Mexico City Grand Prix: Race Preview

Mexico City first featured on Formula 1’s World Championship roster in 1963, with a circuit laid out around the Magdalena Mixhuca public park in the eastern suburbs of the metropolis. The venue, subsequently renamed after Mexico’s fallen racing brothers Pedro and Ricardo Rodriguez, has had three stints on Formula 1’s calendar, and its current spell began in 2015.

The 4.3km Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez features a lengthy main straight, a handful of slow-speed complexes that provoke wheel-to-wheel action, and a quick-fire sequence of medium- and high-speed curves through the middle section of the lap. The challenge is accentuated by the altitude, with the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez sitting over 2,200 metres above sea level – around 1,500 metres higher than the second-highest venue on the current calendar – and that influences the performance of Formula 1 cars. The thinner air means cars generate less downforce, affecting handling performance, though the lower drag levels means some of the highest top-end speeds of the season are recorded along the lengthy pit straight.

Esteban Ocon has contested seven grands prix at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, scooping a high of fifth in 2017, while Oliver Bearman made his MoneyGram Haas F1 Team debut in Free Practice 1 in 2023, and also participated in the corresponding session in 2024.

MoneyGram Haas F1 Team Reserve Driver Ryō Hirakawa will return to the VF-25 for his third Free Practice 1 session of the season, replacing Bearman. Bearman will return for Free Practice 2 onwards. 
 

Ayao Komatsu, Team Principal:

“The Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez is a very unique track. It has the highest altitude that we face, it means a high-downforce package only produces a low-downforce, plus cooling is the biggest issue. Looking at the VF-25 with our high-downforce package, and we do the basics right, I see no reason we shouldn’t be going for points. I’m not focused on the result itself so to speak, as the result will be what it will be, but we really need to focus on our process, what we’re doing and how we approach what’s in front of us.”

Ollie Bearman:

“I’m excited to go to Mexico, it will be my third time there as I’ve done FP1 for the last two years. In general, I find the city is so fun and unique, and I always enjoy going there. The altitude poses unique challenges, first of all to the drivers, as the race is so physical because there’s less oxygen. Also for the car, they make a lot less downforce and the brakes are much more on the limit than in a standard race. I’m excited to finally race here having done a couple of free practice sessions.”

Esteban Ocon:

“I am very much looking forward to returning to Mexico this weekend. It’s a great country with great people, and the atmosphere in the city and at the track is truly unique, and you can really feel the passion of the Mexican fans from the moment you land. For me, one of the coolest and most iconic parts of the circuit is the packed stadium section. It’s always really special to drive through there, and it gets all the drivers hyped up before the race. This particular track is an exciting one to drive, and the car handles differently than any other place we go to because of the high altitude, so that is something all the teams will have their eye on. From our side, we have not had the smoothest of race weekends recently, and luck has not really been on our side. And so we will again aim to execute a clean weekend and extract as much performance as possible to put ourselves in a good position for a strong result in Mexico City.”