The altitudeone of the keys of this Mexican GP. The Hermanos Rodríguez Autodrome is located at 2,285 meters above sea level, something that influences both the single-seaters and the drivers themselves.
With height, air loses density and pressurewhich implies less oxygen. This loss causes the pilots to get tired much sooner, it supposes a extra physical exertion since, every time they breathe, they get less oxygen than usual.
In the mechanical aspectaltitude affects both the refrigeration like to the downforce. The great challenge for the teams is to prevent their cars from overheating, otherwise they could cause an engine breakage. The same thing happens with the brakes, and that is, the hotter they are, the less they brake, and they can get red hot.
Another consequence of the high altitude of this circuit is that there are less downforce and therefore the teams need to use high load settings to compensate for the lack that exists in this Mexican GP and improve grip. The lower aerodynamic load means that there is much less grip than usual.
Team Updates for Mexico
The teams of Formula 1 have led various updates in their single-seaters to be able to face the Mexican GP since the Autodromo Hermanos Rodríguez is the circuit with the highest altitude on the calendar.
McLaren has added more slots to the engine cover, has put grids and have readjusted the air outlet to increase flow of this in the back of the car. In addition, it has added a few more winglets on the rear brake ducts to try to increase downforce.
Red Bull has enlarged the central part of the bodywork on the engine cover to try to achieve a increased cooling. AlphaTauri, like McLaren, has also fitted new cooling vents for greater airflow. In turn, they have enlarged the output of the front brake duct so that there is better cooling in the discs and in the caliper and to prevent them from overheating.
