Another back to back for the Paddock; the run for the championship moves from Austin to Mexico City, where Lewis Hamilton conquered his 4th world title last year. Will the colorful Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez host the championship party once again?

Pirelli, the italian tyres manufacturer, will bring the pink Hypersoft to the party for the last time this year, along with the purple UltraSoft and the red SuperSoft. Compared to last year, then, the softest tyre selected is two steps softer than last year's (the UltraSoft).

The slippery and smooth track surface will reduce tyre wear and degradation; the pit lane is one of the longest on the circuit, but the strategists suggest this will be another one stop race, as it was last year: Max Verstappen won the GP with a one pit stop strategy, but the Safety Car led some of his competitors to go for a two pit stops. 

It’s the highest altitude circuit of the year: this means that the cars generate less downforce in the thin air and have to rely more on mechanical grip from the tyres.

“The nomination we’re bringing to Mexico is effectively the same nomination that we would take to a street circuit, so we expect the teams to keep a close eye on wear and degradation in order to manage their pace so that a one-stopper is possible, given that the total length of the pit lane means that significant time is lost." Said Mario Isola, Pirelli's Head of Car Racing. "The weather will be another important factor: in the past we have seen a variety of conditions in Mexico at this time of year. It’s a track that has traditionally produced a few incidents with a safety car probability of more than 60%, so keeping some flexibility in the strategy will be paramount”.