After the United States Grand Prix, which took place two weeks ago, Formula 1 travels south, en route to Mexico. Like COTA, the Autodromo Hermanos Rodríguez has been missing from the calendar since 2019, after its return six years ago. Named after the Rodríguez brothers, who in the 1950s began their ascent as Formula 1 drivers, the circuit – on which until then the Carrera Panamericana, known as the most dangerous rally in the world, had been run – hosted the first Grand Prix in 1962. As this was an off-championship event, however, Ferrari refused to participate. One of the Rodríguez brothers, Ricardo, at the time driver of the Scuderia, decided to take part in it anyway by competing in a Lotus; the young man, just nineteen, however, would have met his tragic fate on the track, in an accident at the Peraltada.
The circuit was absolved of all guilt, and in 1963 it obtained the status of an official event in the Formula 1 championship. However in 1970 an incident with the public – who poured onto the track to celebrate prematurely the victory (which then did not happen) of the other Rodríguez brother, Pedro – sparked several controversies regarding the organization and safety of the circuit, which was removed from the calendar until the 1980s.
Upon the return of Formula 1 in 1986, the track was altered, and so was the surface – now more abrasive and “bumpy”; nevertheless it became one of the most popular Grands Prix, perhaps precisely because of the adversities posed by the hollows and roughness of the asphalt, which managed to put drivers of the caliber of Senna in difficulty. However, the Grand Prix was suspended again in 1992 due to track conditions and high rates of air pollution.
After numerous discussions, and at the insistence of the Mexican government, Autodromo Hermanos Rodríguez returned to host a Formula 1 Grand Prix in 2015, following new alterations by Hermann Tilke. Among the novelties, a new control tower, garages in the pitlane, and stands – but above all the elimination of the famous Peraltada corner, replaced by the “sequence of the Stadium”, a complex of corners (13, 14 and 15) that pass through a baseball stadium before reuniting with the final part of the Peraltada and returning to the starting straight.
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Immediately a success with the public, the Mexican Grand Prix seems destined to remain on the calendar for a long time – and today offers interesting features in the fight for the World Championship.
Track characteristics
Autodrome Hermanos Rodríguez stands at 2285 meters above sea level, and is the “highest” circuit on the calendar – 1000 meters more than any other track. This means that the air is thinner, opposing less resistance on the long straights – but also and above all in the corners, for which the teams are often forced to a choice of setup at high load, to generate more aerodynamic grip in the corners thanks to greater vertical thrust and avoid slipping in low downforce sections.
For this weekend Pirelli has again selected the “medium range” of P Zero, namely C2 for Hard, C3 for Medium and C4 for Soft. As for COTA, the choice was conditioned by the absence of recent data, but the Mexican circuit is very different from the more abrasive one in Austin: characterized by a very fast first sector (54% of the circuit is run in full throttle) , the smoother surface, combined with the thinner air that further reduces aerodynamic drag, will place a lot of emphasis on the braking areas, where more traction will be needed.
The second sector, characterized by medium-high mileage corners, and the third sector, narrow and winding, generate a considerable contribution of stress on the tires, which in 2018 confirmed the suspicions that the softer compounds were not particularly suitable for this circuit.
Strategy
The average stop time at Autodrome Hermanos Rodríguez is 18 seconds, which favors a two-stop strategy as well as the undercut strategy. With the uncertain weather (which this weekend could reserve some surprises in the form of a downpour that would reset the grip levels of the track to those of Friday morning) there is also the danger of graining, which in the past years had create some problems, especially on the softer compounds. Especially in Qualifying it will therefore be essential to better understand the performance gap between Soft and Medium, in order to develop the best race strategy right from the start.
A Look at the Ranking
Formula 1 arrives in Mexico with five races left in the championship and a fight to the last fast point between Mercedes and Red Bull. On paper, and historically, the Mexican circuit should favor Max Verstappen’s Red Bull, with Mercedes having to deal with an engine that suffers in thin air conditions – as already partially observed in Austria. However, Mercedes does not seem worried, despite the reliability problems recently shown by its Power Unit.
Who most likely will have to replace his Mercedes Power Unit this weekend – Bottas prays that it’s not him again – is instead Lando Norris, who, unlike his teammate, is still using his third Power Unit at Spa, and could be arrived at the “terminus” that would force him to adopt a fourth.
Ferrari, engaged in a fight for third place in the Constructors’ classification with McLaren, is rubbing its hands this weekend; not only Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz can enjoy a new advantage given by the upgrade to the hybrid system of the Power Unit, but the characteristics of the Mexican track should better adapt to the SF21, which will be able to take advantage of the good levels of mechanical grip already shown this season at Monaco and Hungary.
With the unknown element of the weather disturbing the forecasts – and an AlphaTauri, heterozygous twin of the RB16B, which could prove to be the surprise of the weekend – everything still remains to be explored, kilometer by kilometer, between Friday practice and Saturday evening qualifying.
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