Formula 1: Ferrari driver facing elimination in Mexico City

There are five races remaining on the 2024 Formula 1 schedule, starting with race number 20 of a record-breaking 24 this weekend at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

Including the 26 points on offer in this 71-lap Mexico City Grand Prix at the 17-turn, 2.674-mile (4.303-kilometer) road course in Mexico City, Mexico, there are 146 points still available for each driver throughout the rest of the season.

Race wins pay 25 points each, and there is an additional point on offer for the fastest lap. There are also two sprint races still on the schedule in Brazil and Qatar, and race wins in those shortened events are worth eight points each.

This means that after the Mexico City Grand Prix, there will be just 120 points left on offer this season: 34 in Brazil, 26 in Las Vegas, 34 in Qatar, and 26 in Abu Dhabi.

As a result, Ferrari's Carlos Sainz Jr. is facing elimination in Mexico City.

Sainz sits in fifth place in the driver standings and is 139 points behind Red Bull's Max Verstappen. Sainz must remain with 119 points of Verstappen after the Mexico City Grand Prix to remain championship eligible heading into the Sao Paulo Grand Prix at Interlagos Circuit next weekend.

Verstappen has won seven races this season while Sainz, who was the only driver other than Verstappen to win any of the 23 races from the start of May 2023 to the end of April 2024, has only won one. So there is no way for the 30-year-old Spaniard to beat the 27-year-old Dutchman on a tiebreaker.

Sainz can only possibly outscore Verstappen by at least 20 points by winning in Mexico, and even then, Verstappen would need to finish outside of the top seven (top six if Sainz wins and takes the fastest lap) for Sainz to remain in championship contention.

At FanDuel Sportsbook, Sainz is listed as the fifth favorite to win the world championship at +50000. Verstappen is the favorite at -550.

Full odds can be accessed here. Odds and availability are always subject to change.

ABC is set to provide live coverage of the Mexico City Grand Prix from Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez starting at 3:55 p.m. ET this Sunday, October 27. Start a free trial of FuboTV today and don't miss any of the action!