Mexico City '88

The Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez (1988 layout) is a 4.386 km (2.726 mi.) race track in Mexico City, Mexico, named for the famous Rodríguez brothers. The circuit is located within the public park of the Magdalena Mixhuca in northeast Mexico City. Built in a public park in 1962, the circuit hosted its first Formula One Grand Prix the same year, as a non-Championship race. The following year the Mexican Grand Prix became a full World Championship event. The circuit remained part of the F1 calendar through 1970, when spectator overcrowding caused unsafe conditions. When the track re-opened in 1986, the circuit boasted a new pit complex, as well as improved safety all around. The circuit itself has a very bumpy surface, mostly due to Mexico City's location on a geologically active region. Furthermore, with an elevation of 2,285 m,(7,500 ft) the thin air makes breathing more difficult for both the drivers and their cars. The circuit got its name shortly after it opened when Ricardo Rodríguez tragically lost his life there in practice for the non-Championship 1962 Mexican Grand Prix (Ricardo's brother Pedro would also lose his life behind the wheel years later). The circuit has an extremely fast final corner (the peraltada) before a long start/finish straight, and thus reminded some of Monza; however, unlike Monza's parabolica curve, the peraltada curve is slightly banked, allowing even more speed through the corner. - Charles Hodges