F1 in Mexico City: Yet another Ferrari fiasco, but that’s not all
There was plenty of drama on and off the track for Formula 1 this weekend.
Formula 1 has a new World Drivers' Champion. Just a few months after turning 20, Kimi Antonelli sealed his first title this weekend at Mexico City, becoming the sport’s youngest-ever champion. Elsewhere, there was drama aplenty, perhaps a consequence of the thin air affecting decision-making in some cases. The race was Ferrari’s to win, but yet again, the team handed victory to a rival this season, in this case Red Bull. Further down the grid, we saw a last-minute driver change in the Haas team, synchronized retirements from both Aston Martins, and the wheels literally coming off Cadillac Racing. And there was I, expecting a dull weekend.
It might not be as high as Pikes Peak, but at an elevation of 7,350 feet (2,240 m) above sea level, the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez provides a unique challenge on the F1 calendar. Wings that would create huge amounts of downforce at circuits like Monaco just generate Monza-like levels in Mexico, and there’s little slipstream effect when following another car.
Cooling tends to be a problem, too, with insufficient airflow across radiators, and obviously engine power is reduced with less oxygen to burn. The track is very flat, with a rather low-grip surface and mostly medium- and slow-speed corners, including a processional route through a stadium that was built in the 1990s, plus a very long run from the start into turn 1.