Mexican GP: Expect familiar story despite new surroundings

Three weeks remain on a Formula One season that has been nothing if not predictable. Lewis Hamilton has already been crowned champion, Mercedes wrapped up the Constructors title even before that and three men invariably finish races on the podium.

For the fourth Grand Prix in a row, Nico Rosberg will start on pole position. In all three of the previous battles, the German has seen his teammate go on to take the victory. In Mexico, Ladbrokes rate Hamilton as 11/10 favourite to repeat the trick.

In the United States, Hamilton eased Rosberg off the road at the first corner and never looked back. In Mexico there promises to be a stronger resistance to such tactics.

Whoever wins the battle to take the first corner in front, there can be little doubt that the warring teammates will be in the mix at the chequered flag.

There have only been five races all season in which Hamilton and Rosberg haven’t stood on the podium at the post-race festivities and, if Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel is thrown into the mix, that monotony grows even larger.

Aside from that trio there have been just nine other instances of a different driver finishing in the top three, a stat that reflects the dominance of the main players this season.

To that end all three of them are odds-on with Ladbrokes to land yet another podium place, with Hamilton favoured at 1/6 and Vettel the outsider of the trio at 4/7.

In the dual forecast market, where you can pick the first two home in any order, Hamilton and Rosberg claiming a tenth Mercedes one-two of the season is equally likely at 8/13, although the 5/1 about Hamilton-Vettel appeals, as does the 11/2 on a German pairing at in the first two spots.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.

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