15/10/2019
NEWS STORY
While nobody takes the full complement of softs to Mexico City, Red Bull, Renault, Haas and Williams take nine sets of the red-banded rubber.
Mercedes, Ferrari and Toro Rosso, on the other hand, take just seven sets apiece.
Instead, Lewis Hamilton, the Ferrari duo and Pierre Gasly take five sets of the yellow-banded mediums, while Valtteri Bottas, Antonio Giovinazzi and Daniil Kvyat take four sets and Daniel Ricciardo and Robert Kubica just two.
Most drivers take only one or two sets of the hardest compound, which is the C2, the second-hardest tyre in the entire 2019 range.
Last year's race was won by Max Verstappen, with Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen joining him on the podium.
While Verstappen and Vettel were on a two-stop strategy, as were the Mercedes duo, who finished fourth and fifth, Raikkonen was one one-stop strategy.
Verstappen started on ultrasofts, before two further stints on supersofts, while Vettel went, ultra, super and then back to ultras.
The Mexico City track surface is smooth and slippery, thereby reducing tyre wear and degradation, while the pit lane is one of the longest of the year, which increases the time needed to make a stop and encourages teams towards a one-stopper.
There's a wide mix of speeds and corners: as well as the two fast straights and a slow and twisty stadium section where the famous Peraltada corner used to be.
It's the highest altitude circuit of the year, which means that the cars generate less downforce in the thin air and have to rely more on mechanical grip from the tyres.