Mexican Grand Prix 2016: Preview and Weekend Times

Opening hours

Friday October 28

Free Practice 1: 17pm-00pm (Sky Sport F18 HD – RaiSport 30)

Free Practice 2: 21pm-00pm (Sky Sport F22 HD – RaiSport 30)

Saturday October 29

Free Practice 3: 17pm-00pm (Sky Sport F18 HD – RaiSport 00)

Qualifying: 20pm (Sky Sport F00 HD – Rai 1)

Sunday October 30

Race: 20pm ̶ 00 laps ̶ 71km (Sky Sport F305,354 HD – Rai 1)

* all times indicated refer to Italy: there is a 7 hour difference between Italy and Mexico.

Previous race

The world championship is not as closed as Nico Rosberg would like! Lewis Hamilton manages to snatch the fiftieth victory he has been chasing since Germany this summer in Austin. Now the Englishman is scary, one misstep from the German is enough to completely reverse the situation, but at least for now no mistakes. Nico finishes the race in the States in second place, honorably limiting the loss of points on his teammate. Red Bull is still on the podium, finishing the race with only one car due to an engine failure for Verstappen. Ferrari also finished the race with only Vettel's car, but the problem that stopped Raikkonen was not a technical failure but rather a human error in the pits. The two McLarens did very well in Austin, both in the points, battling with Sainz's surprising Tororosso. Last year Rosberg triumphed in Mexico but the games were already over. We are very sure that this time he will end up the same way

Predictions from F1GrandPrix.it

Rosberg or Hamilton? The fight becomes increasingly close with very few races to go. If Austin was, and this year too, has been a hunting ground for Lewis, here we agree with Nico, so be careful as the title question could already be closed (do we believe it? The first corner is lazy when braking...). The two Red Bulls follow, really in very good shape if we look at how much they counted at the start of the season. Third force are the Ferraris, now a vague memory of the kind words of February.

Circuit

Name: Hermanos Rodriguez Autodrome.

Place: Mexico City, Mexico.

Construction: The circuit was built in the early sixties, in the wake of local enthusiasm for the local favorites, the Rodriguez Brothers. Unfortunately the older of the two, Ricardo, was killed in a tragic accident on this very track in a race not valid for the Formula 1 championship in 1962. His younger but equally talented brother, Pedro, raced in numerous editions of the GP of Mexico but never managed to capture a victory. Unfortunately he also died in 1982 in a car race in Germany, and since then the circuit has been named after the two brothers who tragically died on the track. Fifteen editions of a Formula 1 grand prix were held on this track: from 1963 to 1970 and from 1986 to 1992, before returning to the calendar in 2015. The track has undergone substantial modifications on the occasion of its recent return to the calendar especially at the last corner, which was shortened to accommodate a section of the circuit entirely within a stadium. An astonishing sight welcomes the riders in the last laps of the tour, and what about the podium right inside this stadium? Truly spectacular.

Distance per lap: 4,304 km

Number of curves: 17, ten on the right and seven on the left

Direction of travel: hours.

Technical data:

Aerodynamic Load:	Low	Medium	High
Throttle opening: 50%
Fuel Consumption per Lap: 1,41 kg/rev
Full speed: 360 km/h
Safety Car possibilities: 100%
Travel time in the pit lane with stop:
Overtaking possibilities:	Easy-to-use	Medium	Difficult
Winners from Pole Position: 8 out of 16 editions on this track
Worst Starting Position for a Winner: thirteenth (Prost 1990)

Characteristics of the Track: given that the track is located at 2000 meters above sea level, there are problems that only arise on this track. Cooling is very difficult especially on a very clear day, and requires special devices designed specifically for this track. The rarefaction of the air is also an important factor to take into account for the aerodynamic structure, in fact here we see wings with much higher incidence to compensate for the low density of the air. Although the number of gear changes per lap is just 47, in the 71 laps scheduled the drivers will use the gearbox approximately 5.540 times, one of the highest numbers of gear changes of the entire season. The hourly average of this track is around 217 km/h

Brakes:

Circuit Category:	Light	Medium	Hard
Number of Brakes: 16
Time Spent Braking: 27% of the lap.
Energy Dissipated in Braking During the GP: 244 kWh
Total Load on the Brake Pedal during the GP: 67.876 kg
More challenging braking: the first braking at turn one.

Rubber:

Tires 2015:	ultrasoft	supersoft	Soft Drinks	Medium	Hard
Tire Stress	1	2	3	4	5
Lateral stresses	1	2	3	4	5
Abrasiveness Asphalt	1	2	3	4	5
Grip Asphalt	1	2	3	4	5
Total number of Pits 2015: 38
Winning Strategy 2015: Soft -> Pit Lap 26 Medium -> Pit Lap 46 Medium (Rosberg)
Longest Stints 2015: Soft 28 Laps (Hamilton) – Medium 53 Laps (Perez)

DRS zone: on the main straight, between turn 17 and turn 1 (with detection point before turn 15) and between turn 3 and turn 4 (with the same detection point).

Previous Editions

Latest edition:

2015 edition: shortly before the start of the weekend, Haas, the team that will debut in 2016, announces that it has hired driver Esteban Gutiérrez as Romain Grosjean's teammate. Another novelty is the circuit, extensively renovated and 4304 meters long, it has a suggestive passage inside a stadium. In the first phase of free practice the morning weather made the track damp and the drivers took to the track with intermediate tyres, at the end of which Max Verstappen (Toro Rosso) preceded Daniil Kvyat (Red Bull) and Kimi Räikkönen (Ferrari). In the afternoon's FP2, however, the times began to drop thanks to the dry conditions and Nico Rosberg's Mercedes preceded the two Red Bulls of Kvyat and Daniel Ricciardo. Finally, in the third free practice on Saturday morning the situation did not change much regarding the top 3, with Lewis Hamilton replacing Kvyat in second place. Qualifying: it's an exchange of words between the Mercedes drivers, with Rosberg leading Q1, while Hamilton drops below the 20 minute and 2 mark in Q3. At the end of Q160, however, Rosberg quickly grabbed pole position, leading Hamilton by 21 thousandths, with Sebastian Vettel third. Race: Nico Rosberg holds the top of the race, resisting the attack of Lewis Hamilton at the start. Sebastian Vettel suffers a puncture from Daniel Ricciardo and is immediately forced into the pits, while Fernando Alonso retires after one lap with an engine problem. On lap 4 Kimi Räikkönen, having moved up thanks to the pit stops of the other drivers, was in sixth place when he was attacked by Valtteri Bottas at turn 25. The two collided, with the Ferrari driver forced to abandon. Between lap 28 and 51 Ricciardo and the two Mercedes drivers go to change tires. The ranking still sees Nico Rosberg in command, ahead of Lewis Hamilton, then Kvyat, followed by the Williams duo, who overtook Ricciardo. On lap 7 a mistake at turn 12 causes Sebastian Vettel to go wide and end his race. The final laps only see the positions change after the two Mercedes: Nico Rosberg wins the XNUMXth career victory ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas.

 

RECORD

Test lap: 1:19.480 – N Rosberg – Mercedes – 2015
Race lap: 1:20.521 – N Rosberg – Mercedes – 2015
Distance: 1h43:35.038 – N Rosberg – Mercedes – 2015
Driver victories: 2 – J Clark, A Prost, N Mansell
Team victories: 3 – Lotus, McLaren, Williams
Driver Pole: 4 – J Ckark
Pole team: 6 – Lotus
Best driver laps: 3 – J Clark
Best team laps: 4 – Lotus
Driver podiums: 4 – D Hulme, A Senna, N Mansell, R Patrese
Team podiums: 10 – Brabham

Hall of Fame

1. 1963 J Clark – Lotus
2. 1964 D Gurney – Brabham
3. 1965 R Ginther – Honda
4. 1966 J Surtees–Cooper
5. 1967 J Clark – Lotus
6. 1968 G Hill – Lotus
7. 1969 D Hulme – McLaren
8. 1970 J Ickx – Ferrari
9. 1986 G Berger – Benetton
10. 1987 N Mansell–Williams
11. 1988 A Prost – McLaren
12. 1989 A Senna – McLaren
13. 1990 A Prost – Ferrari
14. 1991 R Patrese – Williams
15. 1992 N Mansell–Williams
16. 2015 N Rosberg – Mercedes

Andrea Villa, Matteo Bramati.

Sources: Brembo, Pirelli.