The Mexican Grand Prix was first held on 4 November 1962 at the Magdalena Mixhuca circuit, the first international racetrack in Mexico. Built within a park in the centre of Mexico City, it shared that characteristic with Monza in Milan. The circuit stood 2,240 metres above sea level and featured the Peraltada, a fast, 180-degree, lightly banked corner that concluded the lap, set on bumpy ground caused by actively shifting soils. The event was always the season finale, held in late October.
The 1962 race was a non-championship affair. It was won by Team Lotus with Jim Clark taking over the car of teammate Trevor Taylor after Clark was black-flagged following a push-start at a confused race start. The meeting was marred by the death of young Mexican driver Ricardo Rodríguez, killed in practice in a Rob Walker-run Lotus 24 at the Peraltada.
The Formula One World Championship arrived in 1963 with Clark winning again, equalling Juan Manuel Fangio's record for most victories in a single season. In 1964, the race decided both championships: Clark, John Surtees, and Graham Hill all arrived with title chances. Ferrari signalled Lorenzo Bandini to let teammate Surtees through; Surtees finished second behind Dan Gurney to win the Drivers' Championship by one point, and Ferrari won the Constructors' Championship. American Richie Ginther took victory for Honda in 1965, the Japanese company's first win in Formula One. Clark won his third Mexican Grand Prix in 1967, making him the most frequent winner of the race as of 2019.
In 1968, three drivers entered the race with a chance at the Drivers' Championship: Hill, Jackie Stewart, and Denny Hulme. Stewart led for several laps until Hill passed him. Hulme had a rear suspension failure and crashed on lap 11. Jo Siffert took the lead but had to pit with a broken throttle cable. Stewart fell back with engine misfires and handling problems. Hill won and took his second Drivers' Championship.
Crowd control contributed to the cancellation of the 1969 and 1970 events. In 1970, a record crowd of approximately 200,000 arrived to see Pedro Rodríguez, forcing officials to delay the start by an hour. A dog ran across the track and was hit by Stewart. Spectators threw bottles onto the track. Amid the chaos, Clay Regazzoni trailed Jacky Ickx for a 1–2 Ferrari finish. The 1971 event was planned with a large fund in a Swiss bank to guarantee better crowd control, but after the death of Pedro Rodríguez it was abandoned.
Several attempts to bring the race back failed, including a planned April 1980 date. American IndyCars raced at the circuit in 1980 and 1981 under the name Gran Premio Tecate, with Rick Mears dominating. The circuit was renamed Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez after Mexico's two lost racing heroes. Work began to rebuild it with a slightly shorter layout, an eased Peraltada banking, and generally improved safety.
The Grand Prix returned in 1986 with Gerhard Berger taking his first career win in a Benetton B186, outlasting the field while ill as tyre problems struck most competitors. The 1987 race was run in two parts after Derek Warwick crashed heavily at the Peraltada. Nelson Piquet finished first on the road in his Williams, but because teammate Nigel Mansell was 30 seconds ahead when the race was stopped, Mansell won on cumulative time.
The 1988 race was moved to late May to pair with the other North American Grands Prix in Montreal and Detroit. Alain Prost dominated in his McLaren, and Prost's teammate Ayrton Senna won in 1989 during a period when the two men's relationship was at a low point. In 1990 the race moved to late June; Prost, then at Ferrari, qualified 13th but drove through the field. Senna was leading but suffered a slow puncture that shredded the tyre and damaged the suspension, forcing him out. Prost won ahead of Mansell, with Berger challenging Mansell for second and Mansell repassing him around the outside of the Peraltada on the same lap.
In 1991, Senna crashed heavily at the Peraltada during practice but was declared fit to race by FIA doctor Sid Watkins. He finished third behind Williams drivers Riccardo Patrese and Mansell. Senna was critical of the severely bumpy circuit throughout the weekend. On 9 October 1991, reports indicated promoters barely made enough funds to pay off Formula One for the 1991 race. FISA demanded track improvements for 1992.
For 1992, the race moved to March. Mexico City's air pollution had reached record levels on 20 February, with city officials imposing emergency measures restricting traffic; the city's location in a valley surrounded by mountains restricted polluted air from dissipating. Safety measures were implemented including further easing of the Peraltada banking. Despite this, drivers complained during practice about severe and worsening bumps across the circuit. Senna had an accident at the fast Esses after going over a nasty series of bumps that unsettled the car, causing him to lose control and hit a concrete wall; he qualified sixth and raced. The race was dominated by Williams teammates Mansell and Patrese. The combination of the deteriorating track, air pollution problems, and Mexico City's rapid population growth led to Formula One leaving the calendar again after 1992.
In 2002, Champ Cars returned to a modified version of the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, which included cutting the Peraltada in half. This lasted six years, with Sébastien Bourdais winning half of the six races held. Rumours surfaced in 2003 about a potential return to the Formula One calendar at a new $70 million circuit called Mantarraya to be built near Cancún, but the plan was halted over land ownership disputes. After the 2006 United States Grand Prix, Bernie Ecclestone announced a return for 2009, but nothing came of it.
In August 2011, Carlos Slim Domit revealed plans for a revived race. The Mexican Grand Prix appeared on preliminary 2014 calendar drafts but was postponed to 2015 due to insufficient time to upgrade the circuit to Formula One standards. In July 2014, Ecclestone confirmed a five-year deal for the Hermanos Rodríguez track starting in 2015. The FIA confirmed the 2015 race on 1 November 2015; Nico Rosberg won that event in his Mercedes.
On 14 May 2019, Mexico City mayor Claudia Sheinbaum announced 2019 would be the last year for the event, as the MXN 400 million fee was to be redirected to the Tren Maya. The race is estimated to generate MXN 8,400 million for the local economy. On 8 August 2019, however, it was announced the race would remain on the calendar until at least 2022, renamed to Mexico City Grand Prix to emphasise the government of Mexico City's support. The 2020 edition was cancelled on 24 July 2020 due to travel restrictions in the Americas caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2021 event became the first to take place under the Mexico City Grand Prix name. A contract extension was signed to keep the race until 2025, and a further extension signed in 2025 keeps it on the calendar until 2028.
This article is based solely on the supplied corpus. No external sources were consulted; claims that could not be substantiated against the corpus were omitted under the drop-the-claim rule.
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