2014 Mexican GP. Mexico City...

Brilliant! It'll be a huge success.

 

Hmmmm..... I used to go down there (Mexico City) pretty regularly, admittedly > 6 years back, so things may be different now, but I never had a "security detail", was generally alone, and never once felt "threatened" the way I did in, eg, Philly.....

I may be wrong, but can't help thinking these "private security" firms are stirring up paranoia to support their business; I walked all over the place, often pretty late at night and was never once concerned. The archetypal "ignorant Englishman" I guess.....

Riding in the back seat of a VW bug taxi OTOH was always an experience!

Cheers,
Ian

 

On yes, that is classic -- with no seat belt, you sway all over the place if the driver
does some spirited driving. There is a saying that if you drive in Mexico City you can
drive anywhere.

 

+1

Always seemed to me the cab drivers never did anything other than "spirited driving"!....

One way streets? "Don't apply to me".
Sidewalks? "I have special permission to use 'em!"
No hurry? "You may not be, but I am!"

Gotta be honest, I thoroughly enjoyed my stays there. I certainly didn't wear the Rolex and/or plaid pants with a camera round my neck screaming "I'm an American!", but again, never felt in any "danger".

YMMV of course.....
Cheers,
Ian

 

Mexico being dangerous? depends on where you stay and where you roam and what you do.

The area near the track is not pretty, as so are many other parts in the city, as in many other places around the world. It's like late 80's - early 90's NY, and I might say less dangerous.

Just follow this advice:
- Don't go to weird neighborhoods, stay in Polanco, Centro, etc. and if you're staying near the airport, travel to the tourist places.
- Never take a cab out of the street, always use a cab from an established site and make sure they don't charge you an 'established' fee, make them use the meter. I have numbers if you want them. You can call them whenever you want and they'll send a safe cab.
- Private security always draws attention.
- And don't come showing off how rich you are, keep a low key. You can be wealthy but if you're not a big shot, no one will know who you are, unless you brag about it. No matter how friendly people seem, don't tell them "I drive a Ferrari in the US".

 

Coming from a 3rd world country, the English tend to fare better as tourists...perhaps it due to past centuries of "acquiring" territories that they have attained a sense of what it takes to visit countries that are different from their own....Americans always seem to be waving a flag saying, "Come and take advantage of me".

Travel is a vital means of education, it should go without saying.

 

I lived in Mexico City for 20 years, but haven't been back in 2 decades. Might take advantage of my brother's condo in Polanco and see what's new there . Not too excited about the new engines, but also want to visit Cuernavaca and Tequesquitengo. And maybe rent a Ducati and do the Toluca highway; always wanted to do that, but might be a tad dangerous now. But need to wait until the race is verified; I thought it'd be impossible to make that track compliant in such a short time. Guess we can't underestimate Slim's money, right? And yes, I'd leave the big egos, nice watches, and such at home . Not a dangerous city, but as it was already said, just be smart; any big metropolis has problem areas. Take care folks.

 

Actually turbo cars are barely effected by altitude changes.

 

I agree and the only thing I can see is in turbo response due to air density as the boost level remains the same.
http://www.f1wolf.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/1986-Mexican-GP-F1-win-for-Pirelli.jpg