Racing at altitude

The Hermanos Rodriguez Circuit, named after the two racing brothers, Pedro and Ricardo, sits at 2,286 metres above sea level. It’s an important factor as the air is rarified, making the job of cooling the brakes more complicated, while the engines tend to struggle to suck in enough oxygen for combustion purposes. On the plus side, there is less aerodynamic drag, so that the cars hit very high speeds, even while running quite high aerodynamic downforce.

Traditional venue

The track is situated in a park in the suburbs of Mexico City and the circuit has hosted no fewer than twenty Formula 1 Grands Prix, the last one in 2019. The pandemic meant there was no race in 2020, but last year the action resumed, with the race now called the Mexico City Grand Prix.

Baseball stadium

A unique feature of this venue is that the track slices through the “Foro Sol” baseball stadium, home to the Diablos Rojos del Messico. At the end of the race the podium ceremony and post-race festivities take place in this section, in front of a huge grandstand that spans the track.