Will the Mexico City GP prove to be a title-deciding race in 2024?
Getty Images
Following a gripping race in Austin, Formula 1 heads 900 miles south and over the US border this week for the Mexico City Grand Prix.
UK viewers can watch every minute of wheel-to-wheel action live across the weekend on Sky Sports F1, but don’t forget that the clocks go back on Sunday. The end of British Summer Time means that Sunday’s Mexico City Grand Prix will start at 8pm GMT.
Since its return to the F1 calendar in 2015, the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez has provided plenty of high octane thrills with its unique layout blending together kilometre-long straights and high-G twists and turns. An additional challenge is its elevation: at 2,240m metres above sea level, the thin air can play havoc with a Formula 1 car — giving race engineers a set-up headache.
Following a dominant 1-2 finish at COTA, Ferrari arrives in Mexico City on the front foot and looking to close the 48-point gap to McLaren in the constructors’ standings. But the main focus will inevitably remain on Lando Norris, who might be slipping in the drivers’ title race, but still has an outside chance of cutting the 57-point gap to Max Verstappen.
Could a dominant win for the Briton put his world championship hopes back on track? Will Mercedes recover from a miserable US race? Or can Sergio Perez pull off a shock result in front of his home crowd?
Here’s how to watch all the action across the weekend:
All times in BST (Sat) and GMT (Sun)
| F1 qualifying Saturday 26 October 2024 |
Mexico City GP Sunday 27 October 2024 |
|
| Session start time | 10pm | 8pm |
| Live coverage Sky Sports, Sky Go, NowTV |
9pm | 6.30pm |
| Highlights Channel 4 |
8.35am (Sunday) | 12.30am (Monday) |
Each minute of every F1 session over the Mexico GP weekend will be broadcast live in the UK for paying subscribers.
Live TV: All on-track sessions will be broadcast live on Sky Sports F1 starting with the first free practice session of the weekend on Friday at 7.30pm. Subscribers also have access to onboard streams from each of the 20 cars, including radio messages, allowing them to follow a favourite driver on their phone while watching the main feed on TV. The onboard streams are also available on TV, as is a ‘Battle Channel’ offering split-screen coverage of the best fights for position.
Live stream: Sky Sports F1 subscribers in the UK can watch all the running live on the Sky Go app. Now TV subscribers can also see live coverage of every session via the Sky Sports F1 channel. It also offers onboard views of each driver through in-app bonus streams for monthly subscribers. These can be viewed concurrently with the main stream on a separate screen.
Live timings are also available through the F1 app.
Highlights: Channel 4 will show highlights of the weekend, with action from each session being broadcast on the morning after the event.
Mexico City has been dominated by Verstappen and Red Bull since 2021
Red Bull
At only 2.5 miles in length, the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez is one of the shorter circuits on the F1 calendar. But its high-speed nature is often an attack on drivers’ senses and provides overtaking opportunities in almost every sector.
Three DRS-enabled straights often entice drivers to be late on the brakes into Turns 1, 4 and 12, while the fan-filled stadium section toward the end of the lap slows cars drastically, as they navigate their way through a technical sequence of corners.
But while there are plenty of opportunities for drivers to slip up and make mistakes — especially during the middle sector, with looks similar to Suzuka’s famous ‘Esses’ — the greatest danger that the field will face over the entire weekend is arguably the start.
An 800m run down to Turn 1 means cars further back in the pack can pick up a slipstream from those ahead, resulting in plenty of wheel-to-wheel tussles before they brake heavily from over 200mph to make the first apex.
In 2023, hometown hero Sergio Perez gained three places before even reaching the first corner, but was soon sent flying off the circuit after a clash with Charles Leclerc. With Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari all showing like-for-like pace in 2024, similar drama could be expected this weekend.
The forecast for the 2024 Mexico City GP is expected to be completely dry, with an average temperature of 22C across the weekend.
Cloudy skies are expected to cover most of the action on Friday and Saturday, but 15mph winds during qualifying could throw a curveball into the mix.
More dry weather is predicted for Sunday’s Grand Prix, with only a 10% chance of rain, 13mph winds and temperatures set to reach 22°C.
All times in BST
| Friday 25 October | Saturday 26 October | Sunday 27 October | |
| F1 | Free Practice 1 — 7.30pm Free Practice 2 — 11pm |
Free Practice 3 — 6.30pm GP Qualifying — 10pm |
Mexico City Grand Prix — 8pm |
McLaren was in the F1 doldrums six years ago, but now heads the constructors' championship, led by Andrea Stella, who's created a very different atmosphere to the Ron Dennis era, says Mark Hughes
How much does it cost to go to the Las Vegas GP – and is it the most expensive F1 race to attend? Here are the general admission ticket price for every world championship grand prix
The Andretti F1 bid looks to have been revived, with rumours of a fully rebranded General Motors/Cadillac team. Here's everything you need to know about the US-based outfit including details on its bid and why it was first rejected
Gabriel Bortoleto will be another new name on the F1 grid next year, while Franco Colapinto has forced his way into the reckoning for F1 2025 driver line-ups. What next in the F1 transfer market? Here are the contracts in place, the rumoured silly season deals, and who could end up where