Mexico City GP 2026: start times by city and how to watch
The 2026 Mexico City Grand Prix is on Sunday, November 1 at 2:00 pm Mexico City time, which is 20:00 UTC. Qualifying is on Saturday, October 31 at 3:00 pm local, and practice starts on Friday, October 30. It is a normal weekend with three practice sessions, not a sprint weekend. The race is 71 laps of the 4.304 km Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez (official timetable on formula1.com).
Weekend timetable (Mexico City time)
| Session | Mexico City | UTC |
|---|---|---|
| Practice 1 | Fri Oct 30, 12:30 pm | 18:30 |
| Practice 2 | Fri Oct 30, 4:00 pm | 22:00 |
| Practice 3 | Sat Oct 31, 11:30 am | 17:30 |
| Qualifying | Sat Oct 31, 3:00 pm | 21:00 |
| Race | Sun Nov 1, 2:00 pm | 20:00 |
Each practice session and qualifying lasts one hour. The race runs 71 laps or two hours, whichever comes first. Mexico City is 6 hours behind UTC all weekend: Mexico stopped changing its clocks in 2022. The timetable is subject to change, so check formula1.com in race week.
Every session in your city
The US changes its clocks on race morning. Daylight saving time in the US and Canada ends at 2:00 am on Sunday, November 1, so the race is two hours "earlier" on a New York clock than Saturday's qualifying. Europe already went back on October 25. The times below account for both.
| City | Practice 1 (Fri) | Practice 2 (Fri) | Practice 3 (Sat) | Qualifying (Sat) | Race (Sun) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | 11:30 am | 3:00 pm | 10:30 am | 2:00 pm | 12:00 pm |
| Mexico City | 12:30 pm | 4:00 pm | 11:30 am | 3:00 pm | 2:00 pm |
| Chicago | 1:30 pm | 5:00 pm | 12:30 pm | 4:00 pm | 2:00 pm |
| New York, Toronto | 2:30 pm | 6:00 pm | 1:30 pm | 5:00 pm | 3:00 pm |
| São Paulo | 3:30 pm | 7:00 pm | 2:30 pm | 6:00 pm | 5:00 pm |
| London | 6:30 pm | 10:00 pm | 5:30 pm | 9:00 pm | 8:00 pm |
| Paris, Berlin, Madrid, Rome | 7:30 pm | 11:00 pm | 6:30 pm | 10:00 pm | 9:00 pm |
| Istanbul, Riyadh | 9:30 pm | 1:00 am Sat | 8:30 pm | 12:00 am Sun | 11:00 pm |
| Dubai | 10:30 pm | 2:00 am Sat | 9:30 pm | 1:00 am Sun | 12:00 am Mon |
| Karachi | 11:30 pm | 3:00 am Sat | 10:30 pm | 2:00 am Sun | 1:00 am Mon |
| New Delhi | 12:00 am Sat | 3:30 am Sat | 11:00 pm | 2:30 am Sun | 1:30 am Mon |
| Dhaka | 12:30 am Sat | 4:00 am Sat | 11:30 pm | 3:00 am Sun | 2:00 am Mon |
| Jakarta | 1:30 am Sat | 5:00 am Sat | 12:30 am Sun | 4:00 am Sun | 3:00 am Mon |
| Singapore, Kuala Lumpur | 2:30 am Sat | 6:00 am Sat | 1:30 am Sun | 5:00 am Sun | 4:00 am Mon |
| Tokyo | 3:30 am Sat | 7:00 am Sat | 2:30 am Sun | 6:00 am Sun | 5:00 am Mon |
| Sydney | 5:30 am Sat | 9:00 am Sat | 4:30 am Sun | 8:00 am Sun | 7:00 am Mon |
A day name in a cell means the session falls on a later day than the column heading in that city. Sydney is on daylight time (UTC+11) all weekend.
How to watch
- United States: every session streams live on Apple TV, which is F1's exclusive US broadcaster from 2026 under a five-year deal. A subscription costs $12.99 a month and includes F1 TV Premium; some races and all practice sessions are free in the Apple TV app (Apple Newsroom, October 2025 and March 2026).
- United Kingdom: Sky Sports F1 shows every session live. Its listing has Practice 1 at 18:30 on Friday, qualifying at 21:00 on Saturday, its Grand Prix Sunday build-up from 19:00 and the race at 20:00 on Sunday (Sky Sports).
- Mexico and elsewhere: F1 TV streams the sessions in most countries outside the US, and local rights holders carry the race on TV. The 2026 calendar on formula1.com links to each race page and the broadcaster list for your country.
Race-day schedule at the track
The official timetable has the drivers' parade at 12:00 pm on Sunday and the Mexican national anthem at 1:44 pm, 16 minutes before the start. Practice 3 on Saturday is the last hour of running before qualifying.
Where the Mexico City Grand Prix sits in the season
Mexico City is the middle race of three in the Americas on consecutive weekends: the United States Grand Prix in Austin on October 25, Mexico City on November 1 and São Paulo on November 8 (2026 F1 calendar). For the Austin weekend, see our US Grand Prix start times by city.
Lando Norris won the 2025 race from pole, 30.3 seconds ahead of Charles Leclerc, with Max Verstappen third and Oliver Bearman a career-best fourth for Haas (F1 race report). We will add the 2026 result here after the race.
Quick answers
- What time does the Mexico City Grand Prix start? 2:00 pm in Mexico City on Sunday, November 1, 2026. That is 3:00 pm in New York, 12:00 pm in Los Angeles, 8:00 pm in London and 9:00 pm in Paris.
- What time is qualifying? 3:00 pm in Mexico City on Saturday, October 31: 5:00 pm in New York, 9:00 pm in London, 2:30 am Sunday in New Delhi.
- Is it a sprint weekend? No. The 2026 Mexico City weekend has three practice sessions, qualifying on Saturday and the race on Sunday.
- How can I watch in the US? On Apple TV, which has the exclusive US rights in 2026. Practice sessions are free in the Apple TV app.
- Why is the race earlier than qualifying on a US clock? US daylight saving time ends at 2:00 am on November 1, before the race, while Mexico City's clock does not change.
Sources
- Formula 1: Mexico City Grand Prix 2026 full timetable, 2026 calendar and 2025 race report
- Apple Newsroom: Apple is the exclusive new broadcast partner for Formula 1 in the US (October 2025) and Formula 1 begins this weekend exclusively on Apple TV in the US (March 2026)
- Sky Sports: Mexico City Grand Prix on Sky Sports F1
