The Formula 1 World Championship stays in the Americas this week for round 19, in Mexico City, which hosts the Grand Prix of the same name at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. Scuderia Ferrari HP arrives in the Mexican capital off the back of encouraging form and progress made in recent races, aiming to secure another solid team result.
The Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez is unusual in that it is located 2,285 metres above sea level, thus presenting atmospheric conditions not encountered at any other round of the World Championship. The lower air density reduces drag, allowing the cars to reach very high speeds along the long main straight, but it also reduces aerodynamic efficiency and therefore downforce. The thinner air also makes it more complicated to cool the power unit and braking system.
It features an extremely long start-finish straight, at the end of which drivers face one of the most demanding braking zones of the season, with a middle section featuring corners of varying speeds and a slower, more twisty final sector. One of its most distinctive features is the section that runs through the Foro Sol stadium, where thousands of spectators create an absolutely unique atmosphere. Tyre management will be another factor to keep an eye on: the the track surface is not very abrasive which favours strategies with relatively few pit stops, but the risk of overheating, particularly when following another car, can affect race pace and strategy choices.
Fred Vasseur: The last few races have shown that we are moving in the right direction, but we need to continue working with the same focus and determination. Mexico is a very different challenge compared to Austin, with the altitude adding another variable to the way we have to manage the car throughout the weekend. In such a tight field, managing these conditions well can make a real difference. Our goal is to carry the positive momentum of the last few races into this weekend, keep pushing as a team and put ourselves in a position to fight for another strong result.
Ferrari at the Mexican GP
24 GP Entered
1963 Debut Mexican Grand Prix (J. Surtees DNF; L. Bandini DNF)
3 (12.50%) Wins
5 (20.83%) Pole Positions
6 (25.00%) Fastest Laps
15 (20.83%) Podiums
Three questions to Juan Sebastian Navarro - Head of Composite Design
Every circuit places different demands on a Formula 1 car, and Mexico City has some very unusual characteristics. From a composites point of view, what makes this track particularly interesting or challenging for you and your team?
Juan Sebastian Navarro: Mexico City is the highest circuit on the F1 calendar, at around 2,240 metres above sea level. At this altitude, the air is much thinner and therefore less effective when it comes to cooling, generating downforce and even engine performance. From a car-cooling perspective, we need to resort to quite extreme solutions to keep temperatures under control, including specific bodywork configurations with additional louvres and cooling exits. What is particularly interesting is that, despite the extremely long straight and several high-speed sections, where you might normally expect a lower-downforce aerodynamic setup like Monza, in Mexico we tend to run very high-downforce packages, closer to Monaco. Because the air is less dense, we need that aerodynamic configuration to generate the right level of downforce and grip, while the thinner air also helps limit the drag penalty.
As a Mexican working for Scuderia Ferrari HP, what does it mean to see the team coming to Mexico City, and what makes this Grand Prix particularly special for you?
JSN: My grandfather was an important part of the original organising committee for the first Mexican Grand Prix, as well as being an amateur racing driver himself. So motorsport, and this Grand Prix in particular, have been very close to my heart since I was a young boy.
I have driven on this circuit myself since I was a teenager, so today it is both a humbling and incredibly proud experience to see our Formula 1 cars racing on this very track.
Your career has taken you from Mexico all the way to Scuderia Ferrari HP in Maranello. Can you tell us a little about your personal journey and what eventually led you to join the team?
JSN: As a Mexican boy finishing school, I had one aim in mind: to learn everything I could about what makes a car fast. With that ambition, I left Mexico at 19 to study Automotive Engineering at Oxford Brookes University, where I spent several years involved in Formula Student. One week before graduating, I started a two-week unpaid placement at Renault F1, which luckily turned into an internship and eventually a full-time position as a composite designer. Five years later, in 2014, I joined the Scuderia as a senior composite designer, where I have had the privilege of continuously learning about what makes a car fast, while gradually taking on greater responsibility. Today, I am Head of Composite Design, leading a talented group of engineers responsible for designing the vast majority of the composite components on our car. That combination of relentless technical development and the challenge of empowering people to perform at their best is ultimately what makes me love my job.
Mexico City Grand Prix - Facts and Figures
10.5. The length in kilometres of Line 2 of the Cablebús, Mexico City's cable car public transport system. The Iztapalapa line is recognised by the Guinness World Records as the longest urban cable car route in the world used for public transport.
36. The number of axolotls (aquatic salamanders) per square kilometre recorded in 2014 in Xochimilco, the area south of Mexico City famous for its network of canals, which are essentially all that remains of the ancient lake system on which the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlán was built. The distinctive axolotl is native to the Valley of Mexico and spends its entire life in water. Today, it is a critically endangered species: in 1998, the population in Xochimilco was estimated at around 6,000 per square kilometre.
195. The number of stations on the Mexico City Metro, spread across 12 lines covering a total distance of more than 226 kilometres. Inaugurated on 4 September 1969, it is the largest metro network in Latin America and one of the main transport systems serving one of the world's most populous urban areas.
830. The distance in metres between pole position on the grid and the braking point for the first corner. It is one of the longest runs from the starting grid to the first braking zone on the calendar, making the opening phase of the race particularly important. The long acceleration zone also allows drivers starting behind the pole-sitter to benefit from the slipstream.
401,326. The number of spectators who attended last year's Mexico City Grand Prix over the three days of the event, a figure that confirms Formula 1's enormous popularity in the country. The all-time attendance record was set in the 2024 edition, which 404,958 spectators passing through the gates.
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