F1 Today | Water to be thrown on booing fire and more DSQ reaction

Booing would always be a topic of discussion with Formula 1 landing in Mexico. The booing when Max Verstappen lifted the trophy during last week's United States Grand Prix only added fuel to the fire. During media day at the Mexican Grand Prix, we can expect more water to be thrown on the fire to cool the tensions ahead of the weekend. In F1 Today, we foreshadow the most important stories of the day.

Water on the fire

We've already had a message about respect from the organisers of the Mexican Grand Prix and Sergio Perez telling the Mexican fans to cheer for the whole of Red Bull rather than just himself. It will naturally be a trending topic of discussion in Mexico, and it will give the drivers another chance to cool the tensions. Whether that gets listened to or not is simply another question.

The organisers said this: "Be an example that F1 can live with a lot of passion but also respect and that it can go very well together. Mexico should be a safe country, where every fan from all over the world is welcomed with open arms".

In his race weekend preview, Perez made sure he asked the Mexican fans to support everyone at Red Bull. "We have a few things to sort out with the car, and we should come back stronger. I want Mexico to come out to support the whole Oracle Red Bull Racing Team, not just me," Perez said.

Perez's future

GPblog learned from Red Bull themselves that rumours surrounding Perez's retirement were a "hoax". But still, his future at Red Bull and Formula 1 itself remains in doubt. Red Bull is said to have set an ultimatum. Perez must finish second in the world championship to keep his spot. In that respect, Perez was helped by Lewis Hamilton's disqualification in the United States and DNF in Qatar, otherwise, the gap would have been even smaller now. So the stakes are high for Perez in the last four races.

The gap currently stands at 39 points, so you'd think Lewis Hamilton is relying on a couple of race wins and/or a Perez DNF because there are only four Grands Prix and a sprint remaining. It seems that Perez will likely have enough to hold second place in the World Championship. But with so much talent waiting in the wings at Red Bull, combined with their cutthroat history, there's doubt. Perez has a contract to race at Red Bull next year, and even if that is fulfilled at the start of the season, could this be his last home Grand Prix with Red Bull in Mexico?

Disqualification fall out

The news about Hamilton and Charles Leclerc's disqualification at last week's United States Grand Prix broke around four hours after the chequered flag. By that point, all of the interviews and reaction was finished. We heard some small lines from Toto Wolff, and Hamilton himself noted it but stressed the importance of progress.

With the Mexican Grand Prix being part of the same triple header, the thought is still recent enough. We can expect more reactions from Mercedes and Ferrari about the DSQ.

Mercedes and Aston Martin upgrades

Mercedes and Aston Martin both rolled out new upgrades last time out. Hamilton certainly got on well with the new upgrades, while there were some question marks over how George Russell found them. But even more questions sit at Aston Martin. Fernando Alonso even returned to the old spec during the Grand Prix. In the end they had a good weekend, but how much performance did those upgrades give them? Perhaps we'll get some answers today.

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