Race Start
Sunday, November 1 at 3:00 PM EST
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Free .ics download — sessions appear in your local time in Google, Apple & Outlook calendars.
Round 18 of 22 · Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez · October 30 – November 1, 2026
Free .ics download — sessions appear in your local time in Google, Apple & Outlook calendars.
| Session | Eastern | Central | Mountain | Pacific |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Practice 1 | Fri, Oct 30, 2:30 PM EDT | Fri, Oct 30, 1:30 PM CDT | Fri, Oct 30, 12:30 PM MDT | Fri, Oct 30, 11:30 AM PDT |
| Practice 2 | Fri, Oct 30, 6:00 PM EDT | Fri, Oct 30, 5:00 PM CDT | Fri, Oct 30, 4:00 PM MDT | Fri, Oct 30, 3:00 PM PDT |
| Practice 3 | Sat, Oct 31, 1:30 PM EDT | Sat, Oct 31, 12:30 PM CDT | Sat, Oct 31, 11:30 AM MDT | Sat, Oct 31, 10:30 AM PDT |
| Qualifying | Sat, Oct 31, 5:00 PM EDT | Sat, Oct 31, 4:00 PM CDT | Sat, Oct 31, 3:00 PM MDT | Sat, Oct 31, 2:00 PM PDT |
| Race | Sun, Nov 1, 3:00 PM EST | Sun, Nov 1, 2:00 PM CST | Sun, Nov 1, 1:00 PM MST | Sun, Nov 1, 12:00 PM PST |
Mexico City sits at 2,200 meters above sea level, and the thin air changes everything: engines lose power, brakes overheat, and cars run maximum downforce wings that behave like Monza-spec ones. The Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez funnels the field down a 1.2 km straight into a tight first-corner complex, then through the Foro Sol stadium section, where the crowd noise rivals a World Cup final.
The Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez sits at 2,200 meters above sea level, and the thin air — about 25% less dense than at sea level — warps every engineering assumption: wings produce Monza levels of downforce at maximum settings, brakes and power units run desperately hot, and the reduced drag makes the 1.2 km run to Turn 1 one of the fastest top-speed zones of the year despite the maximum-downforce setups.
The lap's emotional core is the Foro Sol stadium section, where the track threads through a baseball arena packed with fans whose roar reaches the cockpits over the engines. The esses of the middle sector reward rhythm, while the flat-out kink through the old Peraltada's remnant tests commitment. Braking into Turn 1 after the enormous straight is the overtaking zone — and, on lap one, reliably the scene of contact as cars arrive four-wide with cold brakes biting unevenly in the thin air.
Named after Mexico's racing brothers Ricardo and Pedro Rodríguez — both lost to the sport young — the circuit first hosted F1 in 1963, and its modern revival in 2015 turned the race into a carnival that regularly wins F1's award for best-promoted event. The altitude has always shaped its stories: turbo cars thrived here in the 1980s, and the 2016-2018 editions saw championships clinched in the stadium's roar as Lewis Hamilton twice sealed titles mid-race.
Another Americas-friendly weekend: the race starts Sunday afternoon US time, back-to-back with Austin the week before. Watch the first lap closely — the long run to Turn 1 plus the altitude-induced braking problems makes lap-one contact more likely here than almost anywhere.
The race starts at 2 PM local time, which lands at 3 PM Eastern / noon Pacific on Sunday — the middle weekend of the Americas triple-header and another zero-effort watch for US fans. Note that US clocks fall back the same weekend as this race in 2026, so double-check your calendar app against the times above (the .ics file handles the shift automatically). Watch the temperature graphics: brake cooling is a genuine retirement risk here.
The race starts Sunday, November 1 at 3:00 PM EST. That's 2:00 PM CST Central, 1:00 PM MST Mountain, and 12:00 PM PST Pacific.
No, it uses the standard format: three practice sessions, qualifying (Saturday, October 31 at 5:00 PM EDT), and the Grand Prix.
71 laps of the 4.304 km Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, a race distance of about 306 km.
At 2,200 meters, the air is roughly a quarter thinner than at sea level. Cars run maximum-downforce wings that behave like low-downforce ones, engines and brakes struggle for cooling, and top speeds on the main straight are among the highest of the season despite the big wings.
New to Formula 1 or planning your viewing weekend? Read our guides to watching F1 in the US, how a race weekend works, and why F1 start times vary.