Mexico City GP preview: thin air, high stakes, and a title fight on a knife edge
The calendar turns to altitude. Round 20 drops F1 into Mexico City, where the air is thin, the speeds are indecent, and the championship pressure gets thicker by the lap.
The McLaren civil war has been the drumbeat of 2025, and it’s now thundering into the final stretch. Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have traded blows with a ruthlessness that would make any team principal reach for the antacids, while Max Verstappen lurks with that familiar menace — one big weekend from dragging himself back into the argument. Ferrari’s duo are hanging in the mirrors too; if either red car finds a setup sweet spot here, the title maths could get messy very quickly.
Mexico is always a unique checkpoint. The Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez sits roughly 2,200 metres above sea level, and the thin air plays tricks with the cars. You’ll see maximum wing levels but minimal drag, so the speed traps look like something from Monza. Expect 350km/h-plus on the pit straight before the heavy stop into Turn 1 — the best overtaking spot, provided your battery deployment and brake confidence are in sync.
Downforce is expensive up here and cooling is a nightmare. Teams open up bodywork, re-think brake ducts, and tiptoe around temperatures all weekend. The middle sector’s sweepers punish a nervous rear end; the final sector through the Foro Sol Stadium demands patience and traction, and rewards those who can lean on a stable platform without cooking the tyres. It’s also one of the sport’s great amphitheatres — the podium view over a seething sea of fans remains outrageous every year.
Speaking of fans, the place has long been Checo country. Whether or not the home hero’s on the grid, the grandstands bring World Cup energy and then some. The stadium roars at out-laps. It roars at in-laps. It roars at anyone who even thinks about a move into Turn 12.
What to watch this weekend:
– McLaren dynamics: Norris vs Piastri has been the story, but safety cars and track position are king in Mexico. Team orders? Good luck with that.
– Verstappen’s window: Red Bull traditionally executes well here. If they nail cooling and race pace, this is a damage-limiter at worst, a lifeline at best.
– Ferrari’s bite: Low air density can expose power unit and cooling weaknesses. If the SF-25 is comfortable in traffic and trims drag cleanly, expect them in play.
– Tyres and temps: Long runs drift quickly if you over-slide in the middle sector. Expect a split on one-stop vs conservative two-stop strategies depending on stint length and traffic.
Key details
– Round: 20 of the 2025 Formula One World Championship
– Venue: Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, 4.3km
– Format: Standard weekend (no Sprint)
– Dates: Friday 24 October – Sunday 26 October
– Race start: Sunday 2:00pm local (8:00pm GMT)
– Distance: 71 laps
The lap itself
– Launch down the endless pit straight, trim the tow, and commit to a late brake for the Turn 1/2/3 complex. If you’re defending, cover the inside early.
– Sector two is all about rhythm — sweepers that tempt you into over-driving. Keep the rear alive here or you’ll pay in the stadium.
– Through Foro Sol, it’s slow, loud, and technical. Get the car rotated without lighting up the rears, then feed it out onto the shortened Peraltada and back to Vmax.
The run-in from here is brutal. After Mexico, it’s Sao Paulo’s chaos at Interlagos, Las Vegas under the neon, the tricky twilight of Lusail, and Abu Dhabi’s sign-off. Margins? Gone. Mistakes? Expensive.
Remaining 2025 races
– Sao Paulo Grand Prix – Interlagos – Nov 7–9 (Sprint)
– Las Vegas Grand Prix – Las Vegas Strip – Nov 20–22
– Qatar Grand Prix – Lusail – Nov 28–30 (Sprint)
– Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – Yas Marina – Dec 5–7
Pick a winner? McLaren’s baseline should travel, Red Bull’s Mexico playbook is strong, and Ferrari smell opportunity. But this place has a habit of flipping scripts. Bring lungs, bring patience, bring a cooling package that won’t cook itself. Then hang on.
