2019 Mexican GP: Ferrari’s straight-line speed

Ferrari has had the straigh-line speed advantage in recent races. How fast was Ferrari during the 2019 Mexican Grand Prix? Let’s take a look at the numbers.

Qualifying session maximum speeds

Ferrari topped the speed charts at both the finish line and speed trap. Charles Leclerc was the fastest driver at the finish line, with a maximum speed of 264.9 km/h. Sebastian Vettel was the fastest at the speed trap, with a top speed of 357.9 km/h.

The finish line is fairly close to the last corner of the circuit (17), which means that Ferrari had good acceleration after the final slow sector. Is this all due to the engine, as some media make it out to be? Very unlikely.

Take a look at the numbers. Red Bull and Mercedes were second and third in this chart, both powered by different manufacturers. In order to reach this speed, Ferrari must have had good traction out of corner 17. Improvements in aerodynamics and mechanical grip certainly played a role here.

Regarding the top speed at the speed trap, Ferrari was dominant. They were almost five kilometers per hour faster than the second fastest driver, Kevin Magnussen from Haas. Mercedes and Red Bull were among the slowest in this department. A setup with more downforce was most likely responsible for the increased drag at the end of the long straight seen in the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

Race maximum speeds

Ferrari once again was #1 at the finish line, with a top speed of 258.5 km/h. The picture changes the the speed trap though. Why is Ferrari dead last here?

The answer is DRS (Drag Reduction System). The Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez track has a 1.2 kilometers straight, which combined with the high downforce setup required to race there, makes DRS a very powerful weapon. Sergio Pérez was the fastest driver in this category, with a maximum speed of almost 360 km/h, with Antonio Giovinazzi less than 1 km/h behind.

The concerning aspect for Ferrari is that they were unable to get into DRS range in order to overtake. Perhaps cooling concerns prevented the Scuderia from attacking, or perhaps they knew that even with their straight-line speed advantage, it would have been very hard to overtake a racy Mercedes car.

Final remarks

Ferrari had the fastest car at the finish line and speed trap in México City, no question about it. However, that was not enough to take the victory home. The lack of ability to close down the gap to the car ahead, most likely due to cooling issues, prevented the Scuderia from running an aggressive race.

The United States Grand Prix is coming next. Without the cooling demands present in México, we have to assume that this time Ferrari will be able to turn up the engine up to the maximum during the race. Will it be enough to take victory this time?

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