NEED TO KNOW: The most important facts, stats and trivia ahead of the 2024 Mexico City Grand Prix

The Mexico City Grand Prix is the next stop for the F1 paddock in a triple header sequence. Ahead of the event at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, Need to Know is your all-in-one guide with stats, trivia, insight and much more. You can also see how fans have voted using our F1 Play predictor game.

After the Sprint format featured last time out in Austin, it’s back to the traditional weekend schedule for this round. FP1 and FP2 – the latter will be extended by 30 minutes to allow for Pirelli 2025 tyre testing – will take place on Friday, October 25, followed by FP3 and qualifying on Saturday, October 26 and the Grand Prix itself on Sunday, October 27.

Vital statistics

o First Grand Prix – 1963
o Track Length – 4.304km
o Lap record – 1m 17.774s, Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes, 2021
o Most pole positions – Jim Clark (4)
o Most wins – Max Verstappen (5)
o Trivia – The 20% air pressure reduction at 7,200ft AMSL (above mean sea level) means Mexico has taken over from Italy as the race with the highest top speeds. In the 2016 race Valtteri Bottas set the fastest ever trap speed in F1 history (231.46mph) but Williams telemetry said his maximum speed reached 231.96mph before braking for Turn 1
o Pole run to Turn 1 braking point – 830m
o Overtakes completed in 2023 – 121
o Safety Car probability – 43%*
o Virtual Safety Car probability – 86%*
o Pit stop time loss – 21.86 seconds

*From the last seven races in Mexico

FAN VIEW: Despite missing out on a win in Austin, Lando Norris is the massive favourite to claim victory this weekend according to F1 Play gamers. The drivers’ championship contender has earned a mammoth 92.8% of votes so far to stand on the top step of the podium, with title rival Max Verstappen next best on 5%.

The driver's verdict

Jolyon Palmer, former Renault F1 driver: The Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez has a low downforce effect but, here in Mexico City, you run to the maximum due to the thin air. The car always feels low on grip and on the edge around here.

The big braking zones are tricky in the first half of the lap and it is always loose through the middle sector thanks to the aforementioned low downforce. You've got to work out how much kerb you can take early on, take too much and it can really unsettle the car.

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The last sector is fiddly and it feels ridiculously slow through the stadium. The penultimate right-hander feels like it might be nothing, but it is arguably the easiest to crash on with low grip and the wall so close.

Grip level overall is very low and the car feels so clumsy at such a low speed. But the atmosphere around here in Mexico is great, which is such a buzz...particularly if you are Sergio Perez.

ONBOARD: Charles Leclerc’s 2023 Pirelli Pole Position Award lap at the Mexico City Grand Prix

Last five Mexican GP pole-sitters

o 2023 – Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
o 2022 – Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
o 2021 – Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)
o 2019 – Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)*
o 2018 – Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull)

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Last five Mexican GP winners

o 2023 – Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
o 2022 – Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
o 2021 – Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
o 2019 – Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
o 2018 – Max Verstappen (Red Bull)

*Max Verstappen set the fastest time in qualifying, but received a three-place grid penalty for failing to slow for yellow flags

FAN VIEW: F1 Play gamers have tipped Norris as the most likely pole-sitter for the Mexico City Grand Prix. The McLaren driver has racked up 27.9% of selections so far – with Verstappen, team mate Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc all close behind.

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO - OCTOBER 29: Race winner Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull — Verstappen claimed his fourth win in Mexico in 2023, but can he continue his winning streak at the event this year?

Tyre and strategy insight

"The Hermanos Rodriguez track is 4.304 km long, with 17 corners and a surface that is low in terms of its severity on tyres," reads Pirelli's weekend preview. "This year the promoter has resurfaced the section between Turns 12 and 15 in the third sector.

"The very smooth asphalt and the fact the track is hardly used means that grip levels are rather low at the start of the weekend and track evolution is very marked, rubbering in the more the cars run.

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"Mexico City is located at over 2,000 metres above sea level and the rarified air has an influence on car performance, reducing the aerodynamic downforce generated by the cars.

"One of the consequences of this is that top speeds reached are very high, despite a configuration that actually looks typical of tracks that require maximum downforce, even if the level of graining is usually quite high.

"Furthermore, on the longest straights, the main one and the one between Turns 3 and 4, the surface temperature of the tyres tends to drop pretty quickly and the drivers have to be very careful when braking, especially at Turn 1, to avoid locking the wheels and therefore damaging the tyres.

"In terms of strategy, this is usually a one-stop race. Last year, the majority of drivers tried to manage the medium to lengthen the first stint as much as possible. A Safety Car and a later red flag, after Kevin Magnussen went off the track in the Haas, meant that nearly the entire field used three sets of tyres in a race that was pretty much divided in two."

FAN VIEW: Norris, Verstappen, Piastri and Leclerc are all expected to contend for the podium in Mexico, with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz very much in the mix too according to F1 Play gamers. The Mercedes pair of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell are considered long shots for a top-three finish.

Current form

There are five races remaining in this thrilling 2024 season and the battles for both championships are still very much alive. With a seemingly ever-changing pecking order amongst the front-runners – as well as across the midfield – we look set for an exciting run to the end of the campaign.

After failing to win a race since the Spanish Grand Prix in June, Max Verstappen took victory in the Sprint last time out in Austin, suggesting that Red Bull are back on form again following a slightly tough run which saw them overhauled by McLaren in the constructors’ standings.

However, it was advantage Ferrari come Sunday’s Grand Prix, with Charles Leclerc surging into P1 at the first corner and going on to lead a dominant one-two alongside team mate Carlos Sainz. This has brought the Scuderia even closer to the fight at the top of the teams’ table, having narrowed the gap to Red Bull to just eight points while McLaren are 48 points ahead.

Leclerc has stated that Ferrari are “targeting the title” following his triumph at the Circuit of The Americas – can the team keep that momentum going into Mexico, a track where Leclerc claimed pole position last year before finishing the race on the podium?

Lando Norris will be hoping for a better outing at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. While his weekend in Austin was not a disaster, the Briton and his team were disappointed by the five-second penalty he received for leaving the track and gaining an advantage during his late-race scrap with Verstappen, a punishment that dropped him down to P4.

It was also a tough few days for Mercedes at the United States Grand Prix, with Lewis Hamilton spinning out of the running early on while George Russell put in a recovery drive to finish sixth following a pit lane start. The squad – now holding a lonely fourth in the constructors’ – are targeting more consistency with their up-and-down W15.

Elsewhere, the battle amongst the midfield is heating up; Haas have now overtaken RB for sixth but hold the position by just two points, while Williams will be hoping to keep Alpine at bay in the fight for eighth.

With so much still to be decided, every race weekend to come could prove crucial…

FAN VIEW: Haas pair Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen, RB’s Yuki Tsunoda and Williams starlet Franco Colapinto are all receiving a healthy share of support in terms of who F1 Play gamers think could potentially score points in Mexico. There is also strong backing for Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso ahead of what will be his 400th race in F1.

Highlights: 2024 United States Grand Prix

Iconic moment

The opening lap at the 2017 Mexican Grand Prix was eventful to say the least. Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel had managed to grab pole ahead of the Red Bull of Max Verstappen in P2 and title rival Lewis Hamilton in P3.

But as soon as the lights went out it was a young Verstappen who managed to force himself past Vettel at the second corner, allowing Hamilton himself to overtake the German. However, on the entry to the third corner Vettel clipped Verstappen's right rear tyre, and also subsequently came together with Hamilton's right rear.

Vettel would end up pitting for a new wing following that incident, while Hamilton would limp back with a puncture – the two championship contenders now left in 19th and 20th respectively.

With Verstappen going on to seal the win, Vettel would battle back to fourth. However, Hamilton managed to haul his Mercedes up to ninth place and that was enough to secure the 2017 drivers' title.

Watch the action as it unfolded in the clip below...

Race highlights - Mexico 2017

Elsewhere in Mexico City

There’s more activity taking place this weekend as part of the wider Sustainability Strategy that Formula 1 introduced in 2019, which includes the goal of being Net Zero by 2030, leaving a legacy of positive change and creating a more diverse sport that reflects the world in which we race.

👥 Inclusion and accessibility

The circuit is partnering with World Meeting Forum Foundation to support people with disabilities, providing working opportunities across the event, including in the Fanzone, guest services and hospitality areas.

Sign language interpreters will be visible across the circuit to support fans who are hard of hearing in experiencing the event, including during the National Anthem.

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💚 Sustainability across the circuit

To reduce single-use plastic at the Grand Prix, more than 800,000 aluminium cups will be used by vendors. Used cups will be collected, washed and recycled for reuse. In addition, there will be more than 70 water fountains across the circuit for fans to fill up from.

Continuing from the pilot project last year, over 30 dry toilets will also be available in the Blue Fan Zone, contributing to a reduction in water use across the weekend.

🎓 Local university internships

Thirteen students have been selected from local universities by the promoter for a unique internship. The students have been working in various departments over the last few months in the build-up to the event, including sustainability, ticketing and finance.