Formula 1: McLaren driver facing elimination in Mexico City

Five races remain on the record-breaking 24-race 2024 Formula 1 schedule, including this Sunday afternoon's Mexico City Grand Prix at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

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

Race winners score 25 points, and one point is rewarded to the driver who runs the race's fastest lap, provided he finishes inside the top 10. Two sprint races also remain on the calendar, and sprint race winners score eight points.

After the Mexico City Grand Prix, there will be just 120 points left on offer in 2024. There are sprint races scheduled to take place in Brazil and Qatar, so there are 34 points on offer during both those race weekends. There are 26 on offer in Las Vegas and in the Abu Dhabi season finale.

As a result, McLaren's Oscar Piastri is facing elimination in Mexico City.

Piastri sits in fourth place in the driver standings and is 107 points behind Red Bull's Max Verstappen. The 23-year-old Australian must be within 120 points of Verstappen after the Mexico City Grand Prix to remain championship eligible heading into the Sao Paulo Grand Prix at Interlagos Circuit the following weekend.

The reason he can afford to be 120 points behind and doesn't necessarily need to be within 119 points is because Piastri can still own the tiebreaker over the 27-year-old Dutchman if he wins the season's final five races.

A five-race winning streak would put Piastri and Verstappen level with seven wins apiece. They also both have four runner-up finishes and a single third place finish. Piastri would own the tiebreaker due to his five fourth place finishes; Verstappen has one.

Of course, this assumes Verstappen doesn't finish a single race on the podium; otherwise, he would reclaim that tiebreaker, since five wins in five races for Piastri would also mean that he cannot add to his runner-up or third place finish totals.

At FanDuel Sportsbook, Piastri is listed as the fourth favorite to win the world championship at +14000. Verstappen is the favorite at -550.

Full odds available here. Odds and availability subject to change.

The Mexico City Grand Prix is set to be shown live on ABC from Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez starting at 3:55 p.m. ET on Sunday, October 27. Begin a free trial of FuboTV now and don't miss any of the action!