Mexican Sergio ‘Checo’ Pérez of Red Bull and Monegasque Charles Leclerc of Ferrari will be in the spotlight on Sunday at the Formula One Mexican Grand Prix, where they will fight for second place in the championship. pilots that the European possesses.
Leclerc, 25, has 267 points, two more than Pérez, third, who will seek to become the first Mexican to win at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodríguez, at 2,250 meters above sea level. The duel is the most precious thing that remains to define the 2022 season, after the Dutchman Max Verstappen was proclaimed two-time world champion in Japan on October 9 and last week he won the constructors’ title for Red Bull, along with Pérez. .
Pérez will bet on winning to pocket the 25 points, seven units more than the second in the race, but with other combinations he can also reach the sub-leadership of the campaign that will continue after Mexico with the Sao Paulo and Abu Dhabi Grand Prix . “I have the support of Red Bull to win the race. Being the first in Mexico is a dream that I have had since I was a child and I have never been runner-up in the world,” said the Mexican, who finished third last year at the Hermanos Rodríguez Autodrome.
Leclerc’s best position in Mexico has been a fourth place in 2019; last year he was fifth. Although he is already a champion, Verstappen will start on Sunday for his fourth victory in Mexico to establish himself as the most successful Grand Prix winner. If he achieves it, he will set a record of 14 wins in a season.
In Mexico, the Dutchman won first place in the 2017, 2018 and last season editions. “We have already secured the constructors’ and drivers’ championship, but we are still here to win. We will continue to push and do what is necessary to stay competitive for the remainder of the campaign,” said the 25-year-old Verstappen.
The Spaniards Carlos Sainz, fifth with Ferrari, and Fernando Alonso, ninth with Alpine, remain in search of climbing positions to close their season in the best way. Sainz, with 202 points, intends to drop the British George Russell, from Mercedes, who has 218 units, from the fourth rank. The Ferrari driver has had two retirements in his last races.
Alonso, the only Spanish world champion in Formula 1, is ninth and hopes to stay or move up to sign his best result with Alpine, a team from which he will leave next year to go to Aston Martin. After the practices on Friday, the Grand Prix will have a final practice and qualifying session this Saturday, to make way for the race on Sunday.
EFE
