Max Verstappen has identified Ferrari as his main threat to securing a third straight Mexican Grand Prix victory this weekend.
The Dutchman has been dominant at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in recent years, with Red Bull capitalising on the high altitude in Mexico City nullifying the engine advantage of their rivals.
This year with Honda, you would think Verstappen’s chances are even better, but it is the surge of the Scuderia since the summer break that has the 22-year-old worried.
“I’m looking forward to going back to Mexico as the last two years have been pretty special there with the two wins,” Verstappen began his preview.
“I really enjoy driving there as well as the track is very different as it’s at high altitude which makes it low grip.
“The corners are also very technical so you have to work hard to make sure you get the best out of it but it’s a good track for us normally.
“I expect it to be a little bit more difficult this year because of the Ferrari pace but I think we can still have a very good race.”
Meanwhile, at Ferrari, Sebastian Vettel’s confidence is also quite high that the Italian team will have what it takes to score their first win in Mexico since 1990.
“Over the past couple of years, we have been on an upward trend in Mexico, although Red Bull has been the team to beat,” the German commented.
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“Obviously racing at altitude has an impact on how the car feels.
“We are racing with maximum downforce level in terms of car setup, but, since we are racing so high above sea level, the air is very thin and the cars actually produce very little downforce.
“On the long straight, I think we see the fastest top speeds of the season, which makes it difficult to manage the corners because we’ve got so little downforce physically on the car.
“The car is moving around a lot and it’s difficult to get the tyres to work, in fact, it’s hard to get the whole car to work and to get the right feel from it.
“It’s a relatively short lap but not an easy one, but I think the gap between us and Red Bull is getting smaller, so let’s see how we get on this year.
Having seen two race wins slip through Ferrari’s fingers in Suzuka and Sochi though, team boss Mattia Binotto is motivated to put that right.
“We will be aiming for our sixth consecutive pole, before looking to convert that into a victory,” he said.
“We arrive in Mexico determined to win.”