Tech insight - Mexico’s critical brake cooling

The extremely high altitude of Mexico City means the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez presents F1 engineers with a number of challenges. Not only does the thin air mean engines struggle to produce their normal power outputs, it also makes brake cooling extremely difficult…

Toro Rosso STR11

To compensate for the altitude, all the teams have introduced bigger brake ducts in Mexico. Arguably the most extreme solution could be seen on the front of Toro Rosso’s car, with large ears (red arrow) integrated into the panel.

Williams FW38

Williams were another team to place an additional small ear on their ducts to improve the cooling efficiency of their front brakes.