"Things happen a bit differently out here sometimes," laughs Christian Epp, representative of Tilke GmbH & Co. KG. "You have a few cultural things of course, times when you need to accommodate different mentalities, but that works fine; actually it's a pleasure. But other things, like big events that bring huge crowds to the site even during construction, I thought at times would be impossible. In Mexico, though, everything is possible..."

Next Previous Enlarge 1 / 6 An artist's rendering of the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez © Tilke GmbH & Co. KG An artist's rendering of the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez © Tilke GmbH & Co. KG An artist's rendering of the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez © Tilke GmbH & Co. KG The start/finish straight has been relocated at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez © Tilke GmbH & Co. KG The pit building under construction at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez © Tilke GmbH & Co. KG An artist's rendering of the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez © Tilke GmbH & Co. KG Info Close

In his role as Director of the Americas for Tilke, Epp is responsible for every facet of the sweeping changes being made to the Mexico City circuit. Even for someone so well versed in circuit construction, it's a unique set of responsibilities. First included on the F1 calendar in 1963, and with winners including Jim Clark, Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna, it is a venue steeped in motorsport history. Revamping such a classic therefore comes with inevitable pressures - but that's by no means the only obstacles Epp and Tilke have encountered. "The first challenge we had was dealing with the heritage of the track," Epp explains. "It can be tricky working with something people know and love. Everything we do is analysed in depth. But F1 has changed in every aspect over the years, from the cars themselves all the way to the infrastructure. We needed to adapt. "Number two for us was working within a living city. This [the Magdalena Mixhuca park in which the circuit is set] is public ground. Every week tens of thousands of people use it for their leisure. Working within that is not always easy - and that's before we get to the unmapped pipelines and gas lines that we sometimes come across, part of 100 years of buried city infrastructure. "But number three...number three was the fact this is still a huge entertainment venue for our client, live events company CIE - the largest out-of-home entertainment company in Latin America. All the big concerts, like AC/DC in 2009, Madonna in 2012 and One Direction in 2013, played in the Foro Sol stadium (through which the modified circuit will run on its way back to the start/finish straight). You have huge rock or Latin festivals that bring up to 300,000 people - we've had a few of these. "We advised against them, but they went ahead and it worked out: in the end it was a learning curve for us actually. So it hasn't been without its challenges - but it has worked. "

The first challenge we had was dealing with the heritage of the track... Christian Epp

Work it has, but the scale of the undertaking shouldn't be underestimated. On top of Epp's comments about working within a living city - Mexico and its capital are both major tourist hubs - the schedule is exacting. Every inch of the circuit is being resurfaced; the old pit buildings have been dismantled, with new facilities - including medical and media centres - gradually nearing completion; a new paddock tunnel is being constructed; and new drainage systems are being installed throughout. At any stage in time, between 500 and 800 people are working on site - the "beauty" of a 4.3 kilometre-long building site, as Epp puts it, although admittedly "more labour intensive" than his last Grand Prix project, the Circuit of The Americas in Texas. Nothing has escaped attention. Tilke have even re-plotted the start/finish straight, which has been shifted 15m to the right of where it used to run in order to afford better views from the existing Turn 17 grandstand - "basically the only element we kept as it is," according to Epp. But while the off-track changes are the most visible, the circuit itself has been carefully tweaked, with roughly 50 percent of the layout undergoing some form of change. Turn 1, for example, is now a bit deeper than its predecessor, and tighter too at almost 90 degrees. Tilke's advanced modelling simulations suggest that the long DRS straight will mean cars hit speeds of around 328 km/h - which, allied to an incline of 20m under the brakes, make it a prime candidate for overtaking. The stadium section starting at Turn 4 has been modified, with a bank of grandstands now sitting where the old circuit used to run. Epp says they plan to join these grandstands together before November "to create a single, enclosed stand - and an amazing atmosphere". From there the Esses now follow a new route, dictated by run-off areas and the fact the circuit only owns a narrow strip of land to work within. "This is happening now - it's been the biggest part of work on the track. The original layout didn't allow for any run-off as the circuit owns a small corridor of land, so we had to manoeuver between limits. The new layout is almost inverted compared to the old Esses."

Next Previous Enlarge 1 / 5 Mexican flag © Sutton Motorsport Images Winner Alain Prost (FRA) Ferrari 641 leads Ayrton Senna and Nigel Mansell Mexican GP, Mexico City, 24 June 1990 © Sutton Motorsport Images Graham Hill (GBR) Lotus 49B crosses the finish line to take race victory and clinch his second World Championship. Mexican Grand Prix, Mexico City, 3 November 1968 © Sutton Motorsport Images Nigel Mansell (GBR) Williams FW14 (left) and Ayrton Senna (BRA) McLaren MP4/6 battle for position. Mexican Grand Prix, Mexico City, 16 June 1991 © Sutton Motorsport Images The flag man gets the race underway, led from pole position by Jo Siffert (SUI) Rob Walker Lotus 49B. Mexican Grand Prix, Mexico City, 3 November 1968 © Sutton Motorsport Images Info Close