The revamped Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez circuit in Mexico City returned to the real life and game calendar in 2015, and it’s quite a popular track for F1 gamers.

It’s generally seen as a track which is a good test of a car (and car setup’s) capabilities, because like Barcelona, it’s got a bit of everything – massive long straight, slow speed corners and a high speed “esses” section to test aerodynamic performance.

And it’s also a good test of a driver – if you’re new to the F1 games and want to improve quickly, practicing on and mastering this track is a good place to start, because it requires the player to manage and master a lot of the key driving factors all at the same time (high speed cornering, throttle control and traction, precision & track limits, ERS management, tyre wear, defending).

Therefore your race setup at Mexico needs to be a compromise between the engine power needed in the basically straight line sector 1, and the cornering/downforce needed in sectors 2 and 3. Overall, setups for Mexico usually run at medium downforce.

Here’s a general baseline dry race setup for Mexico for a controller user:

• Wings – 25/28
• Diff – 50/55
• Camber – -2.50/-1.00/0.00/0.10
• Suspension –  22-9-7-2-33-36
• Brakes – 100 Pressure/55 Bias
• Tyre pressures – Fronts 22.7/Rears 20.3

This setup is somewhat adapted from the SimRacingSetups YouTube channel Mexico car setup, but with some substantial adjustments for pad users since he’s a wheel user and I find at least that the wheel setups don’t translate well to a controller and need some tweaking.

More Detailed Setup Considerations

Here’s some extra commentary on developing a race setup for Mexico.

Wing levels

In terms of pure lap time, a lot of players can get better single lap time pace using higher wing levels in the high 20s or 30s. But having sufficient top speed along the two straights in sector 1 (which are also DRS zones) is crucial in race trim on F1 23.

Set your wings too high and you’ll be a sitting duck on the massive long pit straight especially. I found 25 was just about OK, but I was weak compared to the AI in the “esses”, plus I was having to use a lot of ERS to defend on the pit straight.

Therefore if you can go lower and still keep competitive lap times, try it. You need as much straight line speed as you can get round here to attack/defend. Find your wing level for optimal single lap pace, but then drop it 2-3 clicks to better long run race performance.

Using lower wings pays off on F1 23 – demonstrated

Wing spacing

Spacing the wings too close together, I find huge problems with over-rotation using a pad at Mexico, and struggling to get back on the traction out of corners without losing the back end.

Therefore, even the normal 2 click spacing I use between the front and rear wing wasn’t working at Mexico, so I needed the rear wing 3 clicks higher than the front for better stability and corner exit.

This becomes especially important in longer race stints as the rear tyres wear and traction starts to get more tricky. If you want more rotation or to be able to take the “esses” flat out, you can try bringing the wings closer together or even inverting them and putting the rear lower than the front, but be aware this might make traction and general control much harder on a pad.

Qualifying

This is a race setup for sure with 25/28 wings, and you might want to bring them closer together for quali, perhaps 26/28 or 27/28. But be aware that traction is more difficult on a pad putting the wings this close as the car can over-rotate.

Traction

I find traction really tricky on a pad at Mexico on this game. With the very responsive steering on a pad this year, it’s almost too responsive, and it’s very easy to lose the back end coming out of corners.

Try and be patient and progressive on the throttle coming out of the low/medium speed corners in sectors 2 and 3, and find a wing spacing and Off throttle diff setting that gives you just the right amount of car rotation (not too little but not too much either – raise it for less rotation).

Intermediate Conditions

Your dry setup will still work OK in intermediate conditions, but you can add 1-2 clicks of wing as well if you want to a bit more grip in the twisty sections. Lower your on Throttle Diff down to 50 if it’s not already there for better traction as well.

Full Wet Conditions

Even in full wet conditions, you still need some speed along those two straights in sector 1, so you’re not adding as much wing as you’d do on other tracks.

Maybe add 3-4 clicks of wing to your dry setup, but I’d keep them spaced 3 clicks apart when using a pad. Soften your suspension a touch and raise the ride height a few clicks as per normal in full wet conditions.

Here would be the full wet controller setup I’d use at Mexico:

• Wings 28/31
• Diff – 50/55
• Camber – -2.50/-1.00/0.00/0.10
• Suspension –  22-7-7-1-36-39
• Brakes – 95 Pressure/55 Bias
• Tyre pressures – Fronts 22.7/Rears minimum

If you want to go higher with the wings and are confident you can use the extra downforce to pull away from chasing cars in sector 2 and 3, then it’s possible, but be aware you’ll be vulnerable to overtakes on the straight if cars can follow close and use ERS.

See our guide on converting dry setups to wet setups for more detailed information on this.

Alternative Setup Resources

I’ll admit Mexico has never been my strongest track, and this is definitely a race setup designed for stability and consistent lapping, not a blistering qualifying or Time Trial setup.

If you’re wanting more aggressive setups, with the wings inverted for sharper turn in, plus more fine tuned car specific setups, here are some other resources to check out:

• F1laps.com Mexico page– Another car setup forum with pages for every track, and loads of custom setups posted, both TT and race, all cars, all conditions.
• F1gamesetup.com – An even more specialized resource with custom setups, every car and every track, wet and dry weather.

Extra Racing/Driving Tips

Mexico is a tricky circuit to really nail a good race at, especially for longer 50% races. It’s a real test of a driver and of a setup, and it’s regarded by some top level drivers as a good track to drive on regularly in order to improve your skill level. Here are a few extra tips for racing around Mexico.

Traction – Aim for a good exit out of the last turn and the first chicane to defend on the 2 main DRS straights. Defending can  be difficult here and you need good traction and to use ERS when needed on the pit straight.

Engines – Despite the twisty sectors 2 and 3, really it’s all engine power in the first sector with those two straights. Therefore in career mode, be sure to put a fresh engine in here before qualifying to stay competitive on the straights for overtaking/defending. Using a worn engine here along with too high wing levels is a nightmare from personal experience – you get blasted past on the straights like you aren’t even there.

Tyre wear – Watch out for the rear tyres fading in longer races. It can make the already tricky traction on a pad round Mexico even more tricky towards the end of tyre stints and you might need to be a bit more cautious on the throttle on corner exit with worn tyres.

Tyre strategy – The red soft tyre isn’t usable in 50% races or longer; it’s a medium-hard or hard-medium strategy round here, with the former usually preferred.

Pit strategy – Tyre degradation is also quite high around Mexico, meaning pace drops off quite a lot after your first 2-3 laps on new tyres. This means the “undercut” – where you pit early and use the pace of fresh tyres to overtake a bunch of cars in front – is quite powerful. Consider trying it if stuck behind a group of cars you can’t get past. I just moved from 12th to 3rd in a race round Mexico doing this, with most of those places made up at the pit stops by coming in 2 laps early.

Kerbs – Watch out for the kerbs in the left-right “esses” section. You can clip them a little with your tyres for a straighter/shorter line through there, but don’t ride your car over them too much or they’ll unsettle the car.

Track limits – Mexico massively rewards consistent, clean drivers who can stay within track limits and avoid time penalties in league races. When racing in online lobbies, focus on being accurate and precise through the “esses” and building rhythm and consistency rather than trying to push track limits and “force” faster lap times, and you’ll jump cars in front that often rack up 3, 6, 9 or even 12 or more seconds in time penalties because they keep cutting the track limits in sector 2 especially.