Mexican Grand Prix – The impact of altitude on single-seaters
As every year since its return to the Formula 1 calendar, a question keeps coming back endlessly; how to make an F1 car run at such altitude? Motors Inside tries to explain to you what is not visible.
Every year, engineers rack their brains when they arrive in Mexico: the altitude and the thinning of the air destabilize and disrupt drivers and single-seaters. Being at over 2200 meters above sea level, there is nearly 25% less air than on the Sochi circuit in Russia.
In Mexico, power units suffer more than usual, with thinner air and less oxygen entering the engine resulting in less power in the end. However, to compensate for this lack of power, the turbo comes into play. If generally a Formula 1 turbo runs at over 100,000 revolutions per minute, in Mexico it would have had to run on average 10% faster to make up for this power loss. Unfortunately, engineers had to ensure not to overstrain their turbos, for fear of compromising their reliability.
The brakes were also put to the test this weekend: with less air, the discs struggle to cool down, hence the appearance of carbon powder on some braking points. Although teams have opted for larger brake ducts to allow as much fresh air as possible to enter the brakes, temperatures at the end of the straight still reached over 1200°C.
Another sensitive point: the lack of aerodynamic support. With less air, the single-seaters have lost support, making them more prone to oversteer on the track at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. On the bright side, the 20 single-seaters went much faster than usual. If Monza is reputed to be the temple of speed, in reality, it was in Mexico that the drivers reached the highest top speeds of the season (over 350 km/h). This is explained by the lower drag on the single-seaters, because there are fewer air particles to displace and therefore less resistance.
