Continued Success: Mexico City’s Formula One Event to Remain on the Calendar Through 2028

The Mexico City Grand Prix has extended its contract to host a Formula One race at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez track until 2028. This new deal comes after the race was granted two separate three-year extensions following the conclusion of its original five-race contract in 2019.

The Mexican event has featured on the F1 calendar for three distinct periods through the championship’s 75-year history, with its current run starting back in 2015. The race’s current deal with F1 promoter Formula One Management (FOM) had been set to conclude at the end of 2025.

“We are very excited to announce that the Mexico GP will be held for three more years,” said Alejandro Soberón Kuri, CIE president and CEO, in a statement. “We are deeply grateful for the invaluable support of the government of Mexico City, from the head of government of Mexico City, Clara Brugada, to our president, Claudia Sheinbaum, as well as Stefano Domenicali (CEO) from Formula 1, who have made it possible to continue bringing Formula 1 to our country.”

The Mexican Grand Prix first appeared on the F1 calendar back in 1963, with the Magdalena Mixhuca track hosting seven races in the following years. The Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez then held seven more F1 world championship races between 1986 and 1992. The track’s current run of races coincided with the rise of Sergio Perez, who scored six race wins and 33 other podium finishes after commencing his F1 career with Sauber back in 2011.

Perez’s recent poor showing at the 2024 event, where he produced a jump start penalty, a clash with Liam Lawson, and got lapped by the winner, raised concerns amongst CIE officials about the race’s chances of retaining its slot. However, several factors have combined in its favor around the new deal.

The Mexico City Grand Prix has been consistently popular with fans, with 404,958 people attending the most recent event over three days in October 2024. This figure includes 154,124 people attending race day alone. The event has also won awards from within the F1 community, with FOM handing it the ‘Best Promoter’ award at the FIA Prize Giving ceremonies five years in a row between 2015 and 2019.

Perez has been linked with a fast return to F1 racing action, if he can do a new deal with the Cadillac team that will enter the championship in 2026. However, even if Perez is unsuccessful, CIE has been implementing a ticket sales strategy aimed at ensuring the race would remain popular even without a home driver to support. This strategy has been boosted by the current run of close racing between multiple teams generating an exciting on-track spectacle, as well as ongoing new fan interest generated by the ‘Drive to Survive’ Netflix series.

“We are very excited to announce that the Mexico City Grand Prix will continue to be part of our calendar through the 2028 season,” said Domenicali in a statement. “Formula 1 is energy, passion and emotion, and every year the unique atmosphere created by our fans in Mexico City is one of the most incredible and energetic experiences of our championship.”