This weekend Formula One heads to Mexico City and the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez to start the final run of races in what has been an enthralling championship. However, the Mexican Grand Prix poses a challenge unlike any other circuit on the calendar - altitude.
The track itself climbs in at 7,342ft which incredibly puts the drivers on flight levels if they were flying in some parts of the UKs airspace. By contrast, the local transition altitude is actually 18,500ft at the nearest airport, Mexico City's Aeropuerto Internacional Benito Juárez (MEX), which sits only 4 kilometers from the track. So what challenges does Formula One face racing on a track which nestles over a third of the way to Mt Everest's highest basecamp?
Image: Formula One Media - The Stadium Section of the Mexican Grand Prix Track
To put it simply, Formula One cars are upside-down airplanes. Where aircraft generate lift through their wings to try and leave the ground, F1 cars use wings, diffusers and all sorts of aerodynamic furniture to attempt to press the car onto the ground. The technical term is 'downforce', the more downforce that a car generates the quicker the driver can take a corner - provided the wheels can take the loads required. Without trying to return you to a high school physics lesson, the higher you are the thinner the air becomes. This means that the amount of air the car (or wing of an airplane for that matter) can use to generate a force is greatly reduced - down to as little as 25% Mercedes F1 Team say.
That is why despite the cars running aero packages normally seen around the streets of Monaco, they will be generating less downforce than the ultra low downforce packages of the temple of speed in Monza. Will this affect the racing or pecking order? Yes and No, the drivers still suffer from a loss of downforce when following another car from the 'dirty air' (imagine flying through wing vortices) produced by a F1 car, just like any other track in the season, but there often is a difference in performance. Mexico has famously been a strong track for RedBull Racing who run a Honda 'Power Unit' (Engine) and has often left Mercedes (who run a Mercedes engine) falling behind. This is likely down to the Turbo efficiency of the Honda Engine - the turbo being used to force more air into the engine to improve its performance. Formula One cars also utilise the air to cool the cars and importantly their brakes which run at thousands of degrees. This is a challenge the teams often face in Mexico and it is not un-common to see drivers failing to finish races here with brake trouble.
Image: Mercedes Formula One Team
While racing at these higher altitude is unusual, altitude is nothing new to aviation. The SKY F1 Team even joked during their weekend build up that the track itself is less than 1/5th of the altitude that their aircraft flew them to the event at. That being said Mexico City's airport, and those at even higher altitudes, offer pilots a challenge - the standard 737-800 for example has a maximum landing altitude of 8,400ft, only a few thousand feet above the altitude of the local airport to the track. It is not only close to the ground that high altitude becomes a problem for airliners. There is a limit to the altitude that a plane can fly both aerodynamically and based on safety margins. There is an altitude at which a few knots more can put you into a dangerous overspeed, and only a few knots less can put you into an equally dangerous low speed condition, possibly even a stall. This is affectionately referred to as 'Coffin Corner'!
The Mexican Grand Prix is not the first time Formula One has been faced with altitude, in fact the Mexican Grand Prix itself has history within Formula One since 1962. This season the Mexican Grand Prix does standout, with the second highest race being held at Interlagos, Brazil at only 800m, which is shorter than the distance from the grid to turn 1 in Mexico. Interestingly, Formula One has even raced below sea level before, the Baku GP sits at an elevation of -92ft.
The lack of air in Mexico doesn't only affect the cars, it also affects the drivers. While the track is not overwhelmingly demanding the constraints put on a driver by the altitude make the Mexican Grand Prix a real challenge. However, unsurprisingly many members of the F1 paddock are quite accustomed to altitude, and in particular, flying.
The Formula One Paddocks Flyers!
The list of Formula One Paddock members who fly is almost endless, here are just a few:
Image: Motorsport Magazine
Martin Brundle - Former F1 Driver and current Sky Sports F1 Pundit
While Martin Brundle was recently in the social media spotlight for his amusing encounter with Megan Thee Stallion on the grid in Austin, his passion for and ability to fly helicopters gets far less attention. Alongside a trip in the TV helicopter at Monza, which he described as "an hour and a half of stunt flying" and "absolutely ridiculous" after entering a Vortex Ring, Martin once spent his birthday flying in a Robinson R44 - a helicopter that would not be able to hover at the Mexican Grand Prix due to the thin air.
Image: Getty Images
James Allison - Technical Director Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team
James Allison is part of the technical brains that have produced the all conquering turbo hybrid Formula 1 cars by Mercedes, but did you know he also competes in competition aerobatics after being inspired by his father who flew in the RAF as a fighter pilot. James tells the amusing story of his attempts to pass RAF selection on the Formula One: Beyond The Grid podcast.
Image: 24 Hours Le Mans
Mark Webber - Former F1 Racing Driver and current Channel 4 Pundit
Mark Webber who famously once took his RedBull F1 car flying following a high speed collision in Valencia is also an avid helicopter pilot. He even completed a period of training flying with the Air Zermatt fleet who are famous for making daring rescues of mountaineers and skiers up to altitudes exceeding 4600m.
Image: Wikipedia Ted Kravitz
Ted Kravitz - Sky Sports F1 Pitlane Reporter
A fan favourite, Ted Kravitz is another aviator in the paddock holding a Private Pilots Licence (PPL). He spoke on his twitter about the troubles Biggin Hill based pilots were facing back in 2018 and even shared some of his interest in aviation on his Youtube channel. He often drops snippets of aviation insights into parts of the Formula 1 coverage too.
Image: NZZ
Niki Lauda - Former Formula One World Champion and Airline Owner
How can you mention aviation and formula one without talking about the late Niki Lauda. Niki was a three time Formula One World Champion, Commercial Pilots Licence (CPL) holder and an airline owner who owned Lauda Air, Niki and finally Laudamotion which is now owned by Ryanair as Lauda.
Image: Wikipedia
Aryton Senna - Former Formula One World Champion
Often regarded as one of the greatest drivers of all time, Aryton Senna was fascinated by planes and model airplanes before his untimely death at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix. Senna who reportedly used to fly his private jet to races also flew on multiple occasions in fighter jets, including a Mirage 2000C on behalf of the Brazilian Airforce which has since been re-painted in his iconic helmet colours.
Mirage 2000C painted in the style of Aryton Senna's Helmet Colours
Let us know in the comments of any other members of the Formula One paddock who fly!
Enjoy the Mexican Grand Prix, Sunday 7PM UTC
