#F1 #MexicoCityGP 2023 Preview. #MexicanGP #MexicoGP #Formula1
Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix 2022 Race Start, Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, Mexico City, Mexico. Xin Yuewei/Xinhua via Getty Images. 2023 Mexican GP Preview, F1 Mexico City GP Preview, 2023 Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix Preview,
2023 Mexican GP Preview – After Max Verstappen scored both victories in the Sprint and the Grand Prix in Austin, round 20 of the 2023 FIA Formula One World Championship returns to the famous Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City, Mexico this weekend for the Formula 1 Gran Premio De La Ciudad De Mexico 2023. This will be the 24th time that Mexico will be hosting a Grand Prix and the twentieth as part of the FIA Formula One World Championship. This is the second race of a back-to-back-to-back weekends with the US and Brazilian Grands Prix.
2023 Mexican GP Preview – A look at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez
The Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez is a permanent racing circuit located in Mexico City, Mexico named after famous racing drivers and brothers Ricardo and Pedro Rodriguez. The circuit was built in 1962 within the public park of Magdalena Mixhuca Sports City in southeast Mexico City and hosted its first Formula One Grand Prix the same year as a non-championship round. The following year the Mexican Grand Prix became a full World Championship event. The circuit remained part of the calendar through until 1970 when spectator overcrowding caused unsafe conditions and was dropped from the calendar for 15 years. When the track re-opened and Formula 1 returned from 1986-1992, it boasted a new pit building complex, as well as improved safety all around. Eventually as race speeds increased, the number of serious accidents grew and demands for further safety improvements were made. The organisers were faced with financial difficulties and could not meet the demands needed to keep it on the calendar and was again dropped. In August 2011 with the rise of Mexican drivers Sergio Perez and Esteban Gutierrez, its revived plans to bring Grand Prix racing back to Mexico with tycoon Carlos Slim proposing a revived Mexican Grand Prix.
In May 2012, it was announced that the circuit again will host a Grand Prix from 2013 in a five-year deal to replace Valencia, but this did not happen. It was then listed as the 19th round of the 2014 championship on the provisional calendar but was not finalised on the schedule. In July 2014, it was then announced by Bernie Ecclestone that the Mexican Grand Prix will return starting in 2015 on a 5- year deal.
The Grand Prix circuit underwent major renovations from circuit designer Hermann Tilke for the return of Formula 1 in 2015. The front straight was slightly extended and modified to incorporate a new media centre and paddock. The iconic Esses between turns 7 and 13 were significantly changed with 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 accommodate a low-speed left-right combination that bypassed the first half of the famous Peraltada, allowing the cars to re-enter the Peraltada halfway through the corner.
The circuit has the highest altitude of any Formula One event on the calendar all year and this affects aerodynamics as well as top speed. On the 1.3 kilometre main straight, the 1.6L turbocharged V6 era cars will exceed 330kph.
The current Grand Prix circuit is 4.304km (2.674mi) in length with 17 corners and runs in a clockwise direction.
Race distance is 305.354km (190.846mi) in length with 71 laps in total.
Valtteri Bottas holds the fastest lap record at the Mexican Grand Prix with a 1:17.774 set at the 2021 event in his Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team F1 W12 E Performance racer.
Max Verstappen holds the record of most Mexican Grand Prix victories with four.
Oracle Red Bull Racing and Team Lotus are the most successful constructor at the Mexican Grand Prix with four victories each to their respective names.
2023 Mexican GP Preview – The Last Five Mexican Grand Prix winners
2022: Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing. 2021: Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing. 2020: Not held. 2019: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG F1. 2018: Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing. 2017: Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing.
2023 Mexican GP Preview – Onboard pole lap of the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez
Here is the onboard pole lap of the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez set at last year’s Mexico City Grand Prix by Max Verstappen in his Oracle Red Bull Racing Honda-RBPT RB18 racer, with the defending Grand Prix winner posting a blistering 1:17.775. You can watch the video right here at the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkNRa6qTxtE
2023 Mexican GP Preview – Tyres
Pirelli will be bringing with them to Mexico, the white side-walled C3 Hards, the yellow-branded C4 Mediums and the red-marked C5 Softs along with the green-marked Intermediate and blue-branded Full Wet tyre compounds in case of rain.
Teams will also trial a prototype C4 tyre this weekend at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
Drivers will have eight sets of the softs, three sets of the mediums and two sets of the hards.
2023 Mexican GP Preview – DRS Zones
At the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez there will be two DRS Zones, with the detection point between turns 14 and 15 with the first activation point on the main straight with the second activation zone between turns 3 and 4 on the second straight.
2023 Mexican GP Preview – Pitlane Speed Limits
Pitlane speed limits will be 80km/h during practice, qualifying and the race.
ICYMI: Verstappen manages brake issue to fend-off Hamilton to clinch US GP victory
Newly-crowned three-time world champion Max Verstappen managed a brake issue and held-off a closing Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton to take his 50th-career victory at the US GP after starting from sixth as McLaren’s Lando Norris completed the final podium place.
When the 56 lap US GP began, second-placed Norris made the better start off the line compared to Leclerc and dived on the inside into turn one to take the lead.
Behind them, Sainz made his way in-front of Hamilton’s Mercedes to grab third place meanwhile Piastri made a solid start and was up into sixth place.
At the end of the opening tour, Norris held a 2.040 second lead over Leclerc who was second, Sainz was a further 2.977 adrift in third, Hamilton fourth and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen rounded out the top five.
On lap three, Russell dived up the inside of Alpine’s Esteban Ocon to take seventh place into turn 11 whilst a corner later on the back straight, Red Bull’s Sergio Perez made an inside move with DRS on the Alpine to move up into eighth.
Gasly also got ahead of his Alpine team-mate to take ninth and AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda also made his way in-front of Ocon to push the Frenchman out of the top ten.
A tour later, Hamilton with DRS assistance on the back straight moved up the inside of Sainz into turn 12 to take third place from the Ferrari.
On lap six, Norris increased his lead to 3.204 seconds over Leclerc with Hamilton third and closely behind the Ferrari, Verstappen up into fourth after also picking off Sainz.
Hamilton with DRS assistance down the back straight got into the slipstream of the Ferrari and made an easy move on the inside to take second place.
Lap seven saw Ocon become the first retiree of the race after sustaining damage on lap one in his incident with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri.
The order on lap ten saw Norris’s lead at 2.933 seconds over Hamilton with Leclerc in third, Verstappen right behind the Ferrari in fourth as Sainz rounded out the top five in the other SF-23 entry.
Piastri’s McLaren was the second retirement of the Grand Prix parking his MCL60 racer in the garage due to damage to the cooling system and radiator.
A tour later, Verstappen made the move up the inside of Leclerc’s Ferrari into turn 12, forcing the Monegasque driver wide and the latter tried to remain ahead into turn 13 but the Dutchman covered the SF-23 around the outside to take third place.
On the 15th lap, Norris’s lead was down to 1.933 with Hamilton closing in on the McLaren, with Verstappen a further 4.622 off in third whilst the two Ferrari’s of Leclerc and Sainz completed the top five.
Lap 17 saw Verstappen the first of the front-runners to pit as the Dutchman put on a fresh set of mediums and emerged in ninth place behind Tsunoda.
The following lap saw Norris react and stop from the lead for a fresh set of the durable C2 harder compound and came out in fourth behind Mercedes’ Russell meanwhile the latter’s team-mate remained out-front.
Sainz also pitted from fifth for a set of mediums to come out in eighth behind Ricciardo and Perez also stopped for a fresh set of the yellow side-walled tyre to come out in tenth behind Alonso’s Aston Martin.
A tour later, Gasly peeled into the pits from seventh for a set of mediums and came out in 11th behind Aston’s Lance Stroll.
Lap 20 saw the yet-to-pit Hamilton ahead by 5.938 seconds over Leclerc with Russell third, Norris fourth as Russell completed the top five.
On the 21st tour, Hamilton stopped from the lead and came in for a fresh set of the C2 white side-walled harder compounds, emerging in fifth place behind Verstappen meanwhile the former’s team-mate Russell was overtaken easily by Norris on his fresher rubber to take second place.
The 22nd lap saw Russell pit from third for hards and came out in eighth place behind AlphaTauri’s Ricciardo.
The 23rd lap saw the yet-to-pit Leclerc have a 1.396 second lead over Norris with Verstappen holding third, Hamilton fourth as Sainz currently with the fastest lap rounding out the top five.
Leclerc came in from the lead on lap 24 for his stop for a fresh set of the C2 harder compound and emerged in sixth place behind Perez.
Meanwhile Aston Martin’s Alonso got into the slipstream and with DRS assistance on Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu went on the outside of the Chinese driver on the back straight and overtook the C43 into turn 12 to sneak into the top ten.
On lap 25, Norris’s lead was down to 1.524 seconds over the closing Red Bull of Verstappen with Hamilton third, Sainz fourth, Perez fifth and Leclerc completing the top six runners.
Lap 27 in the battle for the lead, Verstappen brought the gap down on McLaren’s Norris to under a second and was into DRS range of the Briton.
On the back straight, Verstappen with DRS assistance got ever closer to Norris on the back straight, but the latter covered off the Red Bull into turn 12.
A lap later, Verstappen once again with DRS assistance on the back straight dived up on the inside of Norris to grab the lead and made the move stick into turn 13 despite the Briton trying to grab the place back.
The order on lap 30 saw Verstappen’s lead at 0.864 seconds over Norris with Hamilton a further 4.927 adrift in third whilst the fastest lap-holding Sainz fourth, Perez fifth and Sainz rounding out the top six.
On lap 31, Norris was coming back at medium tyre running-leader Verstappen and was in DRS range on the back straight meanwhile Hamilton was closing in on the front two.
On lap 33, Verstappen started to increase his gap over Norris to 2.836 seconds with Hamilton a further 2.933 behind the McLaren in third place.
Lap saw Norris stop from second for another fresh set of the harder rubber to attempt an undercut on the leading Red Bull and came out in sixth place behind Leclerc.
Red Bull reacted to bring in Verstappen a tour later for a fresh set of the harder rubber and emerged in fourth place behind Leclerc meanwhile Sainz also stopped for set of the C2’s and rejoined in seventh behind Russell.
The 37th tour had the yet-to-pit Hamilton 7.793 seconds in-front of Perez with Leclerc up into third, the twice-pitted Verstappen and Norris in fourth and fifth respectively.
Perez made his second stop on lap 38 and returned to the track in seventh behind Sainz meanwhile his Red Bull team-mate Verstappen closed in on second-placed Leclerc.
A tour later Hamilton stopped from the lead for mediums to come out in fourth place behind Norris, whilst Verstappen on the main straight with DRS assistance made a late dive up the inside of Leclerc to reclaim P1.
Norris, likewise, quickly made short work of Ferrari’s Leclerc on the back straight with DRS assistance made a lunge on the inside to take second place off the SF-23.
Lap 40 saw Russell pit from sixth for a set of the C3 mediums to come out in ninth behind Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll.
Verstappen’s lead on lap 41 was 1.661 seconds over Norris with Leclerc holding third place, Hamilton fourth, Sainz fifth as the now fastest-lap holding Perez rounded out the top six runners.
A tour later, Verstappen reported that his brakes are gone as Hamilton got ever closer to Leclerc in the battle for third place.
Hamilton on lap 43 with DRS assistance on the back straight easily got passed the Ferrari of Leclerc on the inside before turn 12 to take third place whilst Alonso pitted from seventh for the harder rubber and came out in 10th place behind Tsunoda.
With ten laps remaining, Verstappen’s lead was at 3.267 seconds over Norris with the medium tyre running Hamilton third, Leclerc fourth as Sainz completed the top five.
Lap 48 saw Hamilton draw ever closer to Norris in the fight for second place and was right behind the McLaren into turn 12 and the latter managed to cover his fellow British compatriot.
Until on lap 49, Norris tried to fend off Hamilton into turn one running wide, but the latter made his way on the inside of the MCL60 on the exit of the opening corner and with better traction made his way into second place.
Lap 50 saw Sainz move on the inside of Leclerc into turn 12 to take fourth place in an attempt to chase down Norris.
Alonso was the third retiree on lap 51 of the Grand Prix after suffering a floor issue, parking his AMR23 in the garage.
The 53rd tour saw Perez tucked right behind the fifth-place Ferrari of Leclerc on the main straight as the Mexican tried to overtake the SF-23 into turn one, but the Monegasque driver covered the RB19 and ran wide as Perez with better traction out of the exit of the first corner jumped in-front to take fourth place.
On the penultimate lap, the battle for the lead was intensifying as Verstappen continued to struggle with a braking issue and the Briton brought the gap down to 2.279 seconds.
On the final tour, Verstappen with DRS assistance managed to overlap Zhou crucially to hold off Hamilton by 2.225 seconds to clinch his 50th-career victory at the US GP as Norris took the final podium place and a further 10.730 seconds back.
Sainz settled for fourth place and in-front of Red Bull’s Perez who finished fifth and Ferrari team-mate Leclerc who was sixth.
Mercedes’ Russell ended the United States GP in seventh place and ahead of Alpine’s Pierre Gasly who came home eighth, Aston Martin’s Stroll who finished ninth and AlphaTauri’s Tsunoda who completed the top ten.
The two Williams Racing FW45 entries of Alexander Albon and Logan Sargeant were 11th and 12th respectively and in-front of Haas F1 Team’s Nico Hulkenberg who was 13th and the Alfa Romeo duo of Valtteri Bottas and Zhou who came 14th and 15th in the classification.
Haas F1 Team’s Kevin Magnussen and AlphaTauri’s Daniel Ricciardo brought up the rear and a lap down from the lead.
The Situation
Formula One heads straight to Mexico this weekend for the Mexico City Grand Prix, where Red Bull Racing’s Sergio Perez will get the support from his local crowd.
Perez is “optimistic” about his chances of performing well in-front of his home fans, despite being out-performed by his Red Bull team-mate Max Verstappen throughout the Sprint format weekend at the United States Grand Prix.
Hamilton’s disqualification proved to be a lifeline for Perez as he hold a 39-points gap over the Briton in the fight for the runner up place in the World Driver’s Championship standings.
Red Bull Racing have never finished one-two in the World Drivers’ Standings since joining the sport in 2005 replacing Jaguar, and the Milton Keynes based-outfit are desperate for the Mexican to finish second.
Defending race winner Verstappen will once again be favourite, having won the event four times with victories in 2017, 2018. 2021 and last season.
The Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez is 2,200m above sea level, which could influence the pecking order so Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes will be pushing to deny Verstappen a 16th victory of the season, which would break the Dutchman’s own record from last campaign.
Newly-crowned three-time world champion Verstappen returns to Mexico City with the World Driver’s title wrapped up and sitting on 466 points with a 226-point advantage over Red Bull team-mate Perez who is second on 240 points whilst Hamilton is third and a further 201 behind the Dutchman on 265 points.
Oracle Red Bull Racing returns to the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez with the World Constructor’s Championship secured, currently sitting on top with 706 points with a 362-point gap over nearest rivals Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula 1 Team who are second on 344 points while Scuderia Ferrari are a further 382 behind the Milton Keynes based-outfit in third on 322 points.
Rookies Jack Doohan, Oliver Bearman and Frederik Vesti will drive for BWT Alpine F1 Team, MoneyGram Haas F1 Team and Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula 1 Team in opening practice. Bearman and Vesti will make their Formula One practice debut.
Click here for the 2023 Formula 1 World Driver’s (Top 10) and Constructors Championship Standings
The Formula 1 Gran Premio De La Ciudad De Mexico 2022 weekend begins Friday October 27 with Free Practice 1 and 2, followed by Free Practice 3 and Qualifying Saturday October 28 and the 71 lap Race Sunday October 29.
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