The Latest Breaking News from Alfa Romeo

The Sauber-run team is embroiled in a battle for eighth in the constructors' championship after finding it hard to stay on par with its midfield rivals in 2023's development race.

The team, which will revert to its Sauber name from next year ahead of it becoming Audi in 2026, has had a challenging campaign with its C43 car not having delivered the step forward hoped for.

Red Bull's Max Verstappen will start the race from pole position, with Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc joining him on the front row.

The reigning world champion was victorious in the Brazilian GP sprint race on Saturday, beating polesitter Lando Norris into Turn 1 before managing from the front to pick up his fourth sprint race triumph of the season. 

Verstappen grabbed a much stronger launch off the line when the lights went out, and took advantage of a passive Norris to thread his Red Bull down the inside.

Despite a first sector that was over two-tenths slower than the best efforts from the Red Bulls, Norris found time over the rest of the lap to clinch pole position for Saturday's shortened race - albeit with some evident bemusement after feeling that his lap was not particularly special.

Every season, Mexico City’s high altitude and the unique characteristics of the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez circuit present F1 teams with a different set of challenges.

The German manufacturer announced last year that it had agreed to become a "strategic partner" of the Sauber outfit for its official entry as a manufacturer squad in 2026, while Sauber earlier this year confirmed an undisclosed stake had been bought by Audi.

All 20 drivers wasted no time getting out as the condensed sprint race format only leaves teams a single hour practice to nail down their set-ups for the entire weekend.