Gran Premio de México 2026 attendance record, Digi Mart USA News (Mexico City): Formula 1 keeps Mexico City among its venues with the largest crowds. The 2026 Gran Premio de México recorded 405,363 attendees at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, a figure that places this edition above all previous ones and coincides with the return of Sergio “Checo” Pérez to the top category, now with the Cadillac team.
The final figure exceeded the 404,958 spectators recorded in 2024 and the 401,326 recorded in 2025. The difference from the record set two years earlier was 405 people, even though the previous edition was held without a Mexican driver on the grid.
Attendance was distributed across the weekend, with 147,889 people on Saturday, 155,352 spectators on Sunday and 102,122 on Friday.
Mexico’s place on the Formula 1 calendar has not been continuous. The first stage began in 1963 and ended seven years later, after the race of October 25, 1970, which drew about 200,000 people.
Fans invading parts of the track created safety problems and led to a 16-year absence.
The country’s return to the championship required negotiations with international motorsport bodies. Sandalio Sainz de la Maza, who took over the Sports Promotion Directorate of the then Federal District in December 1982, led part of that process with the support of President Miguel de la Madrid.
To advance negotiations, he traveled to the Monaco Grand Prix and made contact with Formula 1 and world motorsport federation leaders.
Poblano businessmen Julián and José Abed also took part in these efforts. In 1985, José Abed founded the Mexican International Automobile Sports Organization and later chaired the Grand Prix organizing committee from 1986 to 1992.
The return took place on October 12, 1986, when the Magdalena Mixhuca circuit again hosted a Formula 1 race. The track was remodeled and its layout was shortened to meet safety requirements.
Gerhard Berger won with Benetton, Ayrton Senna took pole position and Alain Prost finished second.
After that second stage ended in 1992, Mexico remained outside the championship for 23 years. The series returned to the country in 2015, with the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez as the venue, where it continues through the edition that set a new attendance high this year.
The event also has economic effects for the capital. According to figures from the Corporación Interamericana de Entretenimiento (CIE), the event’s organizer, between 2015 and 2025 the Grand Prix generated 157,594 million pesos in economic impact and media exposure.
In that period it generated 93,175 jobs and 12,629 million pesos in wages.
The Mexico City Chamber of Commerce, Services and Tourism (Canaco CDMX), led by Vicente Gutiérrez Camposeco, estimated a 2026 economic impact of 22,228 million pesos, a 6.5 percent increase over its previous estimate. The final figure will depend on official results on the economic activity associated with this year’s Grand Prix.
