The Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez stands as one of the most unique F1 tracks on the calendar, owing to the geographical elements in the final sector. The track houses a baseball stadium in it called the ‘Foro Sol.’ While it may be a unique spectacle for the fans that visit the Mexico City GP, certain F1 drivers are not big fans of the same. Williams’ Alex Albon is one such driver, and he wants the authorities to bring about changes to the track layout, especially around the baseball stadium, to improve the quality of racing.
Per a report from RaceFans, the British-Thai driver wants the authorities to redesign the hairpin turn on the final corner to allow closer racing. He added the presence of dirty air in the slow corners makes each car lose six or seven-tenths to the car in front.
“I think the design of the last sector is not good for racing. I actually think if they made it a bit quicker, we would be able to be much closer.”
Built in 1993, Foro Sol was originally Mexico’s second-biggest concert venue, with a capacity of 50,000. From 2000 to 2014, the stadium became the home ground of the baseball team ‘Diablos Rojos del Mexico.’ When F1 returned to Mexico in 2014, the team had to abandon their home ground and move to ‘Estadio Fray Nano.’ Ever since, the Foro Sol has not been used to play in, and the symphony of F1 cars is the only bit of ‘concert’ the venue witnesses.
As such, Albon is in favor of redesigning the final bit of the track to make better use of the space while improving the quality of racing. Albon’s claims came following the Mexico City GP, where the 27-year-old finished P9. While there was some impressive driving on display by the Thai driver, luck also had a part play in the race.
Alex Albon benefitted from Perez and Alonso’s DNFs
Right from the start, the feature race in Mexico was full of excitement and drama as fans witnessed as many as five DNFs during the race. Lap 1 saw the coming together of local hero Sergio Perez and Charles Leclerc, where the Mexican’s right rear tire rolled over Leclerc‘s left front, sending him flying into the air with irreparable damage. Following the race, Perez claimed he paid the price for taking a high risk.
SERGIO PEREZ DNF!! pic.twitter.com/xRaIoOZEVC
— F1 Speed Indonesia (@f1speed_indo) October 29, 2023
For the second race in a row, Fernando Alonso had to see ‘DNF’ written after his name, as Aston Martin had to retire his car midway through the race. Explaining the cause behind it, Alonso said he felt picking some damage up to the rear suspension and the floor of the car, after which he did not feel safe driving it. Having started from the pitlane, Alonso had a great race until his DNF, as he had climbed up to P8 in the standings.
Had there been no DNFs for Alonso (P8 at the time of DNF) and Perez (P3 at the time of DNF), Albon might not have finished in the top ten as both the other drivers had their foot planted firmly in the points ranking. However, fate had good plans for the Thai driver, whose driving skills matched the tune of the plans, handing him a P9 finish in Mexico.
