The Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, nestled high in the Mexican capital, is traditionally a unique challenge for Formula 1 teams.
At 2,285 meters above sea level, it's the highest point on the calendar, with implications that go beyond the layout of the track itself. The high elevation means there’s approximately 25% less oxygen in the air compared to sea-level circuits.
This reduced air density has a ripple effect on engine power, downforce, drag, and cooling efficiency, necessitating specific adjustments to the cars and specific strategies.
It’s therefore a weekend where setup needs to be spot on, drivers need to be adaptable, and the entire team needs to be vigilant about the inner workings of their power units.
Williams’ Carlos Sainz, who set an impressive seventh fastest time in qualifying, was the fastest driver through Mexico City’s speed trap located at the end of the circuit’s long back straight. An unsurprising result given the FW47’s typically strong maximum velocity.
Poleman Lando Norris closed out the top ten with a top speed of 349.8 km/h that reflected once again the relatively draggy aero profile of McLaren’s MCL39.
Top speeds in qualifying are more useful to determine each car’s drag levels than for predicting race performance. Why? Because in Mexico, the slipstream is a massively powerful tool in the race – and Sunday will be no exception.
However, downforce levels will also heavily impact thermal control of the tyres and degradation, an area where Red Bull has been losing out significantly to McLaren this weekend – and even to Ferrari, which confers a theoretical edge to Norris for Sunday’s event.
Over at Pirelli, Mario Isola notes that no drivers have saved two sets of mediums for race day, which implies that a one-stop race should be the norm.
“The Medium (C4) has proved to be the most versatile compound this weekend and starting on it opens up a couple of options at least,” commented the Italian.
“If drivers can extend their first stint to a window between laps 42 and 48, they could fit Softs to go to the flag. On the other hand, if the C4 performance drop is too high, a switch to the Hard compound between laps 26 and 32 is possible.
Read also: Marko laughs off McLaren’s Red Bull ‘sacrifice’ theory“Starting on the Soft could give an initial advantage in terms of grip, but the heavy fuel load would require the driver to manage their race pace.
“Finally, in theory, one can also look at a two-stop strategy, running Soft-Medium-Soft, which produces a similar overall race time to the one-stop.
“However, the disadvantage of losing places after the pit stops, and the difficulty in overtaking at this track, means this is really only viable on paper.”
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