Downbeat Hamilton doubts title triumph in Mexico

If things go his way, Lewis Hamilton can clinch his sixth drivers' world title triumph in the rarefied atmosphere of the Mexican Grand Prix this weekend.

It would be a monumental achievement, nudging him ahead of five-time champion Juan Fangio and making him the second most successful driver in Formula One history behind only Michael Schumacher whose seven titles between 1994 and 2004 remain the pinnacle.

The 34-year-old Englishman, though, holds out little hope of either winning the race at a venue ill-suited to the strengths of his Mercedes car or sealing the title.

"Mexico is generally our worst race of the year because of the way our car is set up and it's going to be a tough one for us," said Hamilton.

History shows that this is one of his least favoured tracks -- he has won just once, in 2016, in four races although he did enough in 2017 and 2018 to secure the world titles in Mexico.

Hamilton, who leads the championship by 64 points with four races, including Mexico still to come, knows he can take a cautious approach without scrapping for victory on Sunday.

He will secure the title by out-scoring his Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas, who lies second, by at least 14 points. But he accepts that the Finn will be a very competitive rival and unlikely to wave him through to the chequered flag.

Both the in-form Ferrari team and Red Bull, for whom Max Verstappen will hope to complete a hat-trick of Mexican victories after his wins in 2017 and 2018, have high hopes of success at a track where Mercedes have admitted they expect to struggle.

"The last few have been pretty shocking even though we've won the title there," said Hamilton.

"I'm hoping for a better weekend but I think it's going to be very hard to beat the Ferraris on those long straights.

"We have no hope of passing them, that's for sure, and if you look at the others, McLaren are picking up serious speed and so are the Red Bulls. It will be a tricky one for us."
"I don't anticipate it will be Mexico," he said. "I think we will be battling for a good few races."
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"We will be aiming for our sixth consecutive pole, before looking to convert that into victory."
"On the long straight, I think we see the fastest top speeds of the season, which makes it difficult to manage the corners."
"The last couple of years, we have improved in Mexico but Red Bull are the team to beat."
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"We all know the lifestyle that he can lead, or that I can take, and that Formula One drivers take 200 planes a year. You can't then say 'don't eat meat'."