly is due to start from the rear of the grid having failed to set a time in qualifying.
The script couldn’t be better than with Vettel on pole and Hamilton in third. Can the German keep the flame flickering?
The fate of the title then, is set to be determined within the next 71-laps, so tune in from 6am AEDT for The Roar’s live blog coverage of the Mexican Grand Prix.
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