The ongoing row over the legality of Fernando Alonso's car during the latter stages of last weekend's United States Grand Prix is surely further proof of how badly the sport's governing body is doing.

Shortly after the race - and outside the permitted time - Haas protested the cars of Sergio Perez and Alonso claiming that both were allowed to continue their races after being involved in incidents which left them damaged. In the case of the Red Bull this related to damage to a front wing endplate while the Spaniard lost his right-hand mirror.

Haas was particularly irked because on no less than three occasions this year its drivers have been shown the black and orange flag which signifies that a car is showing signs of damage which compromises safety and must pit for repairs.

While the protest of the Red Bull was thrown out, that against the Alpine was upheld and as a result Alonso was demoted from 7th to 15th at a time the French team is battling with McLaren for fourth in the team standings.

Of course, Alonso's penalty followed his collision with Lance Stroll after a wild, reckless move by the Canadian, and consequently, while one understands Haas' argument, there is much sympathy for the Spaniard.

Alpine has now appealed the decision and the case will be heard this weekend.

Failure to address the condition of the cars during the race - made obvious by the decision in the Alpine's case - is the latest in a series of questionable decisions by the FIA over the last year or so, going all way back to that infamous night in Abu Dhabi last December.

With this in mind, one wonders how today's FIA would have dealt with the Mexican Grand Prix 'back in the day'.

Mexican F1 fans were always a wild, enthusiastic bunch, and just like today's fans often the whole family would turn up to watch the Grand Prix. The difference being that back then, this often meant bringing the family dog, it also meant dispensing with niceties such as seats in the stands and instead plonking one's self down by the side of the track.

On one famous occasion, as fans sitting by the edge of the track could clearly be seen to be edging forward, the race was halted and Jackie Stewart went to plead with them to move back, which they did. However, no sooner had the race resumed than they were edging forward again, organisers eventually deciding to let the race continue rather than risk a riot.

While today's fans - minus their dogs - will be restricted to the stands and designated areas, they are no less passionate and enthusiastic, clearly out for a good time.

A unique feature of the circuit is the stadium area, which is exactly how it sounds, for the cars head into a vast area in which there is normally a baseball stadium.

Whenever a car arrives in this section the crowd rises and cheers, and if there happens to be a Mexican at the wheel...

This year the crowd will be given added motivation courtesy of local hero, Sergio Perez, who has scored two poles this season and two wins already, and is heading into the race as third favourite.

The Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez - named after the legendary racing brothers Ricardo and Pedro, the former having perished here in an accident at the 1962 Grand Prix - is the third-shortest circuit on the 2022 calendar, at just 2.674 miles (4.304 km) behind only Zandvoort and Monaco.

However, it has the longest run from pole position to the first braking zone and almost 10 seconds of the straight are taken at full throttle.

Because of the high altitude and the low air density in Mexico City, the air is incredibly thin (meaning there are less molecules around) and transports less energy away from hot systems like the engine and brakes. Therefore, cooling is a big challenge and different bodywork is required to prevent overheating.

The ambient pressure is the lowest of the season by far, with oxygen levels 78% of what they are at sea level. This understandably, has a big impact on different areas of the car, such as engine performance and downforce, and also compromises the drivers.

Because you can run a Monaco wing level but experience Monza levels of downforce, top speeds in Mexico are the highest of the season, where the cars can achieve 210 mph (336 km/h), or more with a tow.

The power unit is one of the most affected systems on the car by the high altitude, with a decent drop in engine power due to the thin air. The turbocharger makes up for some of the power loss, but not all of it and has to work much harder than it would in normal conditions.

With the thin air generating less downforce at lower speeds especially, with this year's ground effect floors, it's going to be interesting to note the impact on downforce compared to last year.

Since the sport's return to Mexico City in 2015, the biggest change has been to the first corner. While the spectacular in-field arena perfectly captures the happy mayhem of the local crowd, today's slow, tight Mickey Mouse dog-leg, is a pale shadow of the original Peraltada curve, one of F1's ultimate hair-on-the-chest fast corners.

The 'original' Peraltada was a huge, high-speed, banked, 180-degree right-hander, helpfully fitted with almost-zero run-off just to test the drivers' mettle. Like F1's other famous banked corner, Zandvoort's Tarzan hairpin, the extreme camber encouraged alternative racing lines, and made the turn the home of the truly brave.

With the bit between his teeth, Nigel Mansell harried Gerhard Berger into the back straight on the 67th of 69 laps in 1990. The Englishman had no right to pull off a pass, but kept his right foot nailed and swooped around the Austrian on the outside. It was a ballsy, sensational, audacious move, and earned Mansell runner-up spot behind team-mate Alain Prost, who had started an unspectacular 13th but moved through the field by virtue of some astute tyre management.

"It was probably one of the most daring overtaking manoeuvres in F1 history," declared Mansell, and few would disagree.

A year later, Ayrton Senna, tried a little too hard to stay within reach of the dominant Williams, tackling Peraltada during free practice faster than he ever had before. Like Mansell, he too hit the bumps, but, on the ragged edge, he couldn't hold on. The car bottomed-out, wobbled and lurched off-line, careering through the gravel before hitting a tyre-wall, which caused it to lazily belly-flop onto its back.

"He was taken to the medical centre, and I could hear him screaming with pain," revealed McLaren boss Ron Dennis at the time. "Then FIA medical delegate Sid Watkins came out with a smile on his face. I said, 'How is he?' and Sid said, 'He's fine. He's not hurt, he's just a little shaken up.' I said I'd heard him scream, and Sid said Ayrton had a big stone stuffed in his ear, where the gravel had gone right up his helmet and into his ear!"

When the race dropped off the calendar at the end of 1992, few expected it to make a comeback - but that was to doubt the tenacity and enthusiasm of the Mexicans. Allied to the success of local countrymen Sergio Perez and Esteban Gutierrez, the race made another unlikely return.

This time, however, the notorious Peraltada didn't make the cut, along with much of the rather run-down circuit, which was extensively modernised, reprofiled and rebuilt by Hermann Tilke.

With a baseball stadium now constructed over the banked corner, knocking down the huge grandstands to resurrect the original configuration made little sense, so race organisers did the opposite, threading the corner through the stadium grounds.

The result meant the old, fast turn was lost forever, but in its wake came a new opportunity, the sport's first-ever in-field stadium complex. Capable of holding more than 40,000 fans, the new series of corners became a massive amphitheatre, full of passionate supporters able to get unbelievably close to the cars and drivers once again.

To cap it all, the podium ceremony also takes place within the arena, meaning that these fans get the perfect culmination to one of the best-loved, most unique and passionate races on the Formula 1 calendar.

Though the titles are both decided there remains much to play for, with Charles Leclerc seeking to hold off Perez for the runner-up spot and George Russell, Carlos Sainz and Lewis Hamilton breathing down their necks.

Mercedes hasn't given up on runner-up in the team standings, whilst Alpine and McLaren resume the fight for fourth, and Alfa Romeo, Aston Martin, Haas and AlphaTauri are all in with a shout at sixth.

Despite the fiesta weekend Mexico always provides, are we alone in getting just a little tired of the whole 'Day of the Dead' thing.

Dia de Muertos or Dia de los Muerto is a holiday traditionally celebrated on November 1 and 2 - though other days may be included depending on the locality. The multi-day holiday involves family and friends gathering to pay respects and to remember friends and family members who have died, the celebrations often taking a humorous tone as celebrants remember funny events and anecdotes about the departed.

Fact is however, that after a couple of years the various 'skeletons' and 'ghosts' walking through the paddock and vying for attention begins to grate, as does - sorry to say - the abundance of Mariachi bands.

That aside, Sunday should be a thrilling race...

According to Betway, the latest odds are... Verstappen 1.57 to win, Leclerc 5.50, Perez 6.00, Hamilton 11.00 and Sainz - 13.00.

Red Bull is 1.30 to win, Ferrari 4.00 and Mercedes 6.50.