"Slippery as hell" – Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar explain the "extreme" challenge of Mexico

The Formula 1 weekend at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez promises to be a considerable challenge in several respects for drivers, engine manufacturers and teams.

During Thursday’s media day in Mexico City, there was plenty of discussion about the role of turbo lag, especially now that the MGU-H can no longer help the turbo at high altitude - the Mexico City track is 2,286 metres above sea level.

The altitude also affects the downforce and grip levels that drivers experience, and that is precisely why they are expecting a difficult weekend. That is always the case in Mexico, of course, but in previous years it could still be compensated for to some extent through wing choices.

Traditionally, teams run almost Monaco wing levels in Mexico, as the drag penalty is minimal. At altitude, however, that only gives them roughly the same amount of downforce as Monza-spec wings. This year, the situation is different because of active aerodynamics, meaning that, according to Verstappen, there is even less scope to compensate and the cars are likely to slide around even more.

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“Here is a lot less grip. With the altitude, we normally have the wings to compensate a little bit for that, but now you basically just run one wing,” Verstappen said.

“So there will be a lot less downforce on the car, which I think will already be quite challenging. So that probably puts even more emphasis on low-speed performance.”

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Chris Graythen / Getty Images

According to Verstappen, Red Bull's low-speed performance is not exceptionally strong.

He said in Austin that the RB22 is a reasonable all-rounder now, but does not really excel anywhere, either in high-speed or low-speed corners. That said, it should be noted that Verstappen managed to win in Singapore – a circuit predominantly featuring low-speed corners – and even put the car on the front row of the grid in Monaco, before it had received the major upgrades.

Team-mate Isack Hadjar also predicts a weekend in which drivers will mostly be slipping and sliding around, despite the circuit having been resurfaced and the new layer of asphalt supposedly offering more grip.

“I'm just thinking how extreme it's going to be to drive these cars,” Hadjar said when asked by Motorsport.com about the challenges of this weekend.

“Last year, I already felt like I was sliding around a lot with the Monaco rear wing. Now, it's kind of the same downforce level throughout the year and you're going to a track like this. It's going to feel slippery as hell.”

Reliability is another consideration. In 2026, that aspect has generally proved surprisingly good despite the radical overhaul of the technical regulations, but Hadjar predicts that all the equipment will be put under considerable strain in Mexico.

“Of course, the conditions for the car, cooling-wise, are going to be very extreme. And for the engine as well, the tyres, the brakes, everything is going to be on fire, even myself in the car probably!”

Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: James Sutton / LAT Images via Getty Images

And then there is still the challenge of turbo lag. George Russell suggested during the press conference that Ferrari could have an advantage at altitude because of its smaller turbo, but Hadjar is not prepared to rule out his own team beforehand.

“I'm not thinking about Ferrari or Mercedes. I think they're all going to be very competitive, but I'm mostly thinking about how tough the weekend is going to be on our end. The last couple of races, the car has been working well on very different kinds of track. So, why not here?”

It remains to be seen how the Red Bull Ford power unit copes with the high altitude, given that this will be the manufacturer's first time operating in these extreme conditions.

But as Verstappen explains, that there is little he can do about it as a driver – not even by selecting lower gears at certain points to keep the revs higher: “No, from our side there is not so much [we can do].

“But it's probably going to be fine-tuning over the weekend, I think for everyone, including us. In terms of understanding where the engine needs to operate, cooling of the car, cooling of the brakes. It's a very extreme track for all of that.”

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