Breaking news
Formula 1 Mexican GP
F1 set to match Monza top speeds in Mexico
Formula 1 cars look set to match, or even exceed, the highest top speeds of the season at the Mexican Grand Prix, according to early simulation data produced ahead of the race.
Jonathan Noble
Edited: May 5, 2021, 4:37 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
With the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez situated at 2200 metres above sea level, the less dense air is going to have a big effect on aerodynamic performance.
The analysis of its impact is that if teams can recover the loss of engine power by spooling their turbos to run higher than they normally do, then there is a chance that top speeds will mirror – or even beat – the 355km/h mark experienced at Monza.
And more intriguingly, the speeds could come despite teams running in high downforce configuration – because the less dense air means there is less of a drag drawback.
McLaren racing director Eric Boullier told Motorsport.com: “It is true we will be seeing cars with full downforce, but with Monza top speed levels.”
Fruity speeds
Lotus technical director Nick Chester believes that the reduced drag will show with the high top speeds – especially along the main start-finish straight.
“The less dense air provides less downforce and drag than we would produce at sea level,” he said. “Because of this we could see some pretty fruity speeds along the start-finish straight.
“Less dense air also means you can’t cool everything you want to be cooled as well as would be the case at lower ground levels.”
Engine challenge
The key to potentially delivering the top speeds will be in ensuring the engines continue to deliver their maximum power.
Mercedes chief race engineer Andrew Shovlin reckoned that Mexico would be an 'extreme' challenge for the engines.
“Mexico is going to present some very unique challenges for the Petronas Syntium engine oil,” he explained in a preview published on behalf of the team's fuel supplier.
“The high altitude means you have very low cooling, so it is an extreme circuit – and that will be one of the biggest issues we face this weekend.”
Check out our Mexican GP preview:
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Verstappen's Le Mans return plans dashed by Baku clash
Next article Williams seeks solution for Austin suspension failures
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Jonathan Noble
Brundle awarded OBE in King’s New Year’s honours
Formula 1
Formula 1 Dec 31, 2024
Brundle awarded OBE in King’s New Year’s honours
The new rules dilemma that will define the 2025 F1 season
Formula 1
Formula 1 Dec 31, 2024
The new rules dilemma that will define the 2025 F1 season
Verstappen issues Red Bull title warning in push for RB21 progress
Formula 1
Formula 1
Australian GP
Dec 28, 2024
Verstappen issues Red Bull title warning in push for RB21 progress
Latest news
The ten closest finishes from the 2026 NASCAR season
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup 11 h
The ten closest finishes from the 2026 NASCAR season
‘Lewis suspected a conspiracy’ – Nico Rosberg explains how Lewis Hamilton F1 rivalry went awry at Mercedes
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1 12 h
‘Lewis suspected a conspiracy’ – Nico Rosberg explains how Lewis Hamilton F1 rivalry went awry at Mercedes
BMW "proud of what we achieved" after securing runner-up in 2026 WEC
WEC
WEC WEC
Monza
13 h
BMW "proud of what we achieved" after securing runner-up in 2026 WEC
The numbers that reveal how sprint races have turned the MotoGP title fight upside down
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Qatar GP
15 h
The numbers that reveal how sprint races have turned the MotoGP title fight upside down
Feature
Discover prime content
Top 10 F1 cars of the 1970s
Formula 1
By Kevin Turner
Top 10 F1 cars of the 1970s
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe