MEXICO CITY GP

5-7 November 2021 Autódromo Hermanos Rodriguez

THE MAIN EVENT

Renamed the Mexico City Grand Prix for byzantine reasons involving local politics and whoever ends up paying the tab for running the event, the F1 race held at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodriguez has been a sell-out ever since it returned to the calendar in 2015. That’s thanks to the Sergio Pérez, who must view this year as his greatest chance of a good result on home ground. Not that Red Bull will be inclined to favour him over Max Verstappen, so close is the battle at the top of the drivers’ championship…

Mexico City’s altitude leaves power units gasping but causes less drag, so the cars can run relatively high wing profiles and still reach high top speeds – an essential performance facet on this course’s main straight.

2019 RACE RECAP

Lewis Hamilton notched up his 10th victory of the season despite qualifying in fourth place. Max Verstappen was fastest in qualifying but lost three grid positions for failing to observe a yellow flag when Valtteri Bottas hit the wall. Hamilton and Verstappen touched on the opening lap and both lost positions but, while Lewis managed to make a daring one-stop strategy work to recover and win the race, Verstappen picked up a puncture while making an aggressive move on Bottas.

Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel ran 1-2 for Ferrari but the Italian team was undone by sticking to its strategy, and Hamilton claimed the lead when Leclerc made his second stop.

KEY CORNER: TURN 4 Less heralded than Turns 1-2-3 as an overtaking spot, the left-hander at Turn 4 is an important action area as emotions are often running high, depending on who has got the upper hand through the corners before…

RACE DATA

Venue Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez

First GP 1963

Number of laps 71

Circuit length 2.674 miles Race distance 189.88 miles Lap record 1m18.741s Valtteri Bottas (2018)

F1 races held 20

Winners from pole 9

Pirelli compounds C2,C3,C4

CAR PERFORMANCE Downforce level High Cooling requirement High Full throttle 47%

Top speed 227mph Average speed 115mph

TIMETABLE (UK TIME) Friday 5 November Practice 1 17:30-18:30 Practice 2 21:00-22:00 Saturday 6 November Practice 3 17:00-18:00 Qualifying 20:00-21:00 Sunday 7 November Race 19:00

Live coverage Sky Sports F1 Highlights Channel 4