Don your sombrero, join that mariachi band and whack that pinata – Formula 1 has headed across the border for one of the most popular events of the season: the Mexican Grand Prix. Motorsport Week previews the event and provides the key statistics ahead of a potentially title-deciding race.
History
The Mexican Grand Prix is four years into its third stint, with all of its events held inside the Magdalena Mixhuca Sports City in Mexico City.
The event was held between 1963 and 1970 before it dropped off the calendar, and was revived in 1986 for a seven-year spell.
Plans resurfaced in the early 2010s for a revival of the event and it was included on the 2014 roster, before eventually being postponed for a year to allow for further work.
Mexico re-joined the calendar in 2015, as a back-to-back with Austin, and has immediately become one of the best attended and most popular events in the paddock.
Circuit
The 4.3km Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez layout can still be traced back to the early-1960s original, albeit with some tweaks.
A lengthy main straight leads into a right-left-right sequence of 90-degree corners, before left-right 90-degree complex, and a slow-speed hairpin.
That opens out into a series of medium-high speed corners, albeit with squarer apexes compared to the sweepers used in the early 1990s.
The fearsome Peraltada corner was bisected for the 2015 re-boot and instead the circuit passes through the Foro Sol stadium, generating a spectacular atmosphere through the weekend.
The circuit’s defining element is now not so much a corner but its altitude – at over 2,000 metres above sea level it means the air is less dense, there’s less downforce, and such teams run a Monaco level of wing but that equates to only a Monza level of downforce.
That also has an impact on the power units. The air is less effective at cooling the brakes and the engine, while the turbo has to spin faster in order to generate pressure.
The next highest venues are Interlagos and the Red Bull Ring – both around 800 metres above sea level, meaning Mexico City is truly an outlier.
“Racing in Mexico is the highlight of the season for me,” says Sergio Perez. “The excitement each time we go back there is the same. When I see the busy grandstands, I feel very proud and the support from the people is fantastic. The energy of the crowd really motivates me and the drivers’ parade is always a very emotional moment.
“The circuit is a big challenge. Because of the altitude, the track is slippery with low grip levels and it’s very easy to make a mistake or lose time. The long straight is usually your best chance for overtaking, but with these cars it’s never easy to pass.”
What happened in 2017?
Lewis Hamilton clinched his fourth World Championship – but did so with a low-key ninth place, following contact on the first lap with title rival Sebastian Vettel.
Pole sitter Vettel had been overhauled by Max Verstappen into the first complex and a brush with Hamilton was all it took to damage his own front wing and puncture the Briton’s tyre.
Both dropped to the back after pitting for repairs; Vettel went on to take fourth while Hamilton – stymied further by diffuser damage – secured ninth, and the title.
Verstappen, meanwhile, dominated the rest of the race to take a well-earned victory, almost 20 seconds clear of Valtteri Bottas, with Kimi Raikkonen third.
Verstappen’s win was his and Red Bull’s first in Mexico, following on from Hamilton’s 2016 triumph and Nico Rosberg’s success upon the event’s return in 2015.
That makes Verstappen and Hamilton as the only drivers on the grid with a Mexican win, and should they triumph this weekend they would join Nigel Mansell and Alain Prost as two-time victors.
Jim Clark leads the way with three wins – albeit his 1962 success came in a non-championship race.
Other details
Hamilton heads to Mexico City 70 points clear of Vettel, who must win all three remaining Grands Prix if he is to stand the slimmest chance of taking the crown.
If Vettel wins the race then Hamilton needs merely to finish seventh in order to seal the championship.
Mercedes meanwhile holds a 66-point advantage over Ferrari, and should it depart Mexico 86 (or 87, depending on the outcome of the race) clear then it will be assured of its fifth successive Constructors’ crown.
Tyre supplier Pirelli has nominated the Hypersoft, (pink) Ultrasoft (purple) and Supersoft (red) compounds.
Either the Ultrasoft or Supersoft tyres must be run for one stint of the 71-lap Grand Prix, assuming dry conditions prevail.
There will be two DRS zones: one located on the pit straight and another placed on the straight between Turns 3 and 4.
Mika Salo will act as the drivers’ representative on the panel of stewards.
2019 race drivers Lando Norris (McLaren) and Antonio Giovinazzi (Sauber), along with Nicholas Latifi (Force India) will be in action during Friday morning’s opening practice session.
Weather forecast:
Friday: Sunny spells, 25°c
Saturday: Cloudy, 19°c
Sunday: Sunny spells, 21°c
Timetable: (GMT-5)
Friday 26 October
FP1: 10:00 – 11:30
FP2: 14:00 – 15:30
Saturday 27 October
FP3: 10:00 – 11:00
Qualifying: 13:00 – 14:00
Sunday 28 October
Race: 13:10 (71 laps or two hours)
What next?
Interlagos will host the 20th, penultimate, round of the season, the Brazilian Grand Prix, from November 9 to 11
