F1: six things you need to know about the Mexican GP

With both the driver and constructors championships wrapped up in Austin and Sochi, the Formula One circus heads to Mexico City for the first of what might be considered three dead rubbers.

But if you think everyone will just take it easy now, you’re wrong. Nico Rosberg was left kicking himself in the States after a late mistake gifted the race and the title to teammate Lewis Hamilton, and the nature of the error has made the German even more determined to bag a win over the border.

“The championship fight is over for me this year but I have three races left to make a big push, end this tough season on a high and make up for the disappointment of the past few races,” said Nico.

Rosberg added that the grid was “starting from zero” due to the lack of historic track data at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. “I've driven the circuit in the simulator to be as prepared as I can be, so let's see what we can do."

With the teams in the dark, enlighten yourself with the following six items...

After finishing third and fifth in Sochi and Austin in the last two races, Force India’s Sergio Perez enters his native race in the form of his life.

“Having the opportunity of driving in my home Grand Prix is something I never thought would happen,” said the driver, who has been practicing on the simulator ahead of the first session. “It will be one of the highlights of my career and I have no doubt that this race will become a modern classic of Formula One.

“Mexico has a lot of history in motorsport. The fans know the sport, they have a lot of enthusiasm and have been waiting a long time for Formula One to come back. I think everyone will have a great time.”

At an altitude of 2200m, the track in Mexico City is by far the highest on the calendar, with Brazil’s Interlagos the next highest at about 800m. The thinner air will reduce aerodynamic drag but will also compromise power as the engines struggle to breathe, so expect top speeds in the region of 220mph.

Last week we revisited Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso’s hilariously awkward attempt at thespianism in McLaren’s Back to the Racetrack ad, which aired in January before the 2015 season kicked off.

The video has remained unparalleled in its cringeworthiness ever since. But no longer.

Ferrari trio Sebastian Vettel, Kimi Raikkonen and reserve driver Esteban Gutierrez have teamed up to make a five-lesson introduction to Mexican culture ahead of this weekend’s grand prix. The results are mixed. Very mixed.

While Kimi delivers his lines with a certain deadpan irony, Seb’s performance rather lacks commitment. This might be the exact opposite of his on-track displays, however you may never hear the word ‘November’ again without wincing.

On this evidence, the next actor to play James Bond won’t be coming from Maranello.

The Aussie is after an explanation of Nico Rosberg’s overtake on lap 8 in the US GP, after the Merc appeared to close the gap on his Red Bull during Virtual Safety Car conditions, something which shouldn’t happen under the current rules.

“You should keep the gap, and Rosberg wasn't right up our a***, he was a few seconds behind," explained the 25-year-old. "So then when I saw him already close on us under virtual safety car, I was thinking, 'surely he'll back off again'.

"Then he passed me, and then it was green flag apparently. Normally we get a message, I thought, saying 'VSC ending' and a 10-second warning. But there was no warning at all.”

Ricciardo went on to take the lead a few laps later, but eventually finished down in tenth after the Texas track dried out. He is currently eighth in the standings, two points behind teammate Daniil Kvyat.

Meanwhile Lewis Hamilton has been celebrating his third world championship in quite some style, taking to a wrestling ring in a short-lived fight in Mexico.

The entirely unrehearsed battle saw Hamilton kick his opponent in what we’ll politely refer to as the ‘honey badger zone’, before bouncing him off the ropes and downing him with a sideways body slam.

"I never saw myself in the wrestling ring but after taking on Mistico last night I think I've found a new talent,” proclaimed Lewis afterwards. “I always enjoy getting an insight into the culture of race countries and last night was a brilliant experience."

The Brit has form in this, um, area, having also targeted Nico Rosberg in a similar fashion whilst juggling water bottles in the Mercedes garage.

That’s below the belt, Lewis.

Last week’s runner-up has blamed his costly mistake in the US Grand Prix on a “big” gust of wind, which caused him to lose downforce and run wide in the closing stages of the race.

Journalists present at the media engagement apparently laughed at the suggestion before a straight-faced Nico said: "I'm serious!”

“Everybody has it, so you can't really use it as an excuse,” he continued. “It is still a mistake but I understand my mistake now, which is important... It is a very unusual scenario that happened just once in all of those laps.”

Lewis Hamilton, of course, breezed past and eventually took the chequered flag, delivering a fatal blow in the title race. Much to Rosberg’s dis-gust.

Ever the optimist, Fernando Alonso believes McLaren are capable of finding two and a half seconds per lap during the off-season, and that the Woking team can be competitive in 2016.

“We need to work very hard with a high discipline all winter and be united,” said the Spaniard. “If we improve two and a half seconds we will win."

He added that “the steps that we can do are much bigger than any other team.” Which is another way of saying: ‘We have more room for improvement than everyone else.’

In any case, the signs are promising for Honda. An engine upgrade on Alonso’s car in Austin had the McLaren running as high as fifth at one point, with Fernando claiming that in he was quicker than Lewis Hamilton in nine of the first 20 laps.

“And this didn’t happen for the past two years and a half!” he admitted.