Pirelli’s Mario Isola: “Tyre warm-up” to be “key to success” at Mexico City GP

There is no rest for the FIA Formula 1 World Championship as the season draws ever closer to an end, as this weekend sees the exciting Mexico City Grand Prix, which arguably has the greatest run to Turn One on the calendar.

The circuit is known for featuring upto four-a-breast off the line, as the cars charge down to the first corner, as well as the famous stadium section of the circuit where the fans cheer is heard by all the world. Pirelli have opted for the same tyre compounds as last weekend to be used at the Hermanos Rodriguez Circuit, meaning the C2, C3 and C4 compounds will be in use.

Pirelli are expecting a fascinating weekend due to it being the highest venue on the calendar, with the circuit being 2200 metres above sea-level, putting more strain on the engines due to the thinner air. Usually, the cars suffer from less downforce in the slow speed sections; however, the new regulations could result in the cars behaving differently.

Friday will again, unfortunately, be a pain for all the teams, as Free Practice Two will see the session extended to ninety-minutes once again so the 2023 prototype tyres can be used. If teams use a young driver in the opening session, then they can run their own programmes for a set amount of time before switching to the 2023 tyres.

Pirelli Motorsport director Mario Isola is expecting track evolution to be very high this weekend, with grip set to be an issue with it being a low-demand circuit for the tyres.

“Over the course of a season, our tyres have to cope with a wide variety of conditions depending on the individual characteristics of each venue. If you look back at the last two races, Suzuka was all about lateral forces and Austin was well-balanced aerodynamically, but Mexico this weekend focuses on traction and braking.

“The Hermanos Rodriguez circuit does not offer a lot of grip and the energy demands on the tyres are reasonably low, as the cars do not generate much downforce in the thin air at high altitude, especially in slow corners. This year, the circuit might be more front-limited, as the current generation of car tends to understeer through slow corners – which Mexico has plenty of – and this can lead to some sliding on the front tyres.

“Due to the nature of the venue the circuit tends to feature a dusty surface with plenty of track evolution. Understanding this and getting the tyre warm-up exactly right is likely to be the key to success.”