Formula 1: 2021 Mexico qualifying – Full starting lineup, odds

With Formula 1 back in Mexico for the first time since 2019, who are the favorites to win after Saturday’s qualifying session?

Among the many races to be axed from the 2020 Formula 1 schedule due to COVID-19-related restrictions was the Mexican Grand Prix.

Fortunately for Mexican Grand Prix, this race made its way back onto the schedule for 2021, something that can’t be said for all of the races which were canceled last year.

Where is the Mexican Grand Prix?

The Mexican Grand Prix is a 71-lap race around the 17-turn, 2.674-mile (4.303-kilometer) Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez road course in Mexico City, Mexico. Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton won the most recent race there in 2019.

Mexico broadcast information

The Mexican Grand Prix is set to be broadcast live on ESPN from Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez beginning at 2:00 p.m. ET tomorrow afternoon. Start your free trial of FuboTV today!

Who is on pole in Mexico?

Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas took the pole position for Sunday’s race by recording the top lap speed in the third and final round of qualifying in this afternoon’s qualifying session.

Bottas took the pole position with a lap time of 75.875 seconds (126.872 miles per hour). He is set to start alongside teammate Lewis Hamilton on the front row in second place after Hamilton recorded a top lap time that was just 0.145 seconds (0.242 miles per hour) slower at 76.020 seconds (126.630 miles per hour).

It was a somewhat shocking outcome, given that Red Bull entered the weekend as the heavy favorites to take pole position and potentially secure their first front row lockout since the 2018 Mexican Grand Prix. Instead, it was Mercedes taking their first front row lockout through 18 races in 2021.

Red Bull teammates Max Verstappen, the world championship leader, and Sergio Perez qualified in third and fourth place, respectively.

Five drivers are set to take grid penalties, with four of them set to start at the back of the grid as a result of the fact that they took new power units.

Those four drivers, AlphaTauri rookie Yuki Tsunoda, McLaren’s Lando Norris, Alpine’s Esteban Ocon and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll, qualified in ninth, 10th, 15th and 20th place, respectively. Due to the fact that he took a new gearbox, Williams’ George Russell is est to take a five-place grid penalty after qualifying in 13th.

Here is the full starting lineup for the 2021 Mexican Grand Prix at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

Starting Lineup
1st – Valtteri Bottas
2nd – Lewis Hamilton
3rd – Max Verstappen
4th – Sergio Perez
5th – Pierre Gasly
6th – Carlos Sainz Jr.
7th – Daniel Ricciardo
8th – Charles Leclerc
9th – Sebastian Vettel
10th – Kimi Raikkonen
11th – Antonio Giovinazzi
12th – Fernando Alonso
13th – Nicholas Latifi
14th – Mick Schumacher
15th – Nikita Mazepin
16th – George Russell
17th – Yuki Tsunoda
18th – Lando Norris
19th – Esteban Ocon
20th – Lance Stroll

Mexico betting odds

Take a look at the betting odds for the top contenders in Sunday afternoon’s race, courtesy of WynnBET.

• Max Verstappen: +135
• Lewis Hamilton: +140
• Valtteri Bottas: +450
• Sergio Perez: +1500
• Pierre Gasly: +4000
• Charles Leclerc: +4000
• Daniel Ricciardo: +5000
• Carlos Sainz Jr.: +5000

Mexico betting prediction

Verstappen entered the weekend as the heavy favorite to win the race, and he solidified that status with strong showings in practice. However, Red Bull did not have a great qualifying session, and now he and Hamilton are nearly co-favorites.

Bottas is still listed a bit behind both of them, despite having taken the pole position, and pole position doesn’t always translate to a win in the Mexican Grand Prix. In fact, the polesitter hasn’t finished on the podium in any of Formula 1’s the last three visits to Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

Make your pick now on WynnBET.

So be wary of picking Bottas, whose odds of +450 may seem appealing for a polesitter — and not just for this reason.

There is little doubt that, if Mercedes are running 1-2 with Bottas in front, the team will instruct him to let Hamilton pass for the sake of the world championship battle with Verstappen. So Hamilton being listed at +140 with his teammate at +450 still makes complete sense.

With that being said, there is no guarantee that Hamilton will hang on to second, so Bottas could still very well pull if off.

As for Verstappen, odds of +135 at a track where he has won twice in his last three attempts may be hard to pass up, even with him set to start in third place. Both of his wins there did come from the front row, but neither one came from the pole position.

Perez may be the feel-good option of the weekend at +1500 with this being his home race, but be wary of potential team orders here as well if he finds himself in the lead late. However, with him starting in fourth place, he may not even be in a position where team orders would be warranted.

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