Pirelli explain tyre compound choice for 2022 F1 Mexico City GP. The tyres teams and drivers will have for Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

“Over the course of a season, our tyres have to cope with a wide variety of conditions depending on the individual characteristics of each venue. If you look back at the last two races, Suzuka was all about lateral forces and Austin was well-balanced aerodynamically, but Mexico this weekend focuses on traction and braking. The Hermanos Rodriguez circuit does not offer a lot of grip and the energy demands on the tyres are reasonably low, as the cars do not generate much downforce in the thin air at high altitude, especially in slow corners. This year, the circuit might be more front-limited, as the current generation of car tends to understeer through slow corners – which Mexico has plenty of – and this can lead to some sliding on the front tyres. Due to the nature of the venue the circuit tends to feature a dusty surface with plenty of track evolution. Understanding this and getting the tyre warm-up exactly right is likely to be the key to success.”

Mario Isola, sports director of the Milanese manufacturer Pirelli explained, ahead of the next round of the 2022 Formula 1season

THE TYRES ON TRACK 

• As was the case last weekend, the C2 is the P Zero White hard, C3 is the P Zero Yellow medium, and C4 is the P Zero Red soft.
• Mexico is the highest event on the Formula 1 calendar at more than 2200 metres above sea level. The thin air affects engines as well as aerodynamics, 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 the previous championship.
• There’s quite a lot of temperature variation during the day in Mexico, even in the space of a few hours, that may affect thermal wear: a key factor that teams will have to evaluate.
• The Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez is the ‘contingency plan’ to replace the cancelled 2023 tyre test planned for the Japanese Grand Prix. The second free practice session in Mexico will run for 90 minutes to evaluate the softer slick compounds for next year, while in Austin the harder prototypes were run. As was the case last Friday, the entire session will be devoted to the tyre test with Pirelli setting the run plan. If a team uses a young driver for FP1, it is allowed to run its own programme for the first part of the second free practice session before concentrating on the tyre test for the remainder of the session. As was the case in the USA, the prototype tyres will not carry coloured markings on the sidewalls.