© Getty Images2024 Mexico City Grand PrixviewDrivers and Team's quotes ahead of the weekend
“Mexico is an unusual event because of the high altitude of the circuit, which means you run a maximum aero package, but only feel Monza levels of downforce and the cars hit some of the highest top speeds of the season. You even notice the lack of oxygen a little bit out of the cockpit, but not so much when you are driving. Although it’s not a Sprint weekend, we will have slightly less time than usual to work on car set-up and ensure we have the right cooling levels on a track where it is easy to overheat many of the components, including the ICE. That’s because FP2 will be spent entirely working on a Pirelli test for next year’s compounds. Austin wasn’t great, so I’m glad we go racing again immediately.“
I’m glad we go racing again immediately
Yuki Tsunoda “Mexico is very different to Austin; a different style of circuits, with the main difference being down to the altitude, meaning we run a high downforce on the car. The speeds we reach are some of the highest of the season, which means through the corners, especially the high-speed section of the track, there’s a lot less downforce compared to somewhere like Austin. Grip is quite low, so the cars slide around quite a lot, making it difficult to manage tyres. For me, I’ve only been there once before to do a free practice session in 2022, so it’ll be similar to Austin, having to re-learn everything, but with the luxury of three rather than just the one. Hopefully some of the things we learnt in Austin will help this week, but given the track is so different, we’ll also be running the car in quite a different window. I’m looking forward to getting back to it and I’m excited to get back in the car!”
AlanPermane(RacingDirector)
“From Austin, we head south to Mexico City for the second leg of this triple header. The largest and most densely populated city in North America sits at an altitude of 2240 metres and this brings unique challenges for the teams. The much lower air pressure significantly reduces the downforce generated and forces the teams to run Monaco levels of drag, with lower than Monza levels of downforce. The other burden this brings is on all the cooling systems. It’s a battle of efficiency because the more the bodywork is opened for increased cooling, the more downforce is lost and drag is increased. The track has a nice mix of technical low speed corners and high speed changes of direction before the drivers enter the stadium section for the final corners. Pirelli will bring their softest tyres of the 2024 range and even with these the race is likely to be a one stop strategy due to the smooth tarmac and altitude effects.”