Mexico City GP: ready for Antonelli’s title.

Kimi Antonelli has a clear path to clinching the 2026 Formula 1 world championship next weekend. An unassuming 9th place (or 2 points) will be enough, regardless of the results of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton. The Mexican GP will be held this Sunday (November 1st) at 5:00 PM (Brasília time), broadcast by Sportv 3, Globoplay, and BandNews FM. On Saturday, qualifying will take place at 6:00 PM.

This could mark the 6th time the Mexican race crowns the season’s world champion. The 1st was in 1964 with John Surtees; later, in 1967, it was Denny Hulme’s turn, followed by Graham Hill the following year. Upon Formula 1’s return to the Hermanos Rodríguez circuit from 2015 onward, Lewis Hamilton became champion in 2017 and 2018—the 4th and 5th titles of his career, respectively.

The Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez is the highest venue on the F1 calendar at 2,400 meters above sea level, followed by Interlagos and Spielberg. The thin air impacts aerodynamics because lower atmospheric pressure reduces downforce and grip. With less oxygen, combustion cannot reach ideal efficiency, and engine cooling becomes a major concern. Teams, however, have technical solutions to mitigate these effects.

Friday’s first free practice session, FP1, will feature 10 reserve drivers stepping in for the regular starters. At Audi, Freddie Slater will take Gabriel Bortoleto’s place; at Red Bull, Ayumu Iwasa will take the wheel of Max Verstappen’s car; at Mercedes, George Russell will make way for Frederik Vesti; Ryo Hirakawa will replace Esteban Ocon at Haas; at Williams, Luke Browning will step into Alexander Albon’s car; Valtteri Bottas will yield his seat to Colton Herta at Cadillac; Gabriele Minì will replace Franco Colapinto at Alpine; Jak Crawford was chosen by Aston Martin to run in place of Lance Stroll; Leonardo Fornaroli will drive Lando Norris’s McLaren. Finally, Liam Lawson will hand over his Racing Bulls seat to Nikola Tsolov.

Last year, competing at the circuit for the first time, Gabriel Bortoleto started from 16th on the grid and finished 10th, scoring the last of the 19 points he collected over the championship.

From the current Formula 1 grid, Max Verstappen has the most wins here: 5 victories compared to 2 for Hamilton, 1 for Carlos Sainz Jr., and 1 for Lando Norris.

The Formula 1 São Paulo GP, scheduled for November 6, 7, and 8, will be the round immediately following the race in Mexico. The teams will travel directly to Brazil after the event.