Sergio Pérez returns to the Mexican GP with six career wins and a Cadillac still chasing its first points. Encouraging signs in Austin add intrigue to his homecoming.

Lewis Hamilton finished just over a second from the Austin podium. With Ferrari showing stronger pace, his focus turns to the setup problem he wants to solve before Mexico.

Red Bull has erased McLaren’s seven-point lead, leaving both teams on 355 ahead of Mexico. Verstappen’s podium helped, but Hadjar’s contribution shows why all four drivers matter in the fight for third.

Big wings don’t guarantee big grip in Mexico. Thin air changes the balance between straight-line speed, cornering performance and cooling, giving teams a different challenge ahead of the Mexican GP.

Teams largely avoided Mexico’s hard tire last year. Pirelli’s revised selection brings C3 into the allocation, giving teams another option to assess for race strategy.