The Mexico City circuit, better known as “Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez”, is the highest track in the entire Formula 1 World Championship at 2238 meters above sea level. A peculiarity which is no small feat and which brings with it many problems, especially for the mechanical components of the single-seaters. The rarefaction of the air here can reach up to 30% and this leads to a reduction in downforce, forcing the teams to choose a setup with maximum downforce. Despite these problems, in the 2016 edition, the then Williams driver Valtteri Bottas set the maximum speed record ever recorded in an official Formula 1 session: 372.499 km/h, reached on the main straight of 1320 metres.
Extreme altitude also causes many problems for the braking system: violent decelerations and thin air make it more difficult for the brakes to cool. On average, braking lasts around 16 seconds per lap, 21% of the entire race duration, one of the highest values on the calendar. The power units will also have a crucial role, which are particularly stressed here as they must always operate at high thrust speeds. It will be essential to manage the cooling of the turbocharger. In this context, there is the tortuous nature of the track, 4304 meters long which includes chicanes to be navigated at high speed combined with slow corners, which makes qualifying crucial given the few overtaking routes. The Mexican F1 GP will start on Sunday 26 October at 9pm, with the drivers asked to complete 71 laps in total for a total distance of 305,584 km.
The fastest lap in the race was set by Valtteri Bottas in 2021 with Mercedes in 1’17’774, at an average speed of 199.223 km/h.
Hermanos Rodríguez Circuit: how altitude and track influence the performance of single-seaters
The 4.304 km Mexican track is made up of 17 corners, of which 11 on the right and 7 on the left, slow chicanes prevail where the mechanical traction and balance of the single-seaters will be the protagonists. Added to this is the long main straight after the start, just over 1 km long, here the drivers take around 16 seconds to cover it and the single-seaters reach peaks of over 350 km/h. From the starting grid to the braking section of Turn 1, the single-seaters will cover 830 metres.
The Mexico City circuit is a unique challenge of its kind due to the altitude at which it is developed, over 2000 metres. This means that the air is thinner, therefore less dense and this has a very negative effect on the mechanical components of the cars, especially from the point of view of the aerodynamic load which here is reduced by 25%. Precisely for this reason the teams will be forced to fit maximum aerodynamic load setups, like on tracks like Monte Carlo. But not only that, the altitude also causes problems with cooling, in particular for the braking system and power units. The track is not very harsh on the brakes, in general there are 9 braking sections that affect the track, the most violent is the one that leads to turn 1 after the starting straight, where the speed goes from over 350 km/h to 102 km/h with 4.3 G of deceleration in just 72 meters or just over 2 seconds with the drivers having to exert a force of 126 kg on the pedal.
In terms of power unit, on this track the drivers spend 61% of the lap time with the throttle wide open, one of the lowest values of the entire calendar behind only Singapore (59%) and Monte Carlo (56%). The gearbox is also very stressed, over 4000 gear changes during the race, around 36 changes per lap, with the most used ratio being third gear. However, the FIA has announced that there will be overtaking Three the DRS activation zones: the first on the main straight between turn 17 and turn 1, the second between turn 3 and turn 4 and the third in the section between turn 11 and turn 12. Qualifying in Mexico is important but not fundamental, overtaking points, especially along the straights, are possible as demonstrated by the 2024 edition in which 91 overtakings in total were recorded.
The first sector is made up of only 3 corners, you reach turn 1 after the starting straight of over 1 km and you arrive at the most violent braking of the track. Immediately afterwards, two slow chicanes follow (turn 2-3) to be taken in third gear and using the internal curbs a lot. The second sector starts from turn 4 and ends in the stretch that leads to turn 12. Precisely in this sector there are “S”s to be driven at medium-high speed, a bit like seen at the Austin circuit, which start from turn 7 to be driven in fifth gear at around 180 km/h; then comes turn 8 to be driven at full throttle and then turn 9 where the minimum speed is 225 km/h.
The tour ends by entering the third sector, which is very slow and includes the twisting curves of the baseball stadium (Foro Sol) and the final segment of the Peraltada. The most challenging point is turn 12, where the single-seaters reach 320 km/h in eighth gear to face the third most important deceleration, downshifting to third and reducing the speed by around 100 km. Entering Turn 12 has historically been complex due to variable asphalt conditions and tire degradation, often causing off-track excursions. The last two turns 16-17 are to be taken in third gear at around 100 km/h where traction matters a lot.
Tire management, pit lane and strategies for the Mexican Grand Prix
Also in Mexico City, Pirelli opted for a rather particular choice of compounds, with a real “leap” between the Hard and the Medium. In concrete terms, we will have C2 as Hard, C4 as Medium and C5 as Soft: a mix that could complicate life for the teams in terms of degradation. In general, a rather low level of degradation of the tires is expected, the only wear that could arise is that on the tires on the left side, as there are more right-hand bends.
The altitude of the track radically changes the behavior of the tires. The thin air reduces the aerodynamic load generated by the wings and bottom of the single-seaters, which means that the cars “squeeze” their tires on the asphalt less. As a result, tires tend to slip more, accumulating heat unevenly and favoring the appearance of graining, that phenomenon in which small fragments of rubber come off and reattach to the tread surface, reducing grip.
On a smooth and little-used asphalt like the Mexican one, which only “rubbers” as the sessions go by, the teams will have to find a perfect compromise between speed and duration. The softer compounds (C4 and C5) guarantee better times and more grip in the first laps, but they risk degrading quickly: for this reason, we are likely to see two-stop strategies from those who will focus everything on pace. On the contrary, those who choose the C2 will be able to try a more conservative strategy, with a single stop and longer stints, but sacrificing a few tenths per lap.
In 2024, almost all the drivers had opted for a single stop (Medium-Hard), with very consistent results: the Medium had held up well for up to 39 laps (a record set by Piastri), while the Hard had reached as many as 49 laps (Bottas). This year, however, with the best performing compounds and a potential increase in degradation, it is not excluded that the optimal strategy could shift towards the two stops.
The time lost in the pits is another element to take into consideration: in Mexico City, the average pit stop – considering entry, tire change and exit – wastes around 22-23 seconds, a relatively low value which can make a more aggressive strategy more attractive.
The Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in numbers: statistics and records of the Mexican track
The Autodromo Hermanos Rodríguez is preparing to welcome its 25th Grand Prix valid for the Formula 1 World Championship, an achievement that also tells some political background. Until 2019, the event was officially known as the “Mexico Grand Prix”, but as of 2021 the name has changed to “Mexico City Grand Prix”. A change that is only apparently symbolic: behind it there is in fact a question of state funding, first guaranteed by the federal government and then passed under the management of the capital.
Throughout its history, the Grand Prix has lived three different “lives”: the first between 1964 and 1970, the second from 1986 to 1992, and the third which began in 2015. Excluding the forced pause in 2020 due to the pandemic, this is the longest period in which the race has been permanently on the world championship calendar. Let’s see what are the most important numbers to know about this circuit:
- Drivers with the most victories: there is only one driver in the lead in this ranking and that is Max Verstappen who has triumphed here on 5 occasions. Behind him Jim Clark, Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Lewis Hamilton with 2 victories each.
- Most successful teams: Red Bull dominates with 5 victories, followed by Lotus, McLaren, Williams, Mercedes and Ferrari with 3 victories each.
- Pole position: Scotsman Jim Clark stands out above all with 4 pole positions, followed by Ayrton Senna (3), Nigel Mansell and Charles Leclerc (2).
- Drivers with the most podiums achieved: Lewis Hamilton (6), Max Verstappen (5), Jack Brabham, Denny Hulme, Ayrton Senna, Nigel Mansell and Riccardo Patrese (4).
- Drivers with the most laps completed in the race: Max Verstappen (639), Lewis Hamilton (638), Valtteri Bottas (634), Carlos Sainz (584), Sergio Perez (534).
- Race record lap: 1’17″774, set by Valtteri Bottas in 2021
- Record qualifying lap: 1’14″758, set by Max Verstappen in 2019
Another interesting and curious fact concerns the qualification here in Mexico. Analyzing the entire history of the race, in 11 out of 24 occasions (45.8%) the winner started from pole position, while in 15 out of 24 cases (62.5%) the victory went to whoever started from the front row. If we focus on the turbo-hybrid era – therefore from 2015 onwards – the trend remains similar: in 4 out of 9 editions (44.4%) the poleman won, and in 6 out of 9 (66.7%) the triumph came from whoever occupied one of the first two slots on the grid.
But the most curious fact comes right here: in the modern era, 7 times out of 9 (77.8%) the GP was won by whoever was in the lead at the end of the first lap. The only exceptions? Charles Leclerc in 2019 and Max Verstappen in 2024. Furthermore, in Mexico City there was the first career podium for the “kaiser” Michael Schumacher, when in the 1992 Mexican GP he came third with the Benetton powered by Ford.
