Red Bull brings reworked engine cover and sidepod to high-altitude Mexico City
Red Bull is the only front-running team to bring performance upgrades to Mexico City, according to RacingNews365 and Crash.net. A reworked engine cover aims at better cooling in thin air, and a revised sidepod split line targets small aerodynamic gains.
Cooling first
Mexico City is one of the toughest places on the calendar for a car's cooling, and Red Bull has built its Friday upgrade around that. Both RacingNews365 and Crash.net report, citing the FIA car presentation documents, that the team has a reworked engine cover and an adapted sidepod for the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
RacingNews365 says the engine cover has a larger exit area to recover cooling mass flow through the radiators, achieved by extending the existing louvres and adding optional louvres further outboard. Crash.net describes the same change as aimed at improving cooling through the radiators.
The sidepod change
The second part is a new split line between the floor and the sidepod. According to Crash.net, it is attached to the existing sidepod geometry and is meant to improve airflow beneath the radiator duct inlet, creating more local downforce while keeping the car stable. RacingNews365 describes it as an adapted split line matching a revised floor surface behind the outer fence, aiming to recover small aerodynamic gains and improve heat rejection.
Neither outlet quotes anyone at Red Bull about how much the package is worth.
Why altitude matters
The circuit sits more than 2,200 metres above sea level. RacingNews365 notes that the air density is roughly 20 to 25 per cent lower than at sea-level venues, which reduces airflow through radiators and heat exchangers. Thinner air also means larger bodywork openings cost less drag than elsewhere, so teams can open up their cars here without a clear lap-time penalty. The outlet adds that the altitude is an even harder test under the new power unit regulations.
The wider field
Crash.net says Red Bull is the only front-running team with performance updates, and that the only other performance upgrade comes from Audi, a new rear corner on the R26 with an updated rear brake duct deflector. RacingNews365 also lists a new exhaust tailpipe at Alpine and names Ferrari, McLaren and Racing Bulls as the teams bringing parts specific to Mexico City's demands.
The standings picture
According to Crash.net, Red Bull has won two of its last three races, with Max Verstappen winning in Malaysia and Singapore, and is level with McLaren on 355 points in the constructors' standings, third on count-back. Verstappen is fourth in the drivers' standings, five points behind Lewis Hamilton and six behind George Russell. Verstappen said he does not care about the fight for second and wants the team to finish third in the constructors', adding that there are "still a lot of things that we want to change".
Free practice starts on Friday, and the Mexico City Grand Prix is on Sunday.
