What tyres will the teams and drivers have for the 2024 Mexico City Grand Prix?

Formula 1 heads to the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez for the Mexico City Grand Prix this weekend – and tyre supplier Pirelli have confirmed the C3 as hard, the C4 as medium and the C5 as soft will be in play during the event.

In a change to the usual format however, Friday’s second free practice session will be extended from 60 minutes to 90 and entirely given over to validating the softer compounds in Pirelli’s 2025 range (the C4, C5 and C6).

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Apart from the dry tyre allocation specifically for the Grand Prix (two sets of the hard, three sets of the medium and seven sets of the soft – one fewer than usual), each driver will have two additional sets of unmarked tyres.

One of these sets will be identical to the tyre available for the weekend, to act as a baseline, while the other will be a 2025 prototype option, both in terms of compound and construction – the latter already homologated back in September.

A performance run and a long run will be in the programme plan for each set, with every team running the same number of laps – and the same quantity of fuel on board – dependent on the type of run.

The only exception will be for regular race drivers who are replaced by a ‘rookie’ driver during FP1. In this case, the race drivers will carry out Pirelli testing for 60 minutes of FP2 only and receive an additional set of medium compound tyres to help them catch up on data gathering.

“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,” reads Pirelli’s weekend preview, which notes resurfacing between Turns 12 and 15.

“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.

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“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.”

For more information about Pirelli’s F1 tyres, visit pirelli.com.