Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez
Mexico City, Mexico
The Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez is a permanent facility built on the grounds of a former public park in eastern Mexico City, sharing its infield with a baseball stadium whose stands now overlook the track's stadium section. Sitting more than 2,200 metres above sea level, the thin air reduces both engine power and aerodynamic downforce, creating unusual handling characteristics. The old banked Peraltada corner is now only partially used, with a stadium chicane cutting through what was once a full sweeping curve.
Length
4.304 km
Turns
17
Race Laps
71
Elevation
8m
First GP
1963
Lap Record
1:17.774
Valtteri Bottas (2021)
Famous Corners
Turn 16
Peraltada
Location
Nearest Town
The circuit lies within Mexico City itself, in the Magdalena Mixhuca sports complex in the east of the metropolis. Mexico City is one of the largest urban areas in the world, offering an enormous range of culture, food, and history for visiting race fans. The stadium section of the track is famously packed with tens of thousands of vocal spectators.
Getting There
Mexico City International Airport is only a few kilometres from the circuit, typically a 15-20 minute drive outside of heavy traffic. The city's extensive Metro system has stations within walking distance of the venue, making it one of the more transit-accessible circuits on the calendar.
Circuit History & Trivia
Notable Incidents
The circuit's name carries a somber history tied to its own namesakes: Ricardo Rodríguez, a promising young Mexican driver, was killed in 1962 during practice for the non-championship Mexican Grand Prix at the track that would later bear his name. Nine years later, his older brother Pedro Rodríguez, by then an accomplished sports car and Formula One driver, died in a racing accident at another circuit after suffering suspension failure at the fast Peraltada corner style of turn. In tribute to both brothers, the venue was officially renamed the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in 1979. Their deaths, at a track already known for its long, high-speed banked corner, underscored the dangers of an era before modern circuit safety standards, and the family name has remained attached to the track ever since.
Design History
The circuit was originally designed as a university thesis project by student Óscar Fernández in 1953, with construction breaking ground in 1959 on the site of a former public park in eastern Mexico City. Its signature feature became the Peraltada, a long, slightly banked final corner that, unlike Monza's flat Parabolica, allowed cars to carry very high speed through the turn. After Formula One left the venue following the 1992 race, a baseball stadium (Foro Sol, now Estadio GNP Seguros) was built inside the sweep of the Peraltada, and when Champ Car returned to the track in 2002, engineers bypassed part of the old banking with a tighter chicane threading around the new stadium before rejoining the original curve. Ahead of Formula One's 2015 return, architect Hermann Tilke oversaw a renovation that reshaped the S-curves between turns 7 and 13, replacing high-radius corners with tighter, fixed-angle turns and shortening the lap by about 170 metres compared to the pre-1992 Grand Prix configuration.
Records & Notable Races
On the current, post-2015 layout, Valtteri Bottas holds the official Formula One race lap record at 1:17.774, set during the 2021 Mexico City Grand Prix. Max Verstappen went even faster during 2019 qualifying, recording an unofficial lap of 1:14.758 that remains the quickest lap ever turned at the circuit. Away from Formula One, the venue set an attendance record of 402,413 spectators for a 2002 CART Championship round, reflecting Mexico City's enormous appetite for motor racing. The circuit's altitude also produces unusual competitive dynamics, since reduced aerodynamic drag at height allows teams to run higher downforce while still achieving high straight-line speeds, a balance rarely available elsewhere on the calendar.
Fun Facts
Sitting at roughly 2,238 metres above sea level, the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez is one of the highest-altitude circuits in international motorsport, and its thin air noticeably saps engine power while altering aerodynamic behavior in ways engineers must specifically prepare for. The track's name honors brothers Ricardo (1942-1962) and Pedro Rodríguez (1940-1971), two of Mexico's most accomplished racing drivers of their era. Beyond motorsport, the venue's stadium section inside the old Peraltada curve now hosts baseball as the home of a professional team, giving spectators in the stands a direct view onto the circuit. The complex also welcomes the Electric Daisy Carnival electronic music festival, which has drawn crowds exceeding 200,000 people, making the site one of the most versatile major event venues in Latin America.