1098th F1 GRAND PRIX | 24th MEXICAN GRAND PRIX | 23rd GRAND PRIX AT AUTODROMO HERMANOS RODRIGUEZ
2022 POLESITTER: MAX VERSTAPPEN | 2022 WINNER: MAX VERSTAPPEN
One of the best-attended races of the year, Mexico has had multiple stints on the Formula 1 calendar. Home favourite Sergio Perez has finished on the podium in the last two years. The 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix is set to take place on October 27-29.
2023 MEXICO CITY GRAND PRIX: WEEKEND SCHEDULE
Friday 27th October
Free Practice 1 – 12:30pm Local Time / 6:30pm UK Time
Free Practice 2 – 4:00pm Local Time / 10:00pm UK Time
Saturday 28th October
Free Practice 3 – 11:30am Local Time / 5:30pm UK Time
Qualifying- 3:00pm Local Time / 9:00pm UK Time
Sunday 29th October
The 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix – 2:00pm Local Time / 8:00pm UK Time
2023 MEXICO CITY GRAND PRIX: WEEKEND MILESTONES
Lance Stroll will race on his birthday at the 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix. It’s the 76th occasion on which a driver has raced on their birthday. This is the second time that Stroll will race in Mexico on his birthday, having previously done so in 2017. This will be the seventh time that a driver has raced on their 25th birthday. Stroll is the first driver to do so since Carlos Sainz at the 2019 Belgian Grand Prix.
The 11th lap of the 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix will be the 1,500th Grand Prix racing lap to take place at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
Max Verstappen could extend the record for most victories in Mexico to five at the 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix.
Max Verstappen is the only driver to have won consecutive races in Mexico. Should he win the 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix, he’ll become the first driver to have taken three successive victories at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
READ MORE IN MILESTONES AND RECORDS TO BREAK
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE 2023 MEXICO CITY GRAND PRIX
WHAT HAS CHANGED AT THE CIRCUIT SINCE LAST YEAR?
Changes to the circuit since the 2022 Mexico City Grand Prix will be posted here.
HOW MANY DRS ZONES WILL THERE BE AT THE 2023 MEXICO CITY GRAND PRIX?
It’s yet to be announced how many DRS zones there will be at the 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix. There were three DRS zones at the 2022 Mexico City Grand Prix.
AUTODROMO HERMANOS RODRIGUEZ TRACK GUIDE
After years of rumours, Formula 1 returned to Mexico City in 2015 with a capacity crowd lining the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez track. The high altitude circuit has provided plenty of memorable moments during its three stints in the sport.
Mexico became familiar with motorsport in the early 1950s when the road race Carrera Panamericana began to be held. The rally was widely regarded as the most dangerous anywhere in the world, and regularly attracted racing stars from Formula 1. There was at least one fatality in every running of the race between 1950 and 1954, including the controversial death of a vulture in the 1952 event.
It wasn’t long before the country wanted its own permanent international racing circuit, and so one was built in the Magdalena Mixhuca area of Mexico City. The building of the track coincided with the rise of the Rodriguez brothers, Ricardo and Pedro, hence the desire for a Mexican Grand Prix was strong.
The race was run as a non-championship round in 1962. Ricardo Rodriguez, who was just nineteen, was a Ferrari driver but, as the event was a non-championship round, Ferrari declined to enter and instead Rodriguez entered in a Rob Walker Racing Lotus car. His presence in the event was enough to fill the grandstands. There was to be a tragic outcome though, as Rodriguez crashed at the ferocious Peraltada corner and died as a result.
READ MORE IN OUR ULTIMATE TRACK GUIDE
WHO WILL BE IN THE 2023 MEXICO CITY GRAND PRIX PRESS CONFERENCES?
The world’s media will have the opportunity to talk to the drivers on Friday morning before the opening practice session. The drivers appearing in the press conference are yet to be announced.
The media will also be talking to prominent members of Formula 1’s teams on Saturday morning. It’s yet to be announced which team members will appear in the press conference.
WHO WILL BE THE RACE DIRECTOR AT THE 2023 MEXICO CITY GRAND PRIX?
Niels Wittich will be the race director at the 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix.
WHO WILL BE THE DRIVER STEWARD AT THE 2023 MEXICO CITY GRAND PRIX?
Each weekend a former Formula 1 driver, or a driver from another prominent series of motorsport, joins the stewards to help judge any incidents from a drivers’ perspective. The Driver Steward this weekend is yet to be announced.
WHICH TYRE COMPOUNDS WILL BE USED AT THE 2023 MEXICO CITY GRAND PRIX?
Pirelli have not yet announced which tyre compounds will be used at the 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix. The C2, C3 and C4 compounds were used in 2022.
WHAT HAPPENED LAST TIME AT THE MEXICO CITY GRAND PRIX?
Verstappen cruised to a record-breaking 14th win of the season in the 2022 Mexico City Grand Prix.
Charles Leclerc crashed out in Free Practice 2 at the Mexico City Grand Prix, wrecking his Ferrari. The Monegasque driver didn’t have the best Saturday either, managing to qualify only seventh on the grid. It was Max Verstappen who took pole position, with the two Mercedes of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton setting the second and third fastest times. Sergio Perez lined up fourth for his home Grand Prix.
Verstappen led away at the start, as Hamilton passed Russell for second place – narrowly avoiding contact – while Perez also made it past Russell on the opening lap. There were a number of side-by-side battles further down the order in the opening stages – one seeing both Lance Stroll and Pierre Gasly running wide off the circuit. Gasly picked up a time penalty for gaining an advantage in that incident.
While Hamilton reported his tyres were OK, Verstappen was not particularly happy with his and was first of the frontrunners to stop on Lap 26. Hamilton pitted four laps later. While Verstappen switched to mediums, Hamilton opted for the hard compound.
Esteban Ocon pulled off an impressive move on Valtteri Bottas as the race reached its halfway point, while Hamilton reported that his hard tyres were not in optimal condition. Daniel Ricciardo made contact with Yuki Tsunoda’s AlphaTauri. The incident saw Ricciardo handed a time penalty, while Tsunoda was eliminated from the race.
Despite his penalty, Ricciardo picked up the Driver of the Day accolade, performing a fine comeback drive after his final stop to finish seventh. An unhappy Fernando Alonso retired six laps from the end of the race with engine issues.
In the end it was a familiar podium, with the top three finishing in the same positions as they had done in the 2021 race at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. Verstappen cruised to a record-breaking 14th win of the season, while Hamilton finished second and Perez secured another home podium result.
WHAT’S THE FASTEST EVER LAP AT THE MEXICO CITY GRAND PRIX?
Attending the 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix? Learn more about visiting Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in the F1Destinations Travel Guide.
