Mekies: Mexico could produce a one-off F1 pecking order

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Archive photograph: Laurent Mekies at Web Summit in Lisbon on 11 November 2025. Archive photo. Resized and converted to WebP. · 2025-11-11Archive photo · 2025-11-11 · Alex Broadway / Web Summit / Sportsfile · CC BY 4.0

Laurent Mekies says Mexico’s altitude and cooling compromises could produce a one-off competitive order. Red Bull does not yet know whether the conditions will help or hurt it.

GPBeat · NewsroomGPBeat · Newsroom31 Oct 2026, 23:07 · 1 min

Mexico City could produce a one-off Formula 1 pecking order as teams balance power-unit demands at altitude with cooling compromises, Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies said after Friday’s first practice.

The Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez sits more than 2km above sea level, where thinner air adds demands on power units and chassis. Mekies said teams were prepared to make compromises to keep their cars and power units reliable, and that there was a fair amount of lap time in play on both the power-unit and chassis sides.

On Red Bull’s own power unit, Mekies said there had been no unforeseen altitude-related issues so far. Isack Hadjar lost some FP1 track time to a power-unit issue, but Mekies said it was not linked to altitude; he said Red Bull got Hadjar back on track.

Mekies said Red Bull still did not know whether the conditions would leave it with an advantage or a deficit in Mexico.

Sources 01