“A good circuit tests a driver’s skill set”

This is a crap circuit,” an ex-formula 1 driver remarked to me in passing last weekend. “Totally neutered. Not what it was…” Well, nothing is, is it? One of the sport’s greatest challenges at the moment is that at a time when it needs to be moving forwards it still has its eyes focused on the contents of the rear-view mirror. No wonder it keeps bumping into things.

And, yes, the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez might have been improved if it had been relaid with a more high-grip asphalt surface when it was renovated, but anyone who thinks the iconic Peraltada corner could or should have been retained in the layout is deluding themselves. We’re talking about a corner on which no less an eminence than Ayrton Senna briefly feared for his life after overturning his Mclaren in the gravel.

With a main road on the other side of the fence, there was no way the run-off could have been brought up to modern safety standards. It’s a shame to hear people who should know better echoing the uninformed sentiments of the kind of person who sits at home with their trousers around their ankles, bashing their opinions into internet forums.

The Mexico venue’s knockers also like to point out that the drivers don’t like the low-grip surface and some of the fiddly low-speed corners. Again, this is a self-reinforcing point: racing drivers love to go fast, and if you ask them whether they prefer quick corners to slow corners they’ll always plump for the former. But of course, they don’t like easy fast corners. We’re back into Eau-rouge-ain’t-what-it-used-to-be territory.

For those watching trackside, a sequence of tricky low-ish-speed corners with iffy grip levels such as Mexico City’s first three turns can be a great insight into driver technique. They may not be fast, but they’re difficult to get right; and surely, that should be part of the challenge. A good circuit should exercise many different elements of a racing driver’s skill set.

Just standing at Turn 1 at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez you can appreciate the silky braking technique of the likes of Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas; it’s a question of left-foot finesse rather than daring lateness. You can see, too, how the crisply balanced Mercedes spears neatly towards the apex, and compare it with the ugly, towing-a-caravan pendulousness of the Renault. If every car passed by in the blink of an eye, you’d never see these details.

So the Mexico track isn’t what it was, it’s what it is. On Saturday morning Bernie popped his head out of his office and was collared for a ‘selfie’ by a passing VIP. Judging by his body language, BCE wasn’t entirely familiar with the procedure or purpose of this ritual, but he put his social-media aversion to one side and did the honours. If Bernie can (grudgingly) live with the now, why can’t you?