Months after its contract with Formula 1 was extended through 2028, the Mexico City Grand Prix will celebrate the 10th anniversary of its 2015 return when F1 roars into the Mexican capital this weekend.
The 20-car race will begin Sunday at 2 p.m. local time at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, a high-altitude, thin-air circuit that tests machines and drivers alike.
Defending four-time world champion Max Verstappen of Oracle Red Bull Racing will enter the 305.6-kilometer race 40 points behind McLaren’s Oscar Piastri in the standings. The gap looked unreachable earlier this season but has tightened after Verstappen’s dominant Oct. 19 win in Austin, Texas.
Sitting 2,200 meters above sea level, the Mexico City racetrack poses unique challenges — low grip for the tires, reduced air density and extreme cooling demands. The altitude is equal to 7,218 feet above sea level, or 1.37 miles.
“The car always feels low on grip and on the edge around here,” former Renault driver Jolyon Palmer said.
With its mix of fast straights and slow, technical sections — 17 turns on each of its 71 laps — it remains one of the sport’s trickiest circuits.
Verstappen — whose five wins in Mexico City between 2017 and 2023 are the most ever in the race’s history — has 306 points as he pursues his fifth consecutive season title.
Piastri leads with 346, followed by teammate Lando Norris 14 points back, setting up a fierce three-way fight with five races left on the 2025 calendar.
McLaren has already wrapped up its second straight Constructors’ Championship with 678 points, with Mercedes (341), Ferrari (334) and Red Bull (331) well behind.
Spaniard Carlos Sainz, who won for Ferrari last year in Mexico, returns seeking redemption after a rough outing and a five-place grid penalty in Austin.
Guadalajara native Sergio “Checo” Pérez, a 13-year F1 veteran who parted ways with Red Bull Racing in December, won’t compete this weekend as he prepares for Cadillac’s 2026 Formula 1 debut.
Instead, hometown fans will look to IndyCar star Pato O’Ward, who was scheduled to participate in Friday’s opening practice.
Pérez, whose dead-last finish in Mexico City last year might have sealed his fate with Red Bull, has been back in the capital this week, however.
On Thursday he participated with pro soccer players and other athletes in an exhibition soccer match that also involved young people living on the streets or in addiction rehabilitation. The 35-year-old scored three goals.
The racing weekend is set to follow a traditional format, with three practice sessions Friday and Saturday, qualifying on Saturday and the main event Grand Prix on Sunday.
One new twist is the Gordon Ramsay “F1 Garage.” Fans who have purchased premium hospitality packages — starting at 207,970 pesos per person (US $11,288) — will have access to the celebrity chef’s curated gourmet menu, open bar, pit lane views and VIP paddock access.
This year’s 10th-year-anniversary posters were created by Jorge Molina, a Mexican illustrator and comic artist well known for his work with Marvel and DC Comics. Using Mexican cultural motifs, he also created Ferrari’s race poster.
The Mexico City Grand Prix made its modern return to Formula 1 in 2015, following a 23-year absence from the calendar. After 1992, the race was taken off the F1 calendar largely due to safety issues, track surface deterioration and Mexico City air pollution concerns.
F1 had raced in CDMX from 1963 to 1970, with a second stretch from 1986 to 1992. By 2015, the circuit had undergone major renovations.
With reports from ESPN Deportes, The Athletic, The Sporting News and Formula1.com
