I had missed writing my blog for Suzuka, as I was attending the Japanese grandprix with one of the best racing fans in motorsports. It’s said that for a good habit, “Never miss twice” and it is another Formula 1 weekend, with racing at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico. The circuit, located within the public park of the Magdalena Mixhuca Sports City and is named after racing driver brothers Ricardo Rodriguez and Pedro Rodriguez.
The circuit is F1’s highest altitude circuit and is situated at 6,500 feet above sea level. The air is thinner at high altitudes (reduced pressure) and results in less down force, drag and affects cooling capacity of the car. Car needs to be run with high down force and sufficient amount of oxygen is required for proper combustion.
One of the iconic parts of the track is the stadium section at Turn 12 to Turn 13, where the drivers will feel like gladiators entering into an amphitheater filled with cheers from racing fans.
Red Bull has always excelled in track that demands more aerodynamic concepts. For the past two-years, Red Bull was the winner at Mexico with Renault power unit. Will they be able to maintain the winning spree with Honda?
Practice 1
Practice 1 had shown early signs of the circuit’s atmospheric condition as tyre graining was one of the major problems faced by the team and more than one pit stops will be required during the main race on Sunday. Practice 1 ended with Hamilton (77.327 sec) on top of the sheet followed by Verstappen (77.335 sec) and Leclerc (77.446 sec). Based on the analysis, Red Bull (78.643 sec) had good race pace followed by Ferrari (79.751 sec) and Toro Rosso (80.349 sec).
Practice 1 - Timing Charts
Practice 1 - Tyre Charts
Practice 1 - Sector Charts
Practice 2
Ferrari’s straight-line speed has been the talk of the paddock since summer break. Most of the time they lost in the Sector 2 and Sector 3 were able to compensate with their straight-line speed in Sector 1. In Sector 1, Ferrari’s were able to clock 0.400 seconds less than the next constructor which is surprisingly Red Bull. The session ended with Vettel (76.607 sec) on top of the charts followed by Verstappen (76.722 sec) and Leclerc (77.072 sec). Analysing the long runs, Leclerc topped the sheet with average time of 80.553.
Practice 2 - Timing Charts
Practice 2 - Tyre Charts
Practice 2 - Sector Charts
Practice 3
Mercedes had an average performance in Practice 1 & 2 sessions and are yet to show their true pace. Bottas and Hamilton had strong Sector 2 pace separating the next constructor by 0.180 seconds. Also, they had a different simulation program for the practice 3 session with runs on intermediate, medium and soft tyres. Ignoring the anomalies, Mercedes will have good race pace compared to the represented data.
The session ended with Leclerc (76.145 sec) on top of the charts followed by Vettel (76.172sec) and Bottas (76.259 sec). Analysing the long runs, Vettel topped the sheet with average time of 77.167.
Practice 3 - Timing Charts
Practice 3 - Tyre Charts
Practice 3 - Sector Charts
References
The circuit map is taken from Wikipedia