Lewis Hamilton will be hoping his Mercedes team have overcome their occasional altitude sickness this weekend as he bids to beat Red Bull’s Max Verstappen at the Mexican Grand Prix.
The defending seven-time world champion, who is bidding to overhaul the Dutchman’s 12-point advantage in the drivers’ championship, knows he needs to respond after losing to his rival in Texas last month.
With five races to go, both men will be seeking a third win in five Mexican outings since 2016 in the rarefied atmosphere at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, which is 2,285 metres (7,500 feet) above sea level and frequently the scene of high drama.
The thin air usually plays a part by diminishing the performance of teams’ power-units, with the turbo-chargers required to spin faster to make up for lost performance. In turn, this can create other problems and often deliver surprise results.