I love Landoâs helmet design!
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The 2019 Formula 1 Mexican Grand Prix Preview
ÂĄHola amigos y fanĂĄticos de las carreras! DespuĂ©s de un breve descanso, volvemos a la acciĂłn de carreras de FĂłrmula 1 en las AmĂ©ricas: los Grandes Premios de MĂ©xico, Estados Unidos y Brasil conforman tres de las cuatro carreras restantes de esta temporada. Este fin de semana se regresa a la ciudad de MĂ©xico a gran altitud por 71 vueltas del circuito AutĂłdromo Hermanos RodrĂguez, favorito de los fanĂĄticos de 4,3 kilĂłmetros. Veamos quĂ© nos depara la carrera âŠ
Hello friends and race fans! After a short break weâre back to Formula 1 racing action in the Americas - the Grands Prix of Mexico, the USA and Brazil make up three of the remaining four races in this season. This weekend sees a return to the high altitude of Mexico City for 71 laps of the 4.3-kilometre fan-favourite AutĂłdromo Hermanos RodrĂguez circuit â itâs another sell-out race for the fifth year in succession. Letâs see what the weekend has in store for usâŠ
In the Beginning
In 1959, the father of Mexicoâs most famous racing brothers, Ricardo and Pedro Rodriguez, was an advisor to Mexican President Adolfo Lopez Mateo, and had a word in his bossâs ear about building a racing circuit in Mexico Cityâs Magdalena Mixiuhca sports park using the existing internal roads. El Presidente liked the idea, and work on the track was completed in under a year.
Formula 1 cars arrived in 1962 for a non-championship race, returning the following year for a proper, bona fide Grand Prix. That 1963 race was won by Jim Clark, while for the next few years, Mexicoâs fiesta vibes meant it became the traditional season-ender for Formula 1. Unfortunately, that fiesta spirit and the huge, exuberant crowds that were drawn to the race to see their hometown hero would be the cause of the Mexican GPs removal from the calendar.
Crowd control problems in 1968 and again in 1970 contributed to cancellation of the event. In 1970, a record crowd of approximately 200,000 arrived to see Pedro RodrĂguez, forcing officials to delay the race start by an hour as they struggled to control the crowd. At one point a dog ran across the track and was hit by Jackie Stewart. During the race, spectators threw bottles on the track. Amid the chaos, Clay Regazzoni trailed Jacky Ickx for a 1-2 Ferrari finish.
The 1971 event was scheduled, with large fund deposited in a Swiss bank to help guarantee better crowd control, but after the death of Pedro Rodriguez in an Interserie sports car race at the Norisring in Germany where he was racing in the break between that seasonâs French and British Grands Prix, the plan was abandoned.
Letâs Try This Again, Shall We?
F1 racing returned to Mexico 15 years later in 1986 after significant changes and improvements to the circuit were made (and after it was official renamed AutĂłdromo Hermanos RodrĂguez, âhermanosâ being the Spanish word for âsiblingsâ, or, as in this case, âbrothersâ). Sadly, the return was relatively short-lived.
After numerous accidents (many around the infamous high speed banking of the Perltada corner), almost continuous complaints from the drivers about the bumpy and uneven surface, and issues with high levels of city-wide air pollution and the general decline of Mexico City, the 1992 Williams 1-2 (when will that ever happen again?) by Nigel Mansell and Riccardo Patrese, would be the last Mexican podium for 23 years.
Welcome Back Mexico. Again.
Mexico was welcomed back onto the F1 calendar in 2015, four years after Carlos Slim Domit, son of Mexicoâs richest man (and the worldâs richest person from 2010 to 2013) Carlos Slim HelĂș, and chairman of the familyâs Grupo Carso business conglomerate, revealed that he was personally helping to revive the race.
The Grand Prix circuit underwent a significant renovation under the direction of Hermann Tilke for the return of Formula One in 2015. The front straight was slightly extended and reprofiled to accommodate a new media center and paddock. The iconic esses between turns 7 and 13 were significantly modified; the prolific, high radius turns largely diminished and some replaced with fixed angle turns. The baseball field portion of the track was also altered to a low speed left-right combination that bypassed the first half of the Peraltada, allowing the cars to re-enter the Peraltada halfway through the corner.
At 4.304 kilometres, the course is 170 metres shorter than the previous Grand Prix layout, and Mexican Grand Prix organisers predicted lap times of around 75 seconds and speeds in excess of 328 km/h for the Formula One cars. However, it turned out that the modern V6 hybrid turbo F1 cars managed to reach speeds in excess of 370 km/h down the main straight.
Will it Stay or Will it Go?
Earlier this year, fears that the re-return to Mexico City would again be short-lived surfaced when mayor Claudia Sheinbaum announced that 2019 would be the last year for the Grand Prix of Mexico because the MXN $400 million fee needed to be diverted to the Mexican governmentâs Tren Maya project. The Tren Maya (literally, the Mayan Train) is a proposed 1,525-kilometre railroad in Mexico that would traverse the YucatĂĄn Peninsula. The project aims to connect tourist destinations in the YucatĂĄn, including historic Mayan sites from which it derives its name.
However, on 8 August it was announced that an agreement between Formula 1, the Corporacion Interamericana de Entretenimiento (CIE), the promoter of the event, and the Government of Mexico City had been reached, and that the Mexican Grand Prix would remain on the calendar until at least 2022, though it would be renamed to âMexico City Grand Prixâ from 2020 " to emphasise the support given by the Government of Mexico City".
More DRS Means More Speed!
The Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez sits over 2km above sea level, making the 4.3km lap a breathless experience. The track still largely follows the outline of the original 1959 circuit, the main difference being that the spectacular â and spectacularly scary â Peraltada corner is now bisected, with the circuit instead winding through the old Foro Sol baseball stadium, providing one F1âs most unique vistas.
A third DRS Zone has been added to Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez for drivers to get another crack at overtaking during the 20th Mexican Grand Prix. Itâs located between Turns 11 and 12, a left-hand kink that bridges Sectors 2 and 3. The detection point â where drivers need to be within 1s of the car ahead â will be just after Turn 9. The remaining two DRS Zones, carried over from last year, have the same detection point â just after Turn 14 in the stadium section.
Whoâs Going to Grab Pole?
Just 0.090s separated P1 and P2 on the grid in the last two Mexican Grands Prix, which shows just how close the fight for pole position in Mexico will be. And to throw further intrigue into the mix, four different drivers from three different teams have taken P1 on the grid in the last four races at the venue â Daniel Ricciardo being the last when he drove for Red Bull, where they took a front row lockout.
Red Bull have to be in for a shot of taking their third front-row spot on the grid of the season, at a track where they have been very strong in the last two years. And, after Max Verstappen managed to defeat his pole position hoodoo in Hungary, he would be their pick in qualifying. But letâs not forget Alex Albon here. The Thai driver so nearly out-qualified Verstappen in Japan. In fact, he set exactly the same time as the Dutchman.
Itâs never wise to rule out a Mercedes pole, but the Silver Arrows havenât achieved P1 on the grid since the German Grand Prix, that Hamilton magic missing for six races, which is his longest pole-less spell since 2015. And Valtteri Bottas hasnât achieved a top-three grid position yet in Mexico.
If not them, then Ferrari will stand off against Red Bull in Mexico. The Scuderia have, after all, swept the post-summer break stretch from Belgium to Japan when it comes to qualifying. Moreover, neither Red Bullâs Honda nor Mercedesâ own power unit can fire up a fiesta quite like Ferrariâs. And that will make a huge different on the 1.2-kilometre straight.
Winner, Winner, Nachos Dinner!
Lewis Hamilton could complete his quest for a sixth title by out-scoring team mate Valtteri Bottas by 14 points. Thatâd make it a third-consecutive crowning in Mexico, a venue that Hamilton must adore by now. Furthermore, the Mercedes marque could score their 100th Grand Prix victory ever this weekend. But it may not be a complete stroll in the park for either driver or teamâŠ
Hamilton has only won in Mexico once in 2016 â the last year in which he led a lap here â which makes this a bit of a bogey track for him. And if Mercedes donât take pole, they may well miss out on victory again, because every winner has come from the front row at the Hermanos Rodriguezâs circuit since 1990 â when âProfessorâ Alain Prost schooled the likes of Nigel Mansell and Gerhard Berger to win from 13th.
Prost was Ferrariâs last winner in Mexico, incidentally, which means the Scuderia are due a victory. And they have to be favourites on recent form too, with three wins from the last five races. Mercedes managed to steal the other two from under Ferrariâs noses in Russia and Japan â which canât happen again, surely?
And donât discount the winner of the last two Mexican GPs, Max Verstappen. Red Bull are definitely in with a fighting chance to make it three out of three. The big difference for them this year though is the switch to Honda power units rather than the Renault that gave them those victories. Can the Honda handle the thin atmosphere of Mexico City as well as the Renault seem to last year and the year before?
Whatâs With the Altitude Bruh?
Round 18 of the 2019 season takes the teams and drivers to the high altitude of Mexico Cityâs Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. The circuit has an elevation of 2,285 m, and the thin air causes difficulties for both the drivers and their cars. Thereâs four main reasons that the Mexico City air is a challenge for F1 teams:
- Downforce and drag
- Engine power
- Cooling
- Track temperature
For more on these issues, check out âWhy itâs the air that poses the biggest challenge in Mexicoâ, Mark Hughesâ excellent Tech Tuesday article on the F1 site.
Just Give Me the Details Already!
Last Yearâs Highlights:
Max Verstappen made it back-to-back wins for his Red Bull team last year. Hereâs the highlights from last year.
The Current Standings:
The Constructorâs Championship is already safely in the Mercedes trophy cabinet, and they are guaranteed another double crown as only the two Mercedes drivers are able to take the Driverâs Championship title. And while itâs still mathematically possible for Valtteri Bottas to win the title, it fairly obviously will be Lewis Hamiltonâs 6th WDC title. It really just remains to be seen if he can clinch it this weekend, or if VB will be able to do enough to push it to next week in the USA.
The Schedule:
With the Americas so far behind the times, we get to enjoy some cool evening F1 viewing for a change. Spend your day outdoors, get some sun on that pasty skin of yours, and then settle in with your beverage and snacks of choice for some F1 action at these times:
The Circuit Layout:
With the addition of a third DRS zone in the stretch just after the esses and leading into the stadium section, have had to hastily update the circuit map on their website. Luckily Iâve left this late, so weâre all good:
The Circuit Tour:
Sergio Perezâs Guide to Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez:
The Tyres:
Mexico is a relatively new circuit that has its roots firmly in the past, and it contains a bit of everything. Tyres from right in the middle of Pirelliâs range have been chosen for both legs of Formula 1âs American double-header, with Mexico going first this year, followed by the United States a week later.
So at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez â named after Mexicoâs two most celebrated racing drivers â weâll see the C2 as the White hard, C3 as the Yellow medium, and C4 as the Red soft. Last year, Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton won the driversâ title at the Mexican Grand Prix: this year he has another chance to seal the championship once more in Mexico City.
The Weather:
Things could turn out a little moist down Mexico way this weekend. Canât remember if weâve had a wet race in Mexico since itâs return. Donât think soâŠ?
The Digital Programme:
Check out the digital version of the programme available to race goers at this weekendâs Formula 1 Gran Premio de Mexico 2019.
The Shocking Moments:
Okay, Iâll give it to F1 this time. Some of these are actually pretty shocking in a scary way. That old full speed Peraltada corner must have been equal parts thrilling and terrifying.
Until We Meet AgainâŠ
Which will be next weekend in Austin, Texas at the Circuit of the Americas for the USA Grand Prix. Until then, hasta la vista amigos!
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God, I love Kimi. Straight talk. No bullshit. No filter.
Lewis Hamilton has become increasingly vocal on the subject in recent months. Today he revealed his desire to become âcarbon neutralâ by the end of the year, while other drivers echoed his concerns about the damage being done to the planet.
Although Raikkonen indicated he holds similar views, he believes F1 is not the best place to promote environmental messages.
âObviously I think it involves everybody who lives on this planet,â he said. âIn the end we all try to do what we can.
âBut honestly we are probably not in the best place to start making big stories out of it, because in the end weâre burning fuel for what? To be first, second?
âI mean, for sure we try to do our part always if and when itâs possible. But I think F1 is in probably not the strongest place to tell people that this is what we should do, because to really go that route we should all stay home and forget the racing.â
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That is why I love the guy, he is just blunt. And Lewis really needs to go to Formula E to be able to keep this irritating crusade going.
Lewis is back to irritating the crap out of me, especially the rat tails and this preachy attitude again.
I still respect him for the most part on the track.
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Perhaps a little OT now, but still⊠itâs Fernando news with a strong South African connectionâŠ
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Big fan of the Dakar, so I agree. I shall start one later today.
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The comments are comedy gold on this one.
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I heard this circuit has the best fans
Best comment
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Mexico Free Practice 1:
0.1s splits the top 3, one each from the three top teams, with the respective teammates 4, 5 and 6. Worth noting though that the Ferrari times were set on Mediums, while the others all posted fasted times on the Softs.
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Mexico Free Practice 2:
Again the times are very close at the top. Ferrari showing their pace, with Max sandwiching his Red Bull between them. Mercs P4 and P5 this time around. Solid contact with the barriers by Albon early on sees him sit most of the session out. Also a pretty scary high-speed spin from Leclerc late in the session but fortunately no walls near him at the time.
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Mexico FP3:
A slow start to the session, with a very damp track when the lights went green. Most cars only risking an installation lap or two on Inters. Hydraulic problems for both the Renaults keep them out of the session, while Gasly spens the first half of the session recuperating in the motorhome as he struggles with a little bit of a taco tummy.
Ferrari takes the top 2 spots, with the Mercs leapfrogging Red Bull to slot in behind. As does Carlos Sainz, who put together a terrific lap to go P5 in the session.
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Mexico Qualifying:
Scrappy laps from the Ferrari pair, a big shiny at the end of Q3 for Bottas, and a perfect 1st run lap from Max, and the unexpected happens.
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But wait⊠Max has been summoned to the stewards for not slowing down during Bottasâ crash
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Aaaand⊠Heâs lost it.
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They added: â[Verstappen] admitted that he was aware that car 77 (Valtteri Bottas) crashed and did see the car on the left hand side of the track, but was not aware of the waved yellow flag. He also admitted not reducing his speed on the yellow sector.
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Ferrari FIA conspiracy! We all know they love the prancing horses!
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In all honesty
I wish I skipped the race
Oh Lewis, the bitching and moaning about how his tires wont last . . . (as if)
I honestly have no idea what Ferrari Strategy team is smoking/drinking but they cannot strategise to save their lives.
And I was heartbroken for Norris, Sainz did well, so did Ric. The rest was just meh. There was some decent midfield racing
https://www.racefans.net/2019/10/28/vettel-unimpressed-by-selfie-guy-and-s-trophies/
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Everytime.
And yes, Ferrari needs to stop!
Also Torpedo strikes again, again!
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