Ferrari and Red Bull go extreme as McLaren bucks Mexican trend

The Mexico City GP, due to the high rarefaction of the air represents a particularly treacherous event in terms of reliability. 

Specifically, the power units have a 30% reduction in the heat exchange normally expected due to Mexico City being 2240m above sea level.

It can create a vicious circle as the power produced by the ICE is conditioned by the rarefaction of the air, meaning the turbo is put under more pressure to supply air into the engine.

Such operating conditions can place additional stress on the turbo components, increasing the risk of a failure.

To combat this, all the teams have therefore adopted large cooling louvres to increase the heat exchange - with the resulting loss in aerodynamic performance not that great owing to the lower air density.

Ferrari's new bodywork is characterised by large louvres that extend to the upper part of the sidepods, with further louvres on the side of the cockpit to aid in the extraction of the hot air from the sidepods.

Red Bull has adapted and taken to the extreme the bodywork originally introduced in Hungary, although its running through Friday practice was disrupted by a turbo issue, probably caused by the increased stress the part is put under. 

McLaren's floor upgrade

McLaren was the sole leading team to bring a performance upgrade with its floor - where the volume of the lower channels has been increased to allow for different management of the air pressure under the car.

Only Lando Norris is running the new floor, with Oscar Piastri on the old spec, but the new part is expected to deliver a significant increase in downforce after speaking with McLaren engineers.