Mexican Grand Prix 2019: Time, TV channel, live stream & grid

Jo Harrison
Mexican Grand Prix flyby

Mexican GP flyby

Lewis Hamilton will bid to clinch a sixth F1 Drivers’ Championship in Sunday’s Mexican Grand Prix in Mexico City.

The British superstar saw his commanding lead in the title race cut to 64 points as he trailed home in third behind Mercedes team-mate and nearest rival Valtteri Bottas in the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka. But it still appears just a matter of time before another championship is clinched.

Ferrari meanwhile threw away a brilliant qualifying performance in Suzuka as Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc failed to capitalise on that blinding single-lap pace.

Max Verstappen meanwhile will be bidding to complete a hat-trick of successes for Red Bull in Mexico City having won the race in 2017 and 2018.

This weekend promises to be another festival of F1 in a wonderful arena for the sport. Here is everything you need to know ahead of one of the most iconic races in the F1 calendar.

When is the 2019 Mexican Grand Prix?

Practice 1: Friday October 25, 1000 local time (1600 BST)

Practice 2: Friday October 25, 1400 local time (2000 BST)

Practice 3: Saturday October 26, 1000 local time (1600 BST)

Qualifying: Saturday October 26, 1300 local time (1900 BST)

Race: Sunday October 27, 1310 local time (1910 GMT)

NB: UK clocks go back by one hour at 0200 on the morning of raceday – Sunday October 27 – to denote the end of British Summertime.

Where does the Mexican Grand Prix take place?

The Mexico City circuit, otherwise known as the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez – named for the famous racing drivers Ricardo and Pedro Rodríguez, is located within the public park of the Magdalena Mixhuca Sports City in southeast Mexico City.

Revamped in recent years, Mexico City returned to the Formula 1 calendar in 2015 and its packed baseball stand section is an absolutely joy to behold. The World Championship titles were won here by Lewis Hamilton in 2017 and 2018.

The circuit, which was first used for a non-Championship race back in 1962, comprises 16 corners of which the final corner – the peraltada – the most famous of them all.

That leads onto a long start/finish straight that will make for a thrilling run to the first corner.

Sunday’s race will be run over 71 laps of the 4.309km circuit.

The 2018 Mexican GP

Directions: How can I get to the Mexican Grand Prix?

The Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez is located in the public park of the Magdalena Mixhuca Sports City, which is in southeast Mexico City.

Where can I watch the Mexican Grand Prix on TV?

Mexican Grand Prix weekend – including qualifying and the race proper – will be screened live in the UK by pay-TV broadcaster Sky Sports on its dedicated Sky Sports F1 channel. You can also access a live stream of the coverage via Now TV. Full coverage will also be aired by free-to-air broadcaster Channel 4.

Subscribers to F1’s own app can hear radio commentary on the race proper from the BBC and access live data around each session.

PlanetF1 will carry live timing and expert commentary on every session of the race weekend along with all the latest news from the track.

The Mexican Grand Prix will be shown live on TV by the following outlets in other key markets:

United States: ESPN (English), Univision (Spanish)

Canada: RDS (French), TSN (English)

Australia: Fox Sports and Foxtel 4k (no ad breaks)

France: Canal + (pay TV) and TF1 (free-to-air)

Italy: Sky Sport F1

Germany: RTL and Sky Deutschland

Spain: Movistar F1

Every session from Mexico will also air on online streaming platform Twitch in Germany, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Denmark, Norway and Sweden.

What is the weather forecast for the Mexican Grand Prix?

Friday October 25: 21C, scattered showers.
Saturday October 26: 23C, scattered thunderstorms.
Sunday October 27: 23C, scattered thunderstorms.

Which drivers have won the Mexican Grand Prix?

The Mexican Grand Prix is in its third life now as an F1 championship event. Its reintroduction to the annual calendar in 2015 follows previous spells in 1963-1970 and 1986-1992. It first appeared as a non-championship event in 1962.

Jim Clark, Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Max Verstappen have all registered two victories in championship competition in Mexico while Clark also took the non-championship running in 1962.

Lotus, McLaren and Williams have all won the race three times in championship context while Lotus also took victory in the 1962 non-championship event.

Recent winners of the Mexican Grand Prix are as follows:

2018: Max Verstappen (Red Bull, Netherlands)
2017: Max Verstappen (Red Bull, Netherlands)
2016: Lewis Hamilton (Great Britain, Mercedes)
2015: Nico Rosberg (Germany, Mercedes)

Track Lap Record: 1:18.741 Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes, 2018)

Mexican Grand Prix grid positions

Max Verstappen was fastest in qualifying in Mexico City on Saturday, but was stripped of pole position and penalised three places for failing to slow sufficiently for yellow flags. The penalty resulted in a front-row lockout for Ferrari – headed by Charles Leclerc. Full grid positions for the Mexican Grand Prix are as follows:

1 Charles Leclerc (Monaco, Ferrari)
2 Sebastian Vettel (Germany, Ferrari)
3 Lewis Hamilton (Great Britain, Mercedes)
4 Max Verstappen (Netherlands, Red Bull)*
5 Alex Albon (Thailand, Red Bull)
6 Valtteri Bottas (Finland, Mercedes)
7 Carlos Sainz Jr (Spain, McLaren)
8 Lando Norris (Great Britain, McLaren)
9 Daniil Kvyat (Russia, Toro Rosso)
10 Pierre Gasly (France, Toro Rosso)
11 Sergio Perez (Mexico, Racing Point)
12 Nico Hulkenberg (Germany, Renault)
13 Daniel Ricciardo (Australia, Renault)
14 Kimi Raikkonen (Finland, Alfa Romeo)
15 Antonio Giovinazzi (Italy, Alfa Romeo)
16 Lance Stroll (Canada, Racing Point)
17 Kevin Magnussen (Denmark, Haas)
18 Romain Grosjean (France, Haas)
19 George Russell (Great Britain, Williams)
20 Robert Kubica (Poland, Williams)*

* Max Verstappen penalised three places for failing to slow sufficiently under yellow flags.

What are the odds for the Mexican Grand Prix?

Charles Leclerc is hot favourite for the Mexican Grand Prix ahead of Ferrari team-mate Sebastian Vettel after Max Verstappen was stripped of pole in Mexico City on Saturday. Leading odds for Sunday’s race from Bet365 are as follows:

5/4 Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)

9/4 Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari)

7/2 Max Verstappen (Red Bull)

5/1 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)

40/1 Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)

40/1 Alex Albon (Red Bull)

(Prices correct at 2300 BST on Saturday October 26)

How Lewis Hamilton can clinch the world title at the Mexican Grand Prix?

As already detailed, Lewis Hamilton holds a 64-point lead over team-mate and nearest rival Valtteri Bottas in the F1 title race heading into Mexico City. With just three races and 78 points available after this weekend, Hamilton must outscore Bottas by 14 points at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez to clinch a sixth World Drivers’ Championship.

Race: Hamilton wins the race but not the title

If Hamilton wins in Mexico and also claims the bonus point for the fastest lap, he would be crowned champion if Bottas fails to finish on the podium.

Should Hamilton win the race, and pick up the bonus point for fastest lap, he would be crowned champion as long as Bottas does not finish in the top three. A podium finish for Hamilton would be enough if Bottas were to finish 10th or worse.

Mercedes clinched their latest constructors’ title in Japan.

What are the latest F1 Championship standings?

The leaders in the race for the driver and constructor titles heading into the Mexican Grand Prix are as follows:

Drivers’ Championship

Lewis Hamilton – 338 points

Valtteri Bottas – 274 points

Charles Leclerc – 221 points

Max Verstappen – 212 points

Sebastian Vettel – 212 points

Constructors’ Championship

Mercedes – 612 points

Ferrari – 433 points

Red Bull – 323 points

Full F1 championship standings are here

Tyre choices for the Mexican Grand Prix

F1 tyre manufacturer Pirelli will bring the white hard C2 tyre to the Mexican Grand Prix along with the yellow medium C3 and the red soft C4. Their compound set ranges from C1 (the hardest) to C5 (the softest).

What is F1’s rule on bonus points?

F1 made the decision to award a bonus point in every race of the 2019 season if certain criteria are met.

The bonus point will be awarded to the driver who completes the fastest lap in the race, as long as that driver also finishes in the top 10. The driver’s team will also score a bonus point in the constructors’ standings in that case.

This means there are up to 21 extra points available for the 2019 championship.

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