All about the Mexican Grand Prix, the fastest circuit in Formula 1

Sergio “Checo” Pérez He wants to correct the course this season and what better way to do it than at home, his homeland, his country. On Sunday, October 27, the Autodromo Hermanos Rodríguez will be run on Mexico City Grand Prix of the Formula 1, a circuit with history, which was absent for more than 20 years, but was awarded as the best of the season, and which in addition to being the fastest has a great challenge: the altitude.

In 1962 the Mexican Grand Prix of the Formula 1 at the Magdalena Mixhuca circuit, in Mexico City.

It was until 1970, when it left the calendar, and only returned in 1986, then at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez (where it is currently raced). It was played until 1992 and it took more than two decades for one of the most valued circuits by the public to return. In 2014, the Mexican GP was about to be part of the calendar again, but the FIA postponed his reinstatement due to how deteriorated the track of the Autodromo Hermanos Rodríguez was. In July 2014, after the fine-tuning, Bernie Ecclestone announced that from 2015 Mexico would once again host a Grand Prix.

It is one of the most popular and busiest Grands Prix of the season, which was awarded by the FIA as “best of the year” on more than one occasion. In 2021, the audience record was broken: 371,779 attendees. The track consists of 17 corners, 71 laps and 305.354 kilometers in total length, although the route is 4.304 kilometers, which makes it the third shortest track behind Monaco and Zandvoort. It is characterised by fast corners and one of the longest straights on the calendar, 1.3 kilometres, where the highest speed of the entire season is reached. The fastest lap in Mexico City is owned by Finland’s Valtteri Bottas, who in 2021 completed it in 1:17.774.

The Mexican Grand Prix It has a great challenge: altitude. It is the highest slope of all those on the calendar, at 2,285 meters above sea level.

While that influences the highest speeds to be reached (it beats Monza) thanks to the 20% air pressure, it also involves risks that Checo Pérez will have to take into account. The altitude impacts the performance of the engine, causing it to lose up to 25% of its power; it threatens the cooling of cars; and reduces downforce and gives the feeling of “little grip” in the corners. At the 2016 Grand Prix, in a practice session, Valtteri Bottas set a record in the Formula 1: reached 371.7 km/h, the highest speed in the history of the Grand Circus.

Vettel: “This shitty trophy”

Although the public usually makes the Mexican Grand Prix One of the most special, not everyone was happy after that 2019 edition. Four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel raced for Ferrari and finished 2nd, behind Lewis Hamilton, in that race. And, after the awards ceremony of the same, which has a characteristic, raising the cars of the drivers on the podium, he left a controversial criticism aimed at the organization:

“I liked most of it, except for the guy with the selfie (Mario Achi) and the trophies. It’s a shame. You have a great career and they put a lot of effort into it, and then you get these shitty trophies that are boring (…) There’s Heineken written everywhere! You have to get something nice, like they had when F1 raced here before.”

The winners of the Mexican Grand Prix

• 2015: Nico Rosberg – Mercedes
• 2016: Lewis Hamilton- Mercedes
• 2017: Max Verstappen – Red Bull
• 2018: Max Verstappen – Red Bull
• 2019: Lewis Hamilton – Mercedes
• 2020: It was not played due to the Covid-19 pandemic
• 2021: Max Verstappen – Red Bull
• 2022: Max Verstappen – Red Bull
• 2023: Max Verstappen – Red Bull