Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez
Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez is Mexico City’s racetrack, tucked into a big sports park on the east side of town and home of the Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix. It sits about 2,285 m (7,497 ft) above sea level, so the air is thin, the cars make less downforce and top speeds climb. The lap ends with a run through a baseball stadium packed with fans before the old Peraltada spits you onto a long main straight. Here’s the name, the history, a lap section by section, the records, what races there and how to visit.
Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez at a Glance
Length 4.304 km / 2.674 mi Grand Prix layout, used since 2015
Turns 17 ending with the second half of the Peraltada
Altitude About 2,285 m / 7,497 ft the highest track on the F1 calendar
Opened November 20, 1959 as the Autódromo Magdalena Mixhuca
Location & owner Magdalena Mixhuca sports park, Mexico City owned by the Mexico City government, run by CIE/OCESA
Race lap record 1:17.774 Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes, 2021
Why Is It Called Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez?
“Hermanos Rodríguez” means “Rodríguez brothers.” When the track opened in 1959, it was the Autódromo Magdalena Mixhuca, named after the sports park it sits in. Ricardo Rodríguez, the younger of two racing brothers from Mexico City, was killed in practice for the 1962 Mexican Grand Prix, and the track was renamed in his honor. When his older brother Pedro, a Grand Prix and Le Mans winner, was killed in a sports car race in Germany in 1971, it became the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, honoring both.
The race itself changed names, too. It was the Mexican Grand Prix through 2019 and has been the Mexico City Grand Prix (Gran Premio de la Ciudad de México) since 2021. The Mexico City government owns the circuit, and Corporación Interamericana de Entretenimiento (CIE) runs it under a concession through its live-events company OCESA.
Two other names you’ll hear all weekend: the Peraltada, the long banked final corner, and the Foro Sol, the baseball and concert stadium the lap now runs through. The stadium was renamed Estadio GNP Seguros in 2024, but plenty of fans still call it the Foro Sol.
Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez History
The track was built in the late 1950s because Mexico City didn’t have one, and it’s been on and off the F1 calendar ever since: 1962–70, 1986–92 and from 2015 on. In between, it kept busy with Champ Car, NASCAR, sports cars and, these days, Formula E.
- 1959 The circuit, designed by Óscar Fernández from a layout he first drew as a university thesis, opens on November 20 as the Autódromo Magdalena Mixhuca.
- 1962 The first Formula 1 race here is a non-championship Grand Prix. In practice, 20-year-old Ricardo Rodríguez is killed at the Peraltada in a Rob Walker-run Lotus, and the track is renamed after him.
- 1963 The Mexican Grand Prix becomes a World Championship round, won by Jim Clark.
- 1970 F1 leaves after crowds overflowing onto the edge of the track make the race unsafe.
- 1971 Pedro Rodríguez is killed in July, and the circuit becomes the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez.
- 1986–92 F1 returns with a new pit complex. Gerhard Berger wins the 1986 race for Benetton, the team’s first win. F1 leaves again after 1992 over safety concerns.
- 1993 The Foro Sol opens inside the Peraltada, first as a concert venue. Baseball arrives in 2000.
- 2002–07 Champ Car races here. The 2002 event draws a record CART crowd of 402,413 over the weekend. NASCAR’s second-tier series visits from 2005 to 2008.
- 2015 F1 returns on a reworked, 4.304 km layout that runs through the stadium and skips the first half of the Peraltada. Nico Rosberg wins.
- 2016 Formula E holds its first Mexico City E-Prix. The World Endurance Championship visits in 2016 and 2017.
- 2021 The race becomes the Mexico City Grand Prix. Valtteri Bottas sets the race lap record, and Max Verstappen wins. He’s won here five times, more than anyone else.
- 2025 On June 15, Shane van Gisbergen wins the Viva México 250, the first NASCAR Cup Series points race outside the U.S. since 1958. In October, Lando Norris wins the Grand Prix from pole in front of a weekend crowd of 401,326. The F1 contract is extended through 2028.
- 2026 NASCAR doesn’t return, with Mexico City busy hosting the FIFA World Cup. Nick Cassidy wins the Formula E race in January, Citroën’s first win in the series, and the Grand Prix weekend runs October 30–November 1.
The Foro Sol and the Peraltada
For decades the lap ended with the Peraltada, a long, slightly banked final corner taken flat out onto the main straight. It was fast and scary, it’s where Ricardo Rodríguez was killed in 1962, and it’s where plenty of drivers have spun or crashed since. When F1 came back in 2015, the new layout cut off the first half of it.
1993
The stadium arrives
The Foro Sol was built inside the Peraltada, first for concerts and later for baseball. It’s now the Estadio GNP Seguros.
2015
Half a Peraltada
The F1 layout turns off before the old banking, winds through the stadium and rejoins the Peraltada halfway around.
401,326
Fans in 2025
The weekend crowd for the 2025 Grand Prix, and the stadium section is where the noise peaks.
Instead, the lap ducks into the stadium for a slow sequence of corners right under the stands, then rejoins the Peraltada partway around for the run to the line. It costs some speed, but it gives you a lap finish in front of a stadium full of fans, and the podium ceremony happens there too. It’s become the signature image of the race.
Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez Track Guide: A Lap, Section by Section
The Grand Prix lap is 4.304 km with 17 turns. It’s fairly flat, but the altitude changes everything: at around 2,285 m the air is about 25% less dense than at sea level, so cars make roughly 25% less downforce, engines and turbos work harder, and brakes and radiators get less cooling air. Teams run their biggest wings and still slide around, and the low drag lets them top 350 km/h (217 mph) on the main straight.
Straight
Main straight
A long run from the Peraltada past the pits to Turn 1. With the thin air cutting drag, F1 cars hit top speeds here that rival Monza, even with big wings on. Expect slipstreaming and DRS passes.
T1–3
First complex
A big stop at the end of the straight into a quick sequence of corners. On lap one, the whole field arrives side by side, and contact is common.
Back straight
Second DRS zone
A second straight takes you down the far side of the lap to the next heavy braking zone, another good place to pass.
Esses
The middle sector
A run of quicker direction changes through the middle of the lap. It was reshaped in 2015 with tighter corners, and it’s where a car with good grip makes up time.
Stadium
Foro Sol section
A slow, tight series of corners inside the stadium, right under thousands of fans. Traction out of these corners is everything.
T17
The Peraltada
You rejoin the old banked corner halfway around and use all of the exit onto the main straight. A good exit here sets up the run to Turn 1.
Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez Lap Records
Only laps set in a race count as official lap records, and each layout keeps its own. The F1 record dates from 2021. At the 2025 race, Lando Norris took pole with a 1:15.586, and George Russell set the fastest race lap, a 1:20.052.
1:17.774
F1 race lap record
Valtteri Bottas set it in a Mercedes W12 during the 2021 Mexico City Grand Prix.
1:14.758
Fastest lap ever
Max Verstappen’s qualifying lap for Red Bull in 2019. A grid penalty dropped him to fourth, and it was set in qualifying, so it isn’t the official record.
1:33.782
NASCAR Cup Series
Kyle Larson’s lap in a Chevrolet Camaro at the 2025 Viva México 250, on the 3.909 km National Circuit with the stadium section.
1:07.474
Formula E
Jake Dennis set it in a Porsche at the 2026 Mexico City E-Prix, on the shorter E-Prix layout.
Races and Events at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez
The big weekend is the Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix. Formula E visits every January, and the NASCAR Cup Series raced here in 2025. In the past the track also hosted Champ Car (2002–2007), A1 Grand Prix and the World Endurance Championship, and the stadium and grounds host big concerts and festivals all year.
Late October / early November
Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix
Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix
The main event, with a weekend crowd of more than 400,000 in 2025. Lando Norris won the 2025 race from pole for McLaren, ahead of Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen. The 2026 race is on November 1, and the 2027 race is set for October 29–31. The current contract runs through 2028.
June 2025
NASCAR in Mexico City
NASCAR Cup Series NASCAR Mexico Series
Shane van Gisbergen won the 2025 Viva México 250, the first Cup Series points race outside the U.S. since 1958, and home favorite Daniel Suárez won the second-tier race the day before. The Cup Series didn’t return in 2026 and isn’t on the 2027 schedule. The domestic NASCAR Mexico Series still races here.
January
Formula E Mexico City E-Prix
Formula E Mexico City E-Prix
The electric series has raced here since 2016 on a shorter layout of its own. Nick Cassidy won the 2026 race on January 10, coming from 13th on the grid to give Citroën its first win. The next E-Prix is on January 16, 2027.
Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez Race Calendar: 2026 and 2027
Two international series come here each year. The 2027 dates come from the official F1 calendar released in September 2026 and the Formula E 2026–27 calendar. Support races and national series are usually confirmed closer to each event.
2026 season
| Dates | Event | Series | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 10 | Mexico City E-Prix | Formula E (round 2) | Done |
| — | NASCAR Cup Series race | NASCAR Cup Series | Not held in 2026 |
| Oct 30–Nov 1 | Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix | Formula 1 (round 20) | This weekend |
2027 season
| Dates | Event | Series | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 16 | Mexico City E-Prix | Formula E | Upcoming |
| Oct 29–31 | Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix | Formula 1 (round 20) | Upcoming |
| — | NASCAR Cup Series race | NASCAR Cup Series | Not on the 2027 schedule |
Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez Weather by Season
Thanks to the altitude, Mexico City is mild all year, with warm afternoons, cool mornings and a clear wet season in summer. The figures below are 1991–2020 averages for the Tacubaya station from Mexico’s national weather service (SMN). The sun is strong up here, even when it doesn’t feel hot.
22–24°C / 72–76°F
Dry winter · Dec–Feb
Sunny, dry days with highs of 22–24°C (72–76°F), but cool nights around 8–10°C (47–49°F). Rain is rare, under 12 mm (0.5 in) a month. This is Formula E season.
26–28°C / 79–82°F
Spring · Mar–May
The warmest stretch, with highs of 26–28°C (79–82°F) in April and May and lows of 11–14°C (52–57°F). Rain starts to build in May, to about 59 mm (2.3 in).
24–26°C / 75–78°F
Rainy season · Jun–Sep
Mild days and wet afternoons: 132–176 mm (5.2–6.9 in) of rain a month, usually in short, heavy storms. The 2025 NASCAR race ran in mid-June.
23–24°C / 73–74°F
Fall · Oct–Nov
Grand Prix season. Highs around 23°C (74°F), lows dropping from 12°C (53°F) in October to 10°C (50°F) in November, and rain falling from about 71 mm (2.8 in) to 17 mm (0.7 in).
Visiting Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez: Tickets, Metro and Tips
The track sits inside the city, a few kilometers from the airport, so a Grand Prix trip here is a city break with a race attached. Just plan your transport carefully, because hundreds of thousands of people head the same way.
Tickets
Tickets go on sale through the official Grand Prix site, mexicogp.mx, usually about a year ahead, and they sell fast. The numbered grandstands are grouped into color-coded zones around the lap, and the stands in and around the stadium section put you next to the podium celebrations. If you’re after overtaking, look at the stands at the end of the main straight.
Getting there
Take Metro Line 9: Ciudad Deportiva is the closest station, and Velódromo and Puebla are also nearby. Metrobús Line 2 (Iztacalco or UPIICSA stations) leaves you about a 10-minute walk from the gates. Don’t plan to drive: there’s no parking for private cars at the circuit on race weekend, and the city runs special shuttle routes instead.
Tips
Take the altitude seriously. Drink plenty of water, go easy on alcohol the first day and wear sunscreen and a hat, since the sun is strong at 2,285 m. Pack a light jacket for cool mornings and evenings, wear comfortable shoes for a lot of walking, and leave plenty of time to get out after the race.
Can You Drive Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez?
Not easily. The circuit is busy year-round with racing, concerts and festivals, and we couldn’t confirm a regular public track-day program or racing school that we could point you to. Local clubs and national series do run events here, so if you race in Mexico, that’s your way in.
For everyone else, the easiest way to get a lap in is on a screen. The circuit is in the official F1 games and in iRacing, which includes the Grand Prix layout, the one-mile oval and shorter road layouts. A few sim laps are a good way to learn how slow the stadium section really is.
Talk Mexico City With Other Enthusiasts
Heading to the Mexico City Grand Prix, picking a grandstand or wondering how the altitude changes a race car? Share what you know, ask questions and find people going the same weekend in the AutoGathering community.
- Mexico City Grand Prix trips
- Picking a grandstand
- Getting there by Metro
- Altitude and race cars
- Foro Sol stadium moments
- Mexico City travel tips
- Sim racing lap times
- Formula E and NASCAR in Mexico
Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez FAQ
How long is Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez?
The Grand Prix layout is 4.304 km (2.674 miles) long with 17 turns. It’s been used since F1 returned in 2015.
When is the 2026 Mexico City Grand Prix?
The weekend runs October 30–November 1, 2026, with the race on Sunday, November 1. The 2027 race is set for October 29–31.
Who won the 2025 Mexico City Grand Prix?
Lando Norris won from pole for McLaren on October 26, 2025, ahead of Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen.
Why is Mexico City hard on F1 cars?
The track sits about 2,285 m (7,497 ft) above sea level, where the air is around 25% thinner. Cars make less downforce, turbos work harder and brakes and engines get less cooling air.
What is the lap record at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez?
The F1 race lap record is 1:17.774, set by Valtteri Bottas in 2021. The fastest lap ever is Max Verstappen’s 1:14.758 from qualifying in 2019.
What is the Foro Sol?
The baseball and concert stadium built inside the Peraltada in 1993, now called the Estadio GNP Seguros. The final part of the lap runs through it, and the podium is there.
How do you get to the Mexico City Grand Prix?
Take Metro Line 9 to Ciudad Deportiva (or Velódromo or Puebla), or Metrobús Line 2 to Iztacalco or UPIICSA. There’s no parking for private cars on race weekend.
Is NASCAR still racing in Mexico City?
The Cup Series raced here in June 2025, when Shane van Gisbergen won. It didn’t return in 2026 and isn’t on the 2027 schedule, but the NASCAR Mexico Series still races here.
Explore More Racing Circuits
Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez is one of 40 circuits in our North American racing directory. The F1 season usually brings you here the week after Circuit of the Americas in Austin, and our Circuit Gilles Villeneuve guide covers the Canadian Grand Prix. In Mexico, you’ll also find Autódromo Monterrey in our directory.
Photo credits
- Header image: ProtoplasmaKid, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped and resized.
- Packed stands of the Foro Sol stadium…: Gobierno CDMX, CC0, cropped and resized.
- Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari on track at Autódromo…: Pablo Alejandro Araujo Granda, CC BY-SA 2.0, cropped and resized.
- Pascal Wehrlein and André Lotterer racing their…: Eder Lozada, CC BY 4.0, cropped and resized.
- Track map of the 4.304 km Autódromo…: Pitlane02, CC BY-SA 3.0, cropped and resized.
- NASCAR Nationwide Series stock cars lined up…: oxido1180, CC BY-SA 2.0, cropped and resized.