F1 Team Form: Mexico City Grand Prix

Red Bull hold the record for most wins at the Mexico City Grand Prix having won five of the last six races here, while Haas have scored at the circuit only once in their history. Here’s everything you need to know about each team’s history at the Mexico City Grand Prix!

RED BULL

WINS: 5, POLES: 2, PODIUMS: 8 | 2023 MEXICO CITY GRAND PRIX RESULT: VERSTAPPEN 1st, PEREZ DNF

Red Bull have won every F1 race in Mexico since 2021. Red Bull have won the Mexico City Grand Prix five times in total, with Max Verstappen being victorious in 2017, 2018, 2021, 2022 and 2023. Their 2022 victory at the circuit saw them overtake Lotus as the team to have the most wins in Mexico City.

Sergio Perez also finished on the podium in 2021 and 2022, recording the team’s first double podium finishes in Mexico City. Verstappen’s 2023 win took their total number of podiums at the track to eight.

Red Bull’s only retirements so far at the Mexico City Grand Prix came in seasons that they won, with Daniel Ricciardo failing to finish in both 2017 and 2018 and Perez being eliminated on the opening lap in 2023.

Aside from their three non-finishes and Alex Albon’s sixth place in 2019, Red Bull have finished in the top five on every attempt.

Red Bull at the 2019 Mexico City Grand Prix

Red Bull have set the pole position time in 2018, 2019 and 2022. While Daniel Ricciardo beat Max Verstappen to pole in the 2018 event by just 0.023 seconds, Verstappen set the pole time in 2019. After qualifying, Verstappen was demoted after failing to slow for yellow flags. He started from pole for the first time in 2022.

A Red Bull driver is yet to miss out on reaching the final part of qualifying at this track. The team secured their only front row lock-out here to date in 2018. They also started from the front row with Verstappen qualifying in second in 2017, the same year in which Ricciardo qualified seventh – their worst qualifying slot so far at the circuit. Ricciardo was demoted to 16th on the grid that year due to power unit changes.

MERCEDES

WINS: 3, POLES: 3, PODIUMS: 10 | 2023 MEXICO CITY GRAND PRIX RESULT: HAMILTON 2nd, RUSSELL 6th

Mercedes dominated on their first two appearances at the Mexico City Grand Prix when the track re-joined the calendar in 2015, scoring 1-2 finishes in both 2015 and 2016. Mercedes won for the first time since 2016 at the event in 2019, with Lewis Hamilton taking victory. Valtteri Bottas also finished on the podium.

The team have not won since 2019, but Hamilton has finished as runner-up in every season since 2021. George Russell’s fourth and sixth place finishes in 2022 and 2023 have ensured double points finishes in the last two years.

Until 2021, Hamilton’s ninth place in 2017 – which was enough to win him the Drivers’ Championship – was the team’s lowest finishing position in Mexico to date. However, Bottas finished only 15th in 2021 after being spun on the first lap. Mercedes remain yet to record a retirement in Mexico.

Mercedes at the 2019 Mexico City Grand Prix

Mercedes have never failed to reach the final part of qualifying in Mexico. The team have taken three poles in Mexico City – in 2015, 2016 and 2021. Each time they have taken pole, they have also locked out the front row.

Aside from those three seasons, George Russell’s second place in 2022 is the only other time that Mercedes have recorded a front row qualification here.

Until 2023, the team had never qualified outside of the top six in Mexico. Mercedes’ worst qualifying position at the track so far was sixth, recorded by Valtteri Bottas after crashing out heavily in Q3 in 2019. In 2023, however, Lewis Hamilton qualified sixth, while George Russell qualified only eighth.

FERRARI

WINS: 2, POLES: 4, PODIUMS: 12 | 2023 MEXICO CITY GRAND PRIX RESULT: LECLERC 3rd, SAINZ 4th

Ferrari have appeared in every Mexico City Grand Prix except the 1966 event. Having already lost the Constructors’ Championship in the USA, the team saw no point in sending their cars on to Mexico.

Ferrari have won in Mexico twice – with Jacky Ickx in 1970 and Alain Prost in 1990. 2018 saw the team take their first double podium finish at the track since 1990. 2021 was the first time since 2016 that neither Ferrari driver finished on the podium at the Mexico City Grand Prix. They’ve recorded double top six results in all of the last eight races in Mexico City, with Charles Leclerc returning the team to the podium for the first time since 2019 with his his third place finish in 2023.

The team have had a low finish rate here historically, with just over half of their entries reaching the finish line. The team has suffered double DNFs on seven of their appearances here, most recently in 2015.

Kimi Raikkonen’s Q2 exit in 2015 is the only time Ferrari have failed to reach the final part of qualifying in Mexico since the event’s return to the calendar. The team have taken pole here four times, with Clay Reggazoni setting the fastest time in 1970, Sebastian Vettel taking pole in 2017 and Charles Leclerc taking pole in 2019 and 2023.

Though Leclerc started from pole in 2019, he didn’t actually set the fastest time. He was promoted to pole after Max Verstappen’s grid penalty.

With Carlos Sainz qualifying second in 2023, Ferrari locked-out the front row in Mexico for the second time, after 2019.

McLAREN

WINS: 3, POLES: 3, PODIUMS: 9 | 2023 MEXICO CITY GRAND PRIX RESULT: NORRIS 5th, PIASTRI 8th

McLaren have won the Mexico City Grand Prix three times, and recorded a 1-2 finish here in 1988. Until 2022, the team had scored only six points here since the event’s return to the calendar in 2015.

Both Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris finished in the points in 2022, recording the team’s first double points appearance in Mexico since their last win in 1989. Both drivers scored again in 2023, with Norris finishing in the top five despite starting only 17th.

Aside from the last two years, McLaren’s other points-scoring appearances since Mexico’s return to the calendar came courtesy of Stoffel Vandoorne who finished eighth in 2018, Fernando Alonso who finished tenth in 2017 and Lando Norris who also finished tenth in 2021.

1987 is the only year in which neither McLaren driver crossed the finish line in Mexico, as well as the only occasion between the 1969 and 1991 events where neither McLaren driver appeared on the podium. 2022 was only the fourth time in the last ten Mexico races that both McLaren drivers crossed the finish line.

McLaren at the 2019 Mexico City Grand Prix

McLaren reached Q3 at the Mexico City Grand Prix for the first time in 2019, marking the first time they had qualified in the top ten at the track since 1992. Both drivers reached Q3 again in 2021.

2015 is the only season that McLaren have recorded a double Q1 elimination at the track. The team took three consecutive poles at the track between 1988 and 1990, and locked-out the front row in 1988 and 1989.

ASTON MARTIN

WINS: 0, POLES: 0, PODIUMS: 0 | 2023 MEXICO CITY GRAND PRIX RESULT: STROLL DNF, ALONSO DNF

From their eight appearances since F1’s return to Mexico, the Silverstone-based team have failed to score at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez only three times – in 2018, 2022 and 2023. Last year, the team recorded their first double DNF at the track since 1992.

Esteban Ocon finished fifth in 2017, recording the Silverstone-based team’s best result at the circuit since Andrea de Cesaris finished fourth for Jordan on the team’s first appearance in 1991.

In the last five Mexico races, seventh places for Sergio Perez in 2019 and Sebastian Vettel in 2021 are the only times that the team has scored points.

Neither of the Silverstone-based team’s cars have reached Q3 in any of the last five Mexico City Grands Prix. Lance Stroll recorded the team’s first Q1 exit at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in 2019 and was out in Q1 again in 2021 following a crash. Both drivers were out in Q1 in 2022, while only Fernando Alonso progressed to Q2 in 2023.

As Force India, the team reached Q3 with both cars in 2015 and 2017, while Nico Hulkenberg recorded their best qualifying result at the track in 2016 with fifth on the grid.

ALPINE

WINS: 0, POLES: 0, PODIUMS: 0 | 2023 MEXICO CITY GRAND PRIX RESULT: OCON 10th, GASLY 11th

The Enstone-based team won on their first appearance at the Mexico City Grand Prix in 1986, with Gerhard Berger taking victory for Benetton. The team has recorded a single podium finish since then – a third place for Michael Schumacher; his first of 155 top three career finishes.

Since F1’s return to Mexico in 2015, the Enstone team has not finished above sixth place. Nico Hulkenberg finished sixth in 2015, while 2019 marked the first time since 1990 that both of the team’s drivers finished in the points at the Mexico City Grand Prix. The team has picked up at least one point in all of the last five races in Mexico.

In the last six Mexico races, the team have recorded four DNFs. Both drivers retired in 2017, Carlos Sainz was eliminated with battery issues in 2018 and Fernando Alonso ran into engine problems in the closing stages of the 2022 race.

Team Enstone’s best qualifying result at the Mexico City Grand Prix is third place, recorded by Michael Schumacher for Benetton in 1992. Renault reached the final part of qualifying at the Mexico City Grand Prix with both cars in 2017 and 2018, while Alpine did so for the first time in 2022.

Nico Hulkenberg recorded the team’s best qualifying position since F1’s return to the track in 2018, with seventh on the grid. Both cars were out in Q2 in 2019, while neither driver reached Q3 in 2021.

Jolyon Palmer, who failed to set a time in 2016, Fernando Alonso, who qualified 16th in 2021 and Esteban Ocon in 2023 are the only drivers to record a Q1 exit for this team in Mexico.

WILLIAMS

WINS: 3, POLES: 3, PODIUMS: 8 | 2023 MEXICO CITY GRAND PRIX RESULT: ALBON 9th, SARGEANT DNF

Williams have taken more 1-2 finishes at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez than any other team. All three of their wins in 1987, 1991 and 1992 also featured their other car finishing as runner-up.

Other than their double DNF at the track in 1988, the four races here between 2018 and 2022 are the only other times that neither Williams driver scored in all of the team’s 15 appearances in Mexico.

At the 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix, Alex Albon became the first Williams driver to finish in the points in Mexico since Lance Stroll in 2017.

The Williams team suffered a decline in pace since 2017 at the Mexico City Grand Prix. Both cars reached the final part of qualifying in both 2015 and 2016, while both cars could only reach Q2 in 2017, and both were eliminated in Q1 in 2018 and 2019. The team recorded another double Q1 exit in 2022, setting the two slowest lap times, while Albon was able to reach Q3 in 2023.

Williams have taken three poles in total here and secured front row lock-outs in both 1991 and 1992.

VISA CASH APP RB

WINS: 0, POLES: 0, PODIUMS: 0 | 2023 MEXICO CITY GRAND PRIX RESULT: RICCIARDO 7th, TSUNODA 12th

Until 2021, Toro Rosso scored only five points at the Mexico City Grand Prix: the second-fewest of any current team. On their first appearance as AlphaTauri in 2021, Pierre Gasly recorded the team’s best result at the track with fourth place. Daniel Ricciardo added more points to the team’s tally in 2023, finishing seventh.

Prior to 2021 the team had scored on three occasions: Max Verstappen finished ninth in 2015, while Gasly picked up one point with a tenth place finish at the track in 2018 and two points for ninth place in 2019. Neither diver scored in 2022; the team’s only point-less race here since 2018.

The team have recorded three DNFs so far at the track: Brendon Hartley was forced out of the race with engine problems in 2017, while Yuki Tsunoda crashed out on Lap 1 in 2021 and was eliminated in a collision with Daniel Ricciardo in 2022.

Toro Rosso at the 2019 Mexico City Grand Prix

2019 marked the first time that both Toro Rosso drivers reached Q3 at the Mexico City Grand Prix. Daniil Kvyat qualified ninth, while Pierre Gasly qualified in tenth. Gasly bettered that result in 2021, qualifying fifth, as both of the team’s drivers reached Q3 once again.

Daniel Ricciardo recorded the team’s best qualifying result in Mexico to date at the 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix, setting the fourth fastest time in Q3.

Kvyat, in 2016, and Gasly, who failed to set a time in 2017, are the only Toro Rosso drivers who have been eliminated in Q1 at the Mexico City Grand Prix.

SAUBER

WINS: 0, POLES: 0, PODIUMS: 0 | 2023 MEXICO CITY GRAND PRIX RESULT: ZHOU 14th, BOTTAS 15th

2018 is the only season that Sauber scored at the Mexico City Grand Prix. That year, Charles Leclerc finished seventh while Marcus Ericsson finished ninth. As Alfa Romeo the team scored twice, with Kimi Raikkonen finishing eighth in 2021 and Valtteri Bottas finishing tenth in 2022.

The team have recorded three retirements in total here: Felipe Nasr in 2015, Marcus Ericsson in 2017 and Raikkonen in 2019.

In 2022, Valtteri Bottas recorded the Sauber-owned team’s best Mexico City Grand Prix qualifying appearance to date with sixth place. The team have reached Q3 here in only two other seasons: 2018 and 2023, both seasons in which both drivers reached Q3.

All of the team’s first three visits to the track resulted in at least one Q1 elimination, and both cars were out in Q1 in 2017. Both Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi were eliminated in Q2 in 2019 and 2021.

HAAS

WINS: 0, POLES: 0, PODIUMS: 0 | 2023 MEXICO CITY GRAND PRIX RESULT: HULKENBERG 13th, MAGNUSSEN DNF

Kevin Magnussen’s eighth place in the 2017 Mexico City Grand Prix is the Haas team’s only points-scoring appearance so far in Mexico. The team held a 100% finish rate at the circuit until 2021, when Mick Schumacher was eliminated on the first lap. Kevin Magnussen recorded the team’s second DNF here in 2023, crashing out of the race.

Nico Hulkenberg’s 13th place at the 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix is only the second time, after Magnussen’s points-scoring finish in 2017, that a Haas driver finished in the top 14 in Mexico.

Haas at the 2019 Mexico City Grand Prix

Hulkenberg’s 12th place in qualifying for the 2023 Mexico Grand Prix marked the team’s best qualifying result to date at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. It was only the second time – after Kevin Magnussen in 2022 – that a Haas driver had made it out of Q1 in Mexico.

Despite their many Q1 exits, the team has never qualified in last position for the race.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top
Scroll to Top