The Formula 1 paddock travels to the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez this weekend for Round 20 on the 2025 calendar, the Mexico City Grand Prix.<\/p>\n
Free Practice 1 and Free Practice 2 will take place on Friday, October 24, followed by Free Practice 3 and Qualifying on Saturday, October 25, and the Grand Prix itself on Sunday, October 26.<\/p>\n
Vital statistics<\/p>\n
First Grand Prix \u2013 1963
\nTrack Length \u2013 4.304km
\nLap record \u2013 1m 17.774s, Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes, 2021
\nMost pole positions \u2013 Jim Clark (4)
\nMost wins \u2013 Max Verstappen (5)
\nTrivia \u2013 The 20% air pressure reduction at 7,200ft AMSL (above mean sea level) means Mexico has taken over from Italy as the race with the highest top speeds. In the 2016 race, Valtteri Bottas set the fastest ever trap speed in F1 history (231.46mph) but Williams telemetry said his maximum speed reached 231.96mph before braking for Turn 1
\nPole run to Turn 1 braking point \u2013 830m
\nOvertakes completed in 2024 \u2013 91
\nSafety Car probability \u2013 43%*
\nVirtual Safety Car probability \u2013 71%*
\nPit stop time loss \u2013 21.9 seconds<\/p>\n
*From the last seven races in Mexico<\/p>\n
The driver’s verdict<\/p>\n
Jolyon Palmer, former Renault F1 driver: The Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez has a low downforce effect but, here in Mexico City, you run to the maximum due to the thin air. The car always feels low on grip and on the edge around here.<\/p>\n
The big braking zones are tricky in the first half of the lap and it is always loose through the middle sector thanks to the aforementioned low downforce. You’ve got to work out how much kerb you can take early on; take too much and it can really unsettle the car.<\/p>\n
The last sector is fiddly and it feels ridiculously slow through the stadium. The penultimate right-hander feels like it might be nothing, but it is arguably the easiest to crash on with low grip and the wall so close.<\/p>\n
Grip level overall is very low and the car feels so clumsy at such a low speed. But the atmosphere around here in Mexico is great, which is such a buzz.<\/p>\n
Last five Mexican GP polesitters<\/p>\n
2024 \u2013 Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
\n2023 \u2013 Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
\n2022 \u2013 Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
\n2021 \u2013 Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)
\n2019 \u2013 Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)*<\/p>\n
*Max Verstappen set the fastest time in Qualifying, but received a three-place grid penalty for failing to slow for yellow flags<\/p>\n
Last five Mexican GP winners<\/p>\n
2024 \u2013 Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
\n2023 \u2013 Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
\n2022 \u2013 Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
\n2021 \u2013 Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
\n2019 \u2013 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
\nTyre and strategy insight<\/p>\n
\u201cAs was the case in Austin last weekend, for the Mexican round there is again a jump in the compound selection between the hardest of the three and the medium,\u201d reads Pirelli\u2019s weekend preview.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile the medium and soft are the C4 and C5 respectively, as in 2024, the hard will now be the C2. For the Mexico City track, this compound is an extremely conservative choice, with a considerable delta in terms of lap time compared to the other two, while also offering less grip.<\/p>\n
\u201cLast year, the soft only came into play in Qualifying and then in the race, only in an attempt to secure the extra point for setting the fastest race lap, but now the scenario could change considerably. The advantage to be had from the C4 and C5 could in fact lead the teams to aim for a race run predominantly on these compounds.<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, that comes with the risk of possibly having to make a second pit stop because of degradation. Anyone choosing the C2 could relatively comfortably manage a longer stint, going for a one-stop on the way to the chequered flag, although it entails a reduction in performance.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe use of the two softest compounds will certainly be carefully evaluated during the three free practice sessions, when teams will be able to run long stints with full fuel loads and check the condition of the tyres. Historically, graining levels in Mexico are quite pronounced, since the thin air at altitude reduces the amount of aerodynamic downforce that the cars can produce.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn a track that already offers little grip due to its limited use, the tyres tend to slide, which leads to graining. It will also be interesting to see whether the greater resistance to this phenomenon offered by the current compounds will help limit it and therefore benefit those who are masters of tyre management.\u201d<\/p>\n
Current form<\/p>\n
The battle for the Drivers\u2019 Championship<\/a> took another turn last time out in Austin, with Oscar Piastri<\/a>\u2019s lead over McLaren<\/a> team mate Lando Norris<\/a> now cut to just 14 points after a challenging weekend for the squad in which they suffered a double DNF in Saturday\u2019s Sprint.<\/p>\n But perhaps the headline story was that Max Verstappen<\/a> is now only 40 points adrift of Piastri, the Red Bull<\/a> driver having continued his strong run of form by winning the Sprint before taking a commanding victory in the Grand Prix.<\/p>\n With five rounds remaining \u2013 featuring two more Sprints along the way \u2013 Verstappen has declared that the \u201cchance is there\u201d<\/a> to claim a fifth consecutive World Championship, adding that he and the team \u201cneed to try to deliver these weekends to the end of the year\u201d.<\/p>\n McLaren boss Andrea Stella<\/a>, meanwhile, has stated that the outcome of the title \u201cis in our hands\u201d<\/a>, meaning that the Teams\u2019 Champions will be keen to execute a good weekend in Mexico City.<\/p>\n Behind them, Mercedes<\/a> and Ferrari<\/a> remain locked in a fight for second in the Teams\u2019 standings. The Scuderia will be looking to build on the more positive outing they experienced in Austin, with Charles Leclerc<\/a> claiming the final spot on the podium, while Red Bull are also only a few points behind the Italian team in fourth place.<\/p>\n Williams<\/a> are still in a solid fifth, but the midfield scrap remains close. Racing Bulls<\/a> currently lead the pack, yet only 23 points cover the teams between sixth and ninth. Alpine<\/a> are a slightly more distant 10th, and it will be interesting to see how the squad handle things after Franco Colapinto<\/a> ignored a team order<\/a> to stay behind Pierre Gasly<\/a> in the United States Grand Prix.<\/p>\n Iconic moment<\/p>\n The opening lap at the 2017 Mexican Grand Prix was eventful to say the least. Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel had managed to grab pole ahead of the Red Bull of Max Verstappen in P2 and title rival Lewis Hamilton in P3.<\/p>\n But as soon as the lights went out it was a young Verstappen who managed to force himself past Vettel at the second corner, allowing Hamilton himself to overtake the German. However, on the entry to the third corner Vettel clipped Verstappen’s right rear tyre, and also subsequently came together with Hamilton’s right rear.<\/p>\n Vettel would end up pitting for a new wing following that incident, while Hamilton would limp back with a puncture \u2013 the two championship contenders now left in 19th and 20th respectively.<\/p>\n With Verstappen going on to seal the win, Vettel would battle back to fourth. However, Hamilton managed to haul his Mercedes up to ninth place and that was enough to secure the 2017 Drivers’ title.<\/p>\n Watch the action as it unfolded in the clip below…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Formula 1 paddock travels to the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez this weekend for Round 20 on the 2025…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":220440,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[1687,372,6537,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-220439","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-f1","tag-f1","tag-formula-1","tag-formula1","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/220439","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=220439"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/220439\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/220440"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=220439"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=220439"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=220439"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}