Since F1 returned to Mexico in 2015, there have been nine Safety Car call outs at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. Only three of those have been full Safety Car periods, the other six have been VSC call outs. Here’s a list of every time that the Safety Car has been deployed at the Mexican Grand Prix!
2015 Mexican Grand Prix, Lap 52
Sebastian Vettel had a weekend to forget at the 2015 Mexican Grand Prix. After a poor start, he found himself midfield before making contact with Daniel Ricciardo and suffering a puncture. He pitted and made progress over the following laps but crashed out on Lap 52. His crash saw the Safety Car deployed for the first time in Mexico.
2016 Mexican Grand Prix, Lap 1
The first VSC period at the Mexican Grand Prix occurred on the opening lap of the 2016 race.
Following contact with a Sauber, Pascal Wehrlein was eliminated from the race. The VSC was deployed for only 20 seconds before the full Safety Car was deployed.
2017 Mexican Grand Prix, Lap 32
The VSC made its only deployment in the 2017 Mexican Grand Prix on the 32nd lap, when Brendon Hartley’s Toro Rosso came to a stop in the second sector of the track.
2018 Mexican Grand Prix, Lap 5
A stoppage for Fernando Alonso lead to the brief deployment of the VSC on Lap 5 of the 2018 Mexican Grand Prix.
2018 Mexican Grand Prix, Lap 31
For the first time, there were multiple caution periods in Mexico in 2018. Carlos Sainz stopped at Turn 13, in the stadium section of the track, leading to the deployment of the VSC.
2018 Mexican Grand Prix, Lap 62
The third VSC period of the 2018 Mexican Grand Prix came on Lap 62 as polesitter Daniel Ricciardo stopped at Turn 1 with engine issues.
2019 Mexican Grand Prix, Lap 1
The Virtual Safety Car was called towards the end of Lap 1 of the 2019 Mexican Grand Prix, with debris on the track at Turn 2 – probably caused by first lap contact between Kimi Raikkonen and Kevin Magnussen. The VSC period lasted around two minutes.
2021 Mexico City Grand Prix, Lap 1
First corner contact at the 2021 Mexico City Grand Prix sent Valtteri Bottas into a spin, with Mick Schumacher and Yuki Tsunoda – both of whom stopped – collected in the incident. Both rookies retired from the race, bringing out the Safety Car.
2022 Mexico City Grand Prix, Lap 65
Fernando Alonso stopped at the end of the main straight with an engine failure close to the end of the 2022 Mexico City Grand Prix. The VSC was out for just under a minute while his Alpine car was pushed behind the barriers.
2023 Mexico City Grand Prix, Lap 5
First corner contact between Charles Leclerc and Sergio Perez led to Perez retiring from his home race at the 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix. The end plate of Leclerc’s Ferrari came off in the collision and was stranded at Turn 1. On Lap 5, there was a brief Virtual Safety Car period to clear the debris.
2023 Mexico City Grand Prix, Lap 33
Kevin Magnussen crashed out on Lap 33 of the 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix. A failure at the left rear of his Haas spent the Dane spearing into the tyre barriers, suffering a heavy impact and necessitating a Safety Car period. Magnussen was uninjured but damage to the tyre barriers meant that the race had to be red-flagged. It was the first red flag period in Mexico since the 1989 Mexican Grand Prix.
2023 Mexico City Grand Prix, Lap 35
Lap 35 of the 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix was run under Safety Car conditions as the drivers made their way from the pit lane to the grid ahead of a standing restart.
