The Mexico City Grand Prix 2026 starts on Sunday, November 1, at 3:00 p.m. ET, noon PT and 8:00 p.m. in the UK. Lights go out at 2:00 p.m. local time at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, more than 2,000 meters above sea level, in Round 19 of the season.
In the US, every session streams on Apple TV. UK fans get the race live on Sky Sports F1 and free highlights on Channel 4. The catch: these services check where you connect from, so the stream you pay for at home may not play once you’re abroad.
Keep an eye on the clock, too. US clocks fall back in the early hours of race day, so Saturday’s qualifying runs on daylight time and Sunday’s race on standard time. Add a title fight and Sergio Pérez’s home race with Cadillac, and this is one weekend to keep clear.
Every major English-speaking market has the race live. Here’s who carries it and whether you have to pay.
Country | Where to watch | Free? |
|---|---|---|
United States | Apple TV, every session live | No, subscription |
United Kingdom | Sky Sports F1, live | No, subscription |
United Kingdom | Channel 4 | Highlights only |
Ireland | Sky Sports | No, subscription |
Canada | TSN (English) | No, subscription |
Canada | RDS, RDS 2 (French) | No, subscription |
Australia | Foxtel, Fox Sports, Kayo | No, subscription |
In the US, Formula 1 streams exclusively on Apple TV this season. The subscription costs $12.99 a month and covers every practice, qualifying session and race, with F1 TV Premium included at no extra cost. Our guide to streaming services in the US shows what else is worth adding.
UK viewers watch the race live on Sky Sports, and the Sky Sports F1 schedule lists the whole weekend. F1’s official broadcast list names Sky Sports and Channel 4 for the Republic of Ireland as well, so Irish fans can plan around the Sky Sports F1 schedule for Ireland.
In Canada, the race is on TSN in English and on RDS and RDS 2 in French, and F1’s list also names Noovo. Australians get every qualifying session and race live on Foxtel with no ad breaks during racing, and F1 adds Fox Sports and Kayo Sports. Flying to Mexico City for the race? There, F1 lists TUDN, Sky Sports and Izzi as broadcasters.
Not on the main services. Apple TV, Sky Sports, TSN, RDS, Foxtel and Kayo all need a paid plan for live coverage, so budget for a subscription if you want to see the race as it happens.
The closest thing to free is in the UK: Channel 4 streams F1 highlights at no cost, so you can catch up once the race is over. The Channel 4 TV guide shows when the highlights air.
In the US, Apple TV gives new subscribers a seven-day free trial. Start it on Friday, October 30, and it covers the whole weekend, from Practice 1 to the checkered flag on Sunday.
One thing to know before you travel: both the free highlights and your paid stream are tied to your location, so they may not play outside your home country. That’s where a VPN helps.
Streaming services check where you connect from. Take Apple TV to a beach in Cancún, or Kayo on a work trip to London, and the race may not load, even though you pay for it every month.
A VPN from our table fixes that. Connect to a server in your home country, open your usual app and sign in. The service sees a connection from home and plays the race. You keep paying for your own subscription; the VPN only changes your virtual location.
F1 TV works the same way. Plans are tied to your country of residence, and in the US the top tier comes only through Apple TV, so keep your home plan and connect through a server in that country.
| VPN Service | Price | F1 TV | Tested | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 SurfsharkBEST | From $1.78/mo | ✓ Works | October 5 | Try it |
 ExpressVPN | From $2.79/mo | ✓ Works | October 5 | Open |
 NordVPN | From $2.99/mo | ✓ Works | October 3 | Open |
 Private Internet Access | From $1.79/mo | ✓ Works | October 4 | Open |
 ProtonVPN | From $3.59/mo | ~ Partial | October 2 | Open |
 CyberGhost | From $1.75/mo | ~ Partial | October 1 | Open |
 IPVanish | From $2.19/mo | ~ Partial | September 29 | Open |
✓ Works✓ Works✓ Works✓ Works~ Partial~ Partial~ PartialThe ranking in the table is based on StreamFix data, and our VPN and streaming methodology explains how we score each service. Planning a longer stay? Read how to watch US TV abroad or how to watch British TV abroad.
Pick a VPN from the table
Choose a service that currently works with F1 streams according to StreamFix data.
Install the app
Download it on the phone, laptop or TV where you plan to watch.
Connect to a server at home
Pick the US for Apple TV, the UK for Sky Sports or Channel 4, Canada for TSN, Australia for Kayo or Foxtel.
Sign in and watch
Open your service, log in with your own account and start the stream before lights out.
There’s no sprint in Mexico City: three practice sessions, qualifying and the race. Here’s the full weekend in Eastern Time, with UK time in parentheses:
Day | What and when (ET, UK) |
|---|---|
Fri, Oct 30 | Practice 1 2:30 p.m. (6:30 p.m.), Practice 2 6:00 p.m. (10:00 p.m.) |
Sat, Oct 31 | Practice 3 1:30 p.m. (5:30 p.m.), Qualifying 5:00 p.m. (9:00 p.m.) |
Sun, Nov 1 | Grand Prix 3:00 p.m. (8:00 p.m.) |
The twist is the clock. US and Canadian clocks fall back at 2:00 a.m. on Sunday, November 1, so qualifying is on EDT and PDT, while the race is on EST and PST. The UK and Europe already switched on October 25, which is why the race starts at 8:00 p.m. in London and Dublin. Mexico City dropped daylight saving time in 2022 and stays on UTC-6 all year.
On the West Coast (PT), Practice 1 starts Friday at 11:30 a.m. and Practice 2 at 3:00 p.m., Practice 3 is Saturday at 10:30 a.m. and Qualifying at 2:00 p.m., and the race starts Sunday at noon. In Sydney (AEDT), Practice 1 falls on Saturday at 5:30 a.m. and Practice 2 at 9:00 a.m., Practice 3 on Sunday at 4:30 a.m. and Qualifying at 8:00 a.m., and the race on Monday, November 2, at 7:00 a.m. Local time in Mexico City, the race starts at 2:00 p.m.
Apple TV carries all five sessions in the US, and Foxtel shows qualifying and the race live in Australia.
These are editorial picks based on the standings and past results here, not betting tips.
Drivers’ standings after Round 16 | Points |
|---|---|
Kimi Antonelli | 320 |
George Russell | 236 |
Lewis Hamilton | 214 |
Charles Leclerc | 191 |
Lando Norris | 188 |
Max Verstappen | 188 |
Source: formula1.com, October 8, 2026 | |
These are the standings after Round 16, the Bahrain Grand Prix held in Malaysia, which Max Verstappen won. Singapore and the United States Grand Prix come before Mexico City, so the gaps will move. Antonelli has won eight of the 16 Grands Prix so far, and Mercedes leads the Teams’ Championship with 556 points to Ferrari’s 405.
Fact: the championship leader has won half the races this season, from China in March to Spain in September. Our view: he hasn’t won in Mexico yet, but no driver has been more consistent in 2026, and Mercedes has the strongest car on the numbers.
Fact: Verstappen has won the Mexican Grand Prix five times, in 2017, 2018, 2021, 2022 and 2023, more than anyone else, and he took his first win of 2026 in Round 16. Our view: if Red Bull Racing keeps that form through the next two rounds, he’s the driver the leaders should fear in the thin air.
The last two races here went elsewhere, though. Carlos Sainz won for Ferrari in 2024, and Lando Norris won for McLaren in 2025, a race in which Lewis Hamilton picked up a 10-second penalty after using the escape road in a fight with Verstappen on Lap 6.
Sergio Pérez is the only Mexican on the 2026 grid, racing for Cadillac alongside Valtteri Bottas. Pérez and Cadillac stage a show run on Paseo de la Reforma on Wednesday, October 28, at 10:00 a.m. local time, and the promoter ties the event to celebrating his 300 Grands Prix. His first home podium came in 2021.
George Russell (Mercedes)
Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)
Lando Norris (McLaren), last year’s winner here
Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls)
Oliver Bearman (Haas F1 Team)
Australia’s Oscar Piastri drives for McLaren, Canada’s Lance Stroll for Aston Martin and New Zealand’s Liam Lawson for Racing Bulls.
The promoter puts the track at about 2,240 meters (roughly 7,350 feet) above sea level, the highest on the calendar. F1 itself says “over 2 km.”
The air is about 25% thinner, according to the promoter. Cars make less downforce and less drag, and cooling gets harder. On the 1.3 km (0.8 mile) main straight, top speeds rival Monza.
The final sector winds through the Estadio GNP Seguros, which F1 describes as a former baseball stadium. The podium ceremony takes place there too.
The famous Peraltada corner is now cut in two, with the track diverted through the stadium instead.
One lap measures 4.304 km (2.674 miles) with 17 turns, and the race runs 71 laps, or 305.354 km. Bottas set the lap record of 1:17.774 in 2021.
The circuit was built in 1959. Jim Clark won the first championship Grand Prix here in 1963, and Mexico returned to the calendar in 2015.
From 2027, Formula 2 joins the Mexico City weekend as a support series for the first time.
Check the server country. It’s usually geoblocking, so connect to a server in the country of your stream: the US for Apple TV, the UK for Sky Sports or Channel 4.
Switch servers. Still blocked? Pick another server in the same country and reload.
Clear the cache. Your browser or app may remember your real location. Clear cookies, open a private window or restart the app.
Check your subscription. A VPN doesn’t replace a paid plan. Apple TV, Sky Sports, TSN and Kayo still need your own active account.
Test on Friday. Try your setup during Practice 1, not five minutes before the race on Sunday.
Away from home this weekend? Set up a VPN before Friday’s Practice 1, connect to a server at home and watch the race on the service you already pay for. This VPN leads our F1 TV table right now:
The week before Mexico City, F1 races in Texas. See where to watch the US Grand Prix 2026 in Austin for start times and broadcasters.
Our F1 TV guide covers plans and availability by country, the best VPN comparison goes deeper into every provider, and the streaming platforms overview lists the services in your country. Following the whole run of fall races? Our Singapore Grand Prix 2026 viewing guide covers Round 17 the same way.
F1 TVWidely available179 of 194tracked countriesIn the US, the race streams exclusively on Apple TV. In the UK, Sky Sports F1 shows it live and Channel 4 streams highlights. Ireland has Sky Sports, Canada has TSN, RDS and RDS 2, and Australia has Foxtel, Fox Sports and Kayo.
Not on the main services: Apple TV, Sky Sports, TSN, Foxtel and Kayo are all paid. UK viewers can stream highlights free on Channel 4, and Apple TV offers new US subscribers a seven-day free trial. Our guide to streaming services in the UK lists more options.
Connect to a VPN server in your home country, open the service you already pay for and sign in. Your provider sees a connection from home and plays the stream. Pick a VPN from the table in this guide, which ranks providers based on StreamFix data.
The race starts on Sunday, November 1, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. local time. That’s 3:00 p.m. ET, noon PT, 8:00 p.m. in the UK and 7:00 a.m. on Monday in Sydney. Qualifying is on Saturday at 5:00 p.m. ET, 9:00 p.m. in the UK.
Using a VPN is legal in most countries. What a streaming service shows you over a VPN is up to that service, which is why it pays to choose a VPN from our table that currently works with F1 streams. You keep paying for your own subscription either way.
No. Mexico City is a standard weekend with three practice sessions, qualifying on Saturday and the Grand Prix on Sunday. The last sprint of 2026 runs in Singapore.
Lando Norris won for McLaren. Carlos Sainz won for Ferrari in 2024, and Max Verstappen holds the record with five wins in Mexico.
The promoter puts the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez at about 2,240 meters (roughly 7,350 feet) above sea level, the highest circuit on the calendar. The thin air cuts downforce and drag and makes cooling harder.
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