F1 Grid Slot Stats: Mexican Grand Prix

The polesitter has not won in Mexico City only once since 2016. Max Verstappen finally ended a four race win-less streak for the polesitter in Mexico in 2022. Both Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc finished fourth having started from pole in 2017 and 2019 respectively, while in 2018, Daniel Ricciardo became the first polesitter to retire from the Mexican Grand Prix since Jim Clark in 1965. In 2021, Valtteri Bottas finished 15th having started from the front of the grid.

Before 2017, there had been a run of four consecutive races where the driver starting on pole position had gone on to win the Mexican Grand Prix. In total, 10 of the 22 races held so far in Mexico City have been won from pole and there have been seven occasions on which the polesitter has failed to finish in the top three. Aside from Clark and Ricciardo’s retirements, the only other time the polesitter failed to cross the finish line at the track was in 1964. Once again it was Clark who was the polesitter, but he stopped on the penultimate lap. He was classified in fifth, so still picked up points from the event.

In 2022, George Russell became the first driver to start second in Mexico and fail to finish in the top two since 1990.

The driver starting from second has won two of the last five Mexican Grands Prix. Both times it has been Max Verstappen who has taken the honours, becoming the first driver to take back-to-back wins at the circuit. Aside from Verstappen’s wins, the grid slot has provided a further two wins – in 1964 and 1988 – and eight runner-up finishes. With no non-finishes from this slot since 1987, it’s one of two grid slots to share the longest finishing streak at the track.

In 2019, Lewis Hamilton became the first driver to win the Mexican Grand Prix from third on the grid since Jacky Ickx in 1970. It was also the first time that the driver starting here has finished on the podium since F1’s return to Mexico. Max Verstappen also won from third on the grid in 2021. The grid slot has had five wins in total, one more than second on the grid.

In five of the last six Mexican Grands Prix, the driver starting in the fourth grid slot has finished on the podium. Daniel Ricciardo took the final podium spot from fourth on the grid in 2016, Valtteri Bottas and Sebastian Vettel finished as runners-up in 2017 and 2018 respectively and Sergio Perez has taken the final spot on the podium from fourth on the grid in the last two races at the track.

Fourth is a position which has had two wins – for Denny Hulme in 1969 and Gerhard Berger in 1986. The position has had more non-finishes than any other grid slot in the top nine. When the driver starting here has reached the end of the race, they have never finished in a position outside of the points.

In every Mexican Grand Prix since 1992, the driver starting fifth has scored points. During that time, Nico Huikenberg’s seventh place in 2015 is the only time that the driver lining up fifth hasn’t finished in the top five. The best result for a driver starting here is second, recorded by Jack Brabham in 1967 and Riccardo Patrese in 1989.

The driver starting sixth has finished third in two of the last four Mexican Grands Prix. The grid slot has had three podium finishes in the last seven races at the circuit, with Valtteri Bottas also finishing third in 2015. The grid slot has had seven podium finishes in total, six of those being third places. The driver starting here finished third for three consecutive seasons between 1965 and 1967!

Only one podium finish has been recorded from seventh on the grid at the Mexican Grand Prix. That was for Michele Alboreto, who finished third in 1989. Since 2015, the driver starting here has scored points four times, with a best result of fifth for Sebastian Vettel in 2016. The driver starting seventh failed to score in both 2019 and 2021.

The driver starting eighth has retired from three of the last five Mexican Grands Prix. Charles Leclerc brought a streak of three consecutive DNFs from this grid slot to an end in 2021 with a fifth place finish – the ebst result for this grid slot in the last 10 Mexico races.

Carlos Sainz failed to finish from eighth on the grid in both 2017 and 2018, while Lando Norris retired from this grid position in 2019. The driver starting eighth has scored only four times in the last nine races at the circuit and has failed to cross the finish line in 14 of the 22 races here.

In 2019, Daniil Kvyat became the first driver to fail to score points from ninth on the grid at the Mexican Grand Prix since the event returned to the calendar.

In 2015 and 2016, Sergio Perez and Felipe Massa finished where they started to score two points each, while in 2017 and 2018, Perez and Charles Leclerc each started from ninth and gained two positions in the race to finish in seventh place. Sebastian Vettel followed suit and finished seventh in 2021.

Bruce McLaren recorded the best finish for a driver starting ninth at the Mexican Grand Prix. He finished in second place in 1968.

In 2022, Fernando Alonso became the first driver to start ninth in Mexico and fail to finish the race since Pierluigi Martini in 1992.

The best result for the driver starting tenth in Mexico came in the very first World Championship race here, when Jack Brabham finished as runner-up. All of the first three races in Mexico resulted in top seven finishes for the driver starting tenth, but since then there have been only two top seven finishes from here. The driver starting tenth has scored in all of the last four Mexico races – including two eighth places in the last two Grands Prix.

Along with second on the grid, the 11th grid slot has gone the longest without a DNF at this circuit, with no driver retiring from the position since Derek Warwick in 1987. The position has also scored points in five of the last nine races at the track – fourth for Andrea de Cesaris in 1991, fifth for de Cesaris in 1992, sixth for Lance Stroll in 2017, seventh for Sergio Perez in 2019 and seventh for Daniel Ricciardo in 2022. This is the highest grid slot to have never had a podium finish in Mexico.

With 11 non-finishes, 12th on the grid has one of the highest non-finish rates at the Mexican Grand Prix, including two DNFs in the last five races. Marcus Ericsson retired with engine issues in 2017, while Fernando Alonso had an early exit with water pressure problems in 2018.

In better news for the driver starting 12th, in nine of the ten races in which the driver starting here has finished the race, they have finished in the top ten. With ninth place in 2021, Fernando Alonso recorded the best result for the driver starting 12th during the Mexico Grand Prix’s comeback to the calendar. Before that, the driver starting here had finished 10th on every occasion they reached the chequered flag since 2015.

13th is the furthest back grid slot from which a win has come at the Mexican Grand Prix. Alain Prost won from this grid slot in 1990. Until Daniel Ricciardo finished eighth in 2019, that was the most recent time that the driver starting here had scored. It has had the least top ten finishes of any grid slot in the top 14.

14th holds the record for the furthest back grid slot from which a podium finish has been recorded at the Mexican Grand Prix. In fact, the driver starting here has finished on the podium twice, with Jackie Oliver and Denny Hulme finishing third in 1968 and 1970 respectively.

Since F1’s return to Mexico, Kevin Magnussen is the only driver to score from this position. He finished eighth in 2017. The driver starting 14th has retired from two of the last three races in Mexico.

Stoffel Vandoorne’s eighth place in 2018 marked the first time that the driver starting 15th at the Mexican Grand Prix has scored points. However, that is not the best finish for this grid slot. The best result was seventh for Pedro Rodriguez in 1969, before the position offered points. It has had a further three top ten finishes, but these too were before the positions awarded points.

16th is another grid slot with a high DNF rate, with ten non-finishes in total. Since F1 returned to the track, the driver starting here has retired twice and is yet to finish above 12th. In fact, 16th on the grid has never given a points finish at this circuit. Hap Sharp’s seventh place finish in the first championship Mexican Grand Prix in 1963 is the best result so far for the grid slot at the track.

Gabriele Tarquini’s sixth place in 1989 is the only time that the driver starting 17th at the Mexican Grand Prix has picked up a point. It’s also the last time that the driver starting here finished in the top ten; the fifth time in total. 12th is this position’s best result since F1 returned to Mexico, recorded by Lance Stroll in 2017 and Alex Albon in 2022.

Of any grid slot from 13th and further back, 18th has had the equal-most points-scoring races. The driver starting here has scored five times, with a best result of fifth for Jo Bonnier in 1968. The driver starting here has scored twice since F1’s return, with tenth place finishes for Fernando Alonso in 2017 and Lando Norris in 2018.

19th is the only other grid slot to have never secured a top ten finish at the Mexican Grand Prix. Guy Ligier’s 11th place finish in 1967 is the best result for this grid slot so far at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. Since the track’s return to the calendar, Stoffel Vandoorne’s 12th place in 2017 is the best finish for a driver starting from 19th.

Pierre Gasly’s tenth place in 2018 is the only time that the driver starting 20th at the Mexican Grand Prix has scored a point. Despite that, there have been three better finishes from here. All three were ninth place finishes, scored by Henri Pescarolo in 1968, Christian Danner in 1986 and Martin Brundle in 1989.

Romain Grosjean is the only driver to have started the Mexican Grand Prix from the pit lane. He did so in 2016, but could finish only 20th in the 22-car field.