Championship leader Max Verstappen has shrugged off claims that he is feeling the pressure of leading the drivers’ championship as the Dutchman seeks his ninth win of the season at this weekend's Mexico City Grand Prix.

Mexico will mark the start of a busy November for Formula 1, with the sport heading to Brazil for the championship’s only visit to South America a week after the chequered flag falls in Mexico before the series packs up and heads to Qatar for the first time to complete the final treble header of the season.

Nevertheless, Verstappen is relishing the challenge ahead of him, as he hopes to secure another three race wins for Red Bull in their push to win the constructors title.

“I’m looking forward to it and I’m excited to get going, although I know the triple-header is going to be busy! It’s incredibly important for myself and the team to try and nail the next three races now that we are fighting for the championship. There will be a lot of travelling time and time differences, but I’m looking forward to being back on track in Mexico and Brazil, and I’m looking forward to the challenge of racing on the new track in Qatar.”

Despite championship rival Lewis Hamilton hinting in yesterday's pre-weekend press conference that the 24-year old Dutchman was feeling extra pressure in his first-ever title battle in Formula 1, Verstappen declared that the pressure was off going into the final five races of the season.

“I like what I’m doing, you know? So that takes the pressure off. It’s not the first time I’ve been in a championship fight, yes [it’s the] first time in F1 but not in my life, so that doesn’t really change because you need to win, and that’s what I’ve been doing in the past as well so I need to strive to do the same here.

“Like I‘ve said already [in] previous races: when the car is capable of winning I’ll win; if the car is not capable of winning I won’t win.”

The Autodromo Hermanos Rodriquez has been a happy hunting ground for Verstappen and Red Bull, with the team tasting victory at the power dominated circuit in 2017 and 2018.

But in spite of Red Bull being heavy favourites to win in Mexico, Verstappen is taking no chances ahead of tomorrow’s first Practice session.

“I’ve said before, it’s all about details. You can look good on paper, but you still have to nail your set-up and all the combinations around it. It might look good for us, but we have to again be on it From FP1 onwards and make sure we are in the right direction with the car.”