F1 will provide the biggest motorsport story of the weekend as Kimi Antonelli gets his first opportunity to become world champion in Mexico – but it is far from the only major title battle taking place.
Antonelli needs only ninth place at the Mexico City Grand Prix to guarantee the F1 crown, but thousands of miles away, MotoGP and NASCAR are also preparing for potentially decisive weekends.
Marc Marquez takes a slender championship lead into MotoGP’s Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang, while Kyle Larson could wrap up the NASCAR Cup Series title at Martinsville.
MotoGP title fight reaches boiling point in Malaysia
Just 10 points separate Marquez and Jorge Martin as MotoGP heads to Sepang for the 19th round of the season, with Marco Bezzecchi still in contention 50 points behind the championship leader.
Martin’s fitness has become one of the biggest stories of the weekend after the Aprilia rider fractured his right wrist during last Saturday’s Sprint at Phillip Island. He has been cleared to take part in tomorrow’s practice but will undergo another medical assessment immediately afterwards before a decision is made on whether he can race.
The Spaniard has admitted he would have his arm in a cast if he was not fighting for the championship, as the season enters its final four rounds.
Marquez therefore has an opportunity to extend his advantage, although Sepang has not traditionally been among his strongest circuits. With points available in both Saturday’s Sprint and Sunday’s Grand Prix, another swing in the championship is possible before MotoGP leaves Malaysia.
NASCAR’s title fight could go a step further at Martinsville, where Larson arrives for Sunday’s Xfinity 500 with a commanding championship lead after winning at Talladega.
The Hendrick Motorsports driver can clinch his third Cup Series championship before the season finale, but must negotiate 500 laps around one of NASCAR’s most unpredictable short tracks. Martinsville is the penultimate Cup race of the season and its tight half-mile layout has a habit of producing contact, late cautions and dramatic finishes.
Mexico remains the weekend’s headline act
For all the action elsewhere, the biggest prize could still be handed out at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. Antonelli arrives 123 points clear of George Russell and 124 ahead of Lewis Hamilton with only 125 remaining. Ninth place or better on Sunday would make the 20-year-old the youngest world champion in F1 history and Italy’s first since Alberto Ascari in 1953.
Sergio Perez will also make his 300th Grand Prix start in front of his home crowd, adding another sub-plot to an already important Mexico City weekend.
F1 may command the headlines, particularly if Antonelli makes history on Sunday, but Mexico is only part of the story.
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