Fernández was born in Mexico City and began his racing career in Mexico at the age of eight. He entered his first auto race in 1981 at the "24 Hours of Mexico" race in Mexico City, and transitioned permanently to cars in 1982 at the age of fifteen.
From 1982 to 1984, Fernández competed in the Formula Vee Championship, winning the title in both 1983 and 1984. He also raced in the Formula K Series from 1984 to 1986, consistently finishing in the top four. In 1990 and 1991, Fernández competed in the Mexican F3 Championship, winning the title in 1991.
In 1992, Fernández moved to the United States to compete in the Firestone Indy Lights Championship, achieving immediate success with four race wins. He made his debut in the CART IndyCar World Series in 1993 with Galles Racing International, competing in five races. He participated in his first full season in 1994, finishing 13th and receiving the "Marco Magaña" and "Luchador Olmeca" awards.
In 1996, Fernández moved to Tasman Motorsports and achieved his first career CART victory at Toronto. The 1998 season with Patrick Racing saw him achieve 14 top-ten finishes, including victories at Japan and Mid-Ohio, placing fourth in the PPG Cup standings. He captured his first career pole at Michigan. 1999 proved to be a successful year, with wins at Motegi, Japan, and Fontana, California, despite a hand fracture at Belle Isle Park that forced him to miss several races.
Fernández had his best season in the CART series in 2000, finishing second to Gil de Ferran in the championship, with wins at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and Australia. In 2001, he founded Fernandez Racing, achieving his first owner-driver victory since Bobby Rahal in 1992 at Portland in 2003.
Fernández’s first CART win at Toronto in 1996 was overshadowed by the fatal accident suffered by Jeff Krosnoff late in the race. A crash at Michigan in 1998 resulted in a wheel from his car entering the stands and killing three spectators. The 1999 Marlboro 500 in Fontana was marred by the death of his friend Greg Moore.
In 2005, Fernández drove in a one-time race for Hendrick Motorsports in the NASCAR Busch Series at the Telcel-Motorola 200, leading several laps before finishing second to Martin Truex Jr. He competed in two Busch races for Hendrick in 2006 and full time in the Grand-Am series for his own team with Lowe's sponsorship.
From 2007, Fernández competed in the American Le Mans Series LMP2 class as an Acura factory team, winning at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in 2009, securing both the drivers’ and teams’ championship. He participated in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2007, 2010, 2011, and 2012, achieving a second-place finish in the LMP2 category in 2007 and third place in the GTE-Pro class in 2012.
In 1999, Fernández was named “Athlete of the Year” in Mexico. In September 2016, Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez honored Fernández by naming Turn 12 of the circuit after him. In 2012, Fernández became Sergio Pérez’s manager.
According to Motorsport Magazine, in 2024, Fernández acquired the BRM P153/05, the very Formula One car driven to victory by his hero, Pedro Rodríguez, at the 1970 Belgian Grand Prix . Fernández participated in 80 starts in the International Race of Champions series, finishing in the top-ten 41 times throughout his seven-year career .
Gallery · 4 related images
