Championship leader Nico Rosberg has admitted he will be fulfilling a "childhood dream" if he secures the Formula One title here in Mexico.
Rosberg, who leads Lewis Hamilton in the title by 26 points with just three races remaining, will clinch his maiden championship if he wins on Sunday, and his Mercedes team-mate finishes 10th or lower.
It would appear an unlikely scenario but, given Hamilton's reliability troubles this year, it is not wholly inconceivable that Rosberg could be crowned the sport's 33rd world champion on Sunday night.
"It is a childhood dream, but that is where it ends for me," said Rosberg, whose mantra this season has been to take one race at a time. "The only thing this weekend is winning the Mexican Grand Prix.
"It has been a great season so far, which has put me in this position, and it is exciting to be in this championship battle with Lewis.
"But for me, my way of achieving the best-possible performance, is focusing on things that are in my control and that is here in Mexico trying to win this race."
Rosberg sauntered to a 43-point lead in the early phase of the championship, after he cruised to victory in the first four rounds while Hamilton suffered a host of reliability issues.
By the summer break however, Hamilton appeared on course to clinch his fourth title after winning six races from seven, and moving 19 points clear of his title rival.
But as Formula One's longest season reaches its climax, Rosberg, who recorded two crushing victories over Hamilton in Singapore and Japan, is now the firm favourite to emulate his father Keke, winner of the 1982 title.
Following Hamilton's reliability woes, some may accuse Rosberg of being a lucky champion if he clinches the 2016 title.
And Bernie Ecclestone, the sport's chief executive who turns 86 on Friday, recently suggested that a Rosberg title triumph could be bad for business given Hamilton's global appeal.
"You are talking about what other people think and their opinions," Rosberg, 31, said in response on Thursday. "I am here to win races and not please everybody out there.
"There are always going to be people who have opinions going against me. That is the nature of the business. It is always going to be like that. I like to focus on the people that support me."
Rosberg started from pole position here last year before comfortably beating Hamilton, who had just won the championship in America, to the chequered flag. It spearheaded a run of seven successive victories for the German.
"I have great memories from here last year," Rosberg added. "Winning here was awesome, but we have seen this year that results from last year don't really make a difference to this year other than a positive memory. We are all starting from zero."
Source: PA
